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(Ab G3; 3 years);(b) Hierochloe odorata Beauv.(Hi O7; 7 years);(c) Thymus mongolicus Ronnm(Th M15; 15 years);(d) Artemisia sacrorum Ledeb(At S25; 25 years);(e) Stipa bungeana Trin Ledeb(St B36; 36 years) and(f) Stipa grandis P. Smirn(St G56; 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 Th M15. The concentration of NH4-N increased in the medium stage(for Th M15 and At S25) and decreased in the later stage(for St B36 and St G56) of vegetation restoration. However, NO3-N concentration significantly increased in the later stage(for St B36 and St G56). Carbon fractions had a similar increasing trend during natural vegetation restoration. The concentrations 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 Ab G3, 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.     

Long-term effects of gravel―sand mulch on soil organic carbon and nitrogen in the Loess Plateau of northwestern China

Gravel–sand mulch has been used for centuries to conserve water in the Loess Plateau of northwestern China. In this study, we assessed the influence of long-term(1996–2012) gravel–sand mulching of cultivated soils on total organic carbon(TOC), light fraction organic carbon(LFOC), microbial biomass carbon(MBC), total organic nitrogen(TON), particulate organic carbon(POC), mineral-associated organic carbon(MOC), permanganate-oxidizable carbon(KMn O4-C), and non-KMn O4-C at 0–60 cm depths. Mulching durations were 7, 11 and 16 years, with a non-mulched control. Compared to the control, there was no significant and consistently positive effect of the mulch on TOC, POC, MOC, KMn O4-C and non-KMn O4-C before 11 years of mulching, and these organic C fractions generally decreased significantly by 16 years. LFOC, TON and MBC to at a 0–20 cm depth increased with increasing mulching duration until 11 years, and then these fractions decreased significantly between 11 and 16 years, reaching values comparable to or lower than those in the control. KMn O4-C was most strongly correlated with the labile soil C fractions. Our findings suggest that although gravel–sand mulch may conserve soil moisture, it may also lead to long-term decreases in labile soil organic C fractions and total organic N in the study area. The addition of manure or composted manure would be a good choice to reverse the soil deterioration that occurs after 11 years by increasing the inputs of organic matter.     

新疆玛纳斯河流域棉田土壤有机碳含量时空分异规律

玛河流域棉田土壤有机碳的空间分异与连作棉田土壤有机碳变化的研究结果表明:由南至北在纬度梯度上有机碳总量随土壤粘粒含量的降低,砂粒含量的增大而呈下降趋势。HU-C和FA-C的变化趋势与总有机碳变化相近,HA-C在冲积扇缘有最大值,冲积平原下降,干三角洲呈增加趋势。H/F和Kos随纬度呈增长趋势。棉田土壤有机碳总量在秸秆还田技术下随连作年限的增加而提高,但主要增加了HU-C。H/F随连作年限呈下降趋势,在连作8年之后变为1。Kos在连作1~9年呈下降趋势,随后开始增长,8~9年是连作棉田土壤有机碳质量衰退的警戒值。     

新疆博斯腾湖湖周水体碳和盐离子的空间分布

以博斯腾湖为研究对象,在大湖区周边及开都河取水样和表层土样,分析湖周水体中颗粒有机碳（POC）和溶解有机碳（DOC）在秋季的空间分布特征及其与周围土壤碳及水体盐离子的关系。结果表明：湖周水体中POC浓度的空间变化较大（0.1~1.2 mg•L^-1）,而DOC浓度的变化较小（8.5~12.3 mg•L^-1）。两者在出湖口和入湖口处的浓度均较低,与开都河的浓度相近。与早期相比,博斯腾湖水中无机碳存在由CO₃ ^2-向HCO₃^-转化的现象。回归分析显示,水体中各形态碳与土壤碳之间没有显著的线性关系,表明水体中碳的含量受周围土壤的影响不大。     

Dynamics of ecosystem carbon stocks during vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau of China

In the last few decades, the Loess Plateau had experienced an extensive vegetation restoration to reduce soil erosion and to improve the degraded ecosystems. However, the dynamics of ecosystem carbon stocks with vegetation restoration in this region are poorly understood. This study examined the changes of carbon stocks in mineral soil(0–100 cm), plant biomass and the ecosystem(plant and soil) following vegetation restoration with different models and ages. Our results indicated that cultivated land returned to native vegetation(natural restoration) or artificial forest increased ecosystem carbon sequestration. Tree plantation sequestered more carbon than natural vegetation succession over decades scale due to the rapid increase in biomass carbon pool. Restoration ages had different effects on the dynamics of biomass and soil carbon stocks. Biomass carbon stocks increased with vegetation restoration age, while the dynamics of soil carbon stocks were affected by sampling depth. Ecosystem carbon stocks consistently increased after tree plantation regardless of the soil depth; but an initial decrease and then increase trend was observed in natural restoration chronosequences with the soil sampling depth of 0–100 cm. Moreover, there was a time lag of about 15–30 years between biomass production and soil carbon sequestration in 0–100 cm, which indicated a long-term effect of vegetation restoration on deeper soil carbon sequestration.     

Natural vegetation restoration of Liaodong oak (Quercus liaotungensis Koidz.) forests rapidly increased the content and ratio of inert carbon in soil macroaggregates

The lack of clarity of how natural vegetation restoration influences soil organic carbon (SOC) content and SOC components in soil aggregate fractions limits the understanding of SOC sequestration and turnover in forest ecosystems. The aim of this study was to explore how natural vegetation restoration affects the SOC content and ratio of SOC components in soil macroaggregates (>250 μm), microaggregates (53-250 μm), and silt and clay (<53 μm) fractions in 30-, 60-, 90- and 120-year-old Liaodong oak (Quercus liaotungensis Koidz.) forests, Shaanxi, China in 2015. And the associated effects of biomasses of leaf litter and different sizes of roots (0-0.5, 0.5-1.0, 1.0-2.0 and >2.0 mm diameter) on SOC components were studied too. Results showed that the contents of high activated carbon (HAC), activated carbon (AC) and inert carbon (IC) in the macroaggregates, microaggregates and silt and clay fractions increased with restoration ages. Moreover, IC content in the microaggregates in topsoil (0-20 cm) rapidly increased; peaking in the 90-year-old restored forest, and was 5.74 times higher than AC content. In deep soil (20-80 cm), IC content was 3.58 times that of AC content. Biomasses of 0.5-1.0 mm diameter roots and leaf litter affected the content of aggregate fractions in topsoil, while the biomass of >2.0 mm diameter roots affected the content of aggregate fractions in deep soil. Across the soil profiles, macroaggregates had the highest capacity for HAC sequestration. The effects of restoration ages on soil aggregate fractions and SOC content were less in deep soil than in topsoil. In conclusion, natural vegetation restoration of Liaodong oak forests improved the contents of SOC, especially IC within topsoil and deep soil. The influence of IC on aggregate stability was greater than the other SOC components, and the aggregate stability was significantly affected by the biomasses of litter, 0.5-1.0 mm diameter roots in topsoil and >2.0 mm diameter roots in deep soil. Natural vegetation restoration of Liaodong oak forests promoted SOC sequestration by soil macroaggregates.     

无定河流域植被恢复对土壤团聚体及碳固定的影响

对无定河流域坡耕地和4、5、10、30、50年植被恢复样地土壤水稳性团聚体含量,全土样及不同直径水稳性团聚体中的有机质、速效磷含量进行了测定分析,计算了土壤有机碳密度,旨在评价植被恢复对土壤结构、养分及土壤固定的影响。结果表明:各样地全土样有机质和速效磷含量分别介于6.73~31.83 g·kg-1和1.93~14.72 mg·kg-1之间,不同直径团聚体有机质和速效磷含量分别介于7.15~26.03 g·kg-1和3.71~16.64 mg·kg-1之间。相对农地,植被恢复能明显增加表层土壤有机质含量和有机碳密度,杜梨群落增加幅度最高,增加值分别为24.93 g·kg-1和91.98 mg·cm-2;水稳性团聚体以0.05 mm和0.05~0.1 mm为主,含量分别在37.06%~57.22%和21.71%~29.76%之间;不同直径水稳性团聚体中有机质含量表现为2 mm至0.2~0.5 mm之间,直径愈小,有机质含量愈高,0.2~0.5 mm至0.05 mm之间,粒径愈小,有机质含量愈低;除1~2 mm团聚体中的速效磷含量最高外,2 mm至0.05 mm团聚体之间,粒径愈小,速效磷含量愈低。土壤有机碳密度与植被恢复年限呈线性正相关关系。相对于土壤碳固定,土壤抵抗水力侵蚀的能力需更长时间才能显著提高。相对慢速湿润,快速湿润条件下各直径水稳性团聚体有机质含量均较高。研究区大雨或暴雨是造成该区域土壤结构恶化和有机碳损耗的主要原因。     

长期秸秆和地膜覆盖对旱作冬小麦农田土壤碳组分的影响

地表覆盖秸秆和地膜是我国西北旱作农田土壤固碳的重要田间管理措施，但其对土壤碳组分的长期影响尚不明确。基于田间定位试验，设生育期高量秸秆覆盖(9 000 kg·hm^-2,HSM)、生育期低量秸秆覆盖(4 500 kg·hm^-2,LSM)、夏闲期秸秆覆盖(9 000 kg·hm^-2,FSM)、生育期地膜覆盖(PM)和无覆盖对照(CK)共5个处理，研究了秸秆覆盖和地膜覆盖12 a和13 a后旱作冬小麦农田土壤总有机碳(SOC)、颗粒有机碳(POC)、潜在矿化碳(PCM)和微生物量碳(MBC)含量的变化规律。2 a平均结果表明：与CK相比，HSM和LSM处理均显著提高了0～10 cm土层各碳组分含量以及10～20 cm土层SOC、POC、MBC含量，同时还显著提高了0～20 cm土层POC和MBC占SOC的比例；而FSM和PM处理对各土层土壤碳组分含量及其占SOC的比例均无显著影响。土壤碳组分含量相互之间均存在极显著正相关关系。综上可知，长期生育期秸秆覆盖能有效提高旱作冬小麦农田耕层土壤有机碳及其组分含量，且提高覆盖量有助于促进...     

Soil hydraulic conductivity as affected by vegetation restoration age on the Loess Plateau,China

The Loess Plateau of China has experienced extensive vegetation restoration in the past several decades,which leads to great changes in soil properties such as soil bulk,porosity,and organic matter with the vegetation restoration age.And these soil properties have great effect on the soil infiltration and soil hydraulic conductivity.However,the potential changes in soil hydraulic conductivity caused by vegetation restoration age have not been well understood.This study was conducted to investigate the changes in soil hydraulic conductivity under five grasslands with different vegetation restoration ages(3,10,18,28 and 37 years)compared to a slope farmland,and further to identify the factors responsible for these changes on the Loess Plateau of China.At each site,accumulative infiltration amount and soil hydraulic conductivity were determined using a disc permeameter with a water supply pressure of –20 mm.Soil properties were measured for analyzing their potential factors influencing soil hydraulic conductivity.The results showed that the soil bulk had no significant changes over the initial 20 years of restoration(P0.05);the total porosity,capillary porosity and field capacity decreased significantly in the grass land with 28 and 37 restoration ages compared to the slope farmland;accumulative infiltration amount and soil hydraulic conductivity were significantly enhanced after 18 years of vegetation restoration.However,accumulative infiltration amount and soil hydraulic conductivity fluctuated over the initial 10 years of restoration.The increase in soil hydraulic conductivity with vegetation restoration was closely related to the changes in soil texture and structure.Soil sand and clay contents were the most influential factors on soil hydraulic conductivity,followed by bulk density,soil porosity,root density and crust thickness.The Pearson correlation coefficients indicated that the soil hydraulic conductivity was affected by multiply factors.These results are helpful to understand the changes in hydrological and erosion processes response to vegetation succession on the Loess Plateau.     

短期N、P添加对荒漠草原土壤非保护性有机碳的影响

以干旱、半干旱地区荒漠草原土壤为研究对象,研究N、P养分添加对荒漠草原0~30 cm土层土壤颗粒有机碳和轻组有机碳含量、分配比例、敏感指数的影响,探讨荒漠草原土壤非保护性有机碳分配比例及其向保护性有机碳的转化速率对N、P添加的响应。研究结果表明:短期N、P添加能促进荒漠草原表层土壤(0~10 cm)土壤颗粒有机碳和轻组有机碳的积累,分别使其增加了50%~70%、15%~31%。短期N、P添加显著增加土壤非保护性有机碳分配比例(25%~52%),而降低了土壤非保护性有机碳向保护性有机碳转化速率常数(24%~42%)。荒漠草原土壤有机碳主要以非保护性有机碳形式储存,短期N、P添加通过影响土壤非保护性有机碳分配比例,使土壤肥力提高,土壤有机碳的活性组分增加,不利于土壤有机碳的稳定。