Responses of soil nitrogen, phosphorous and organic matter to vegetation succession on the Loess Plateau of China

Revegetation is a traditional practice widely used for soil protection. We evaluated the effect of natural revegetation succession on soil chemical properties and carbon fractions （particulate organic carbon （POC）, humus carbon （HS-C）, humic acid carbon （HA-C） and fulvic acid carbon （FA-C）） on the Loess Plateau of China. The vegetation types, in order from the shortest to the longest enclosure duration, were： （a） abandoned overgrazed grassland （AbG3; 3 years）; （b） Hierochloe odorata Beauv. （HiO7; 7 years）; （c） Thymus mongoficus Ronnm （ThM15; 15 years）; （d） Artemisia sacrorum Ledeb （AtS25; 25 years）; （e） Stipa bungeana Trin Ledeb （StB36; 36 years） and （f） Stipa grandis P. Smirn （StG56; 56 years）. The results showed that the concentrations of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphorus increased with the increase of restoration time except for ThM15. The concen- tration of NH4-N increased in the medium stage （for ThM15 and AtS25） and decreased in the later stage （for StB36 and StG56） of vegetation restoration. However, NO3-N concentration significantly increased in the later stage （for StB36 and StG56）. Carbon fractions had a similar increasing trend during natural vegetation restoration. The con- centrations of POC, HS-C, FA-C and HA-C accounted for 24.5%-49.1%, 10.6%-15.2%, 5.8%-9.1% and 4.6%-6.1% of total carbon, respectively. For AbG3, the relative changes of POC, HS-C and FA-C were significantly higher than that of total carbon during the process of revegetation restoration. The higher relative increases in POC, HS-C and FA-C confirmed that soil carbon induced by vegetation restoration was sequestrated by higher physical and chemical protection. The increases of soil C fractions could also result in higher ecological function in semiarid grassland ecosystems.

Degree of Humification in Fresh Litter from a Subtropical Mixed Plantation Forest in Southwest China

The humification degree of fresh litter directly controls the accumulation of soil humus derived from plant litter,but very little information on this process is available.Planted forests are well known to restrict soil fertility,which is often indicated by the soil humus level.In this study,fresh litter was collected during different plant phenological stages during 2016 and 2017 in a mixed plantation in Southwest China.The values of hue coefficientΔlogK(absorbance ratio of 400 nm and 600 nm on a logarithmic scale),optical density E4/E6(absorbance ratio of 400 nm and 600 nm)and A600/C(absorbance at 600 mm per mg of carbon per ml of extraction)and the concentration of extractable humus carbon(HC)were determined in four litter components(foliar,twigs,reproductive organs and miscellaneous)of the dominant species(Pterocarya stenoptera,Quercus acutissima,Cunninghamia lanceolata and Toxicodendron vernicifluum).All of the litter components exhibited obvious humification characteristics,and showed the highest concentration of extractable HC during the leaf maturation period.The miscellaneous and foliar litters showed greater humification than the other litter types.The components of Pterocarya stenoptera litter exhibited greater degrees of humification than those of the other species,with lowerΔlogK and E4/E6 values and higher A600/C values.The litter from coniferous and evergreen species showed lower humification than that from broad-leaf and deciduous species regardless of the litter component examined.The present results provide new insights into the management of plantations and theoretical data to accurately improve the quality of plantations and maintain soil fertility under a global change.