Current trends of soil organic carbon in English arable soils

Abstract. A model of the impact of land management changes upon soil organic carbon (SOC) was constructed, and the total amount of topsoil organic carbon was estimated for the arable area of England from 1940 to 2000. The largest influence on the overall mean SOC in arable topsoils proved to be a decline in the area of both permanent and temporary grassland. SOC declined over a prolonged period (60 years), but has now reached a plateau. Modelling changes in mean values enabled a statistical evaluation to be made between a measured decline in the number of sites with 'high' SOC levels between 1980 and 1995, and the decline predicted by the model. The SOC content of arable soils in England was measured at National Soil Inventory sites twice in recent decades: in 1980 and 1995. The proportion of fine textured soils in the lowest SOC class (<2.3%) rose from just over 40% to about 50% over the same period. There was a significant difference between the observed values of 1995 and those expected from modelling the decline from 1980 values, in the category of 'low SOC' fine textured soils. The variation in the fine textured soils represents a significant and widespread decline in topsoil organic carbon concentrations, which was greater than the underlying long-term trend.     

Distribution of charred plant fragments in particle size fractions of Japanese volcanic ash soils

Abstract

To gain a better understanding of the distribution of charred plant fragment C (CPFC) and its contribution to organic C (OC) in the particle size fractions of Japanese volcanic ash soils, each of four soil samples was divided into six particle size fractions, namely three sand-sized aggregate (20–53, 53–212 and 212–2,000 µm) fractions, one silt-sized aggregate (2–20 µm) fraction, and two clay-sized aggregate (< 0.2 and 0.2–2 µm) fractions. Furthermore, after HCl–HF treatment of these aggregate fractions, sub-fractions of less than specific gravity (s.g.) 1.6 g cm^?3 (< 1.6 fraction) were isolated using s.g. 1.6 g cm^?3 sodium polytungstate solution. Microscopic observation indicated that the charred plant fragments, which are black or blackish brown, were the main components in the < 1.6 fractions. Therefore, the OC in this fraction was designated as CPFC. In all the soils studied, the quantitative distribution of the CPFC of the silt-sized aggregate fractions to total CPFC of whole soils, ranging from 59 to 84%, was greatest among the aggregate fractions. The sum of the distribution (%) values of the CPFC in the three sand-sized aggregate fractions varied from 6.9 to 33%, while that in the two clay-sized aggregate fractions ranged from 1.1 to 9.4%. Similar to the CPFC, in all soils, the quantitative distribution of the OC in the aggregate fractions was greater in the silt-sized aggregate fractions (52–76%) than in the other aggregate fractions (0.1–20%). In all soils, the quantitative contribution of total CPFC to total OC of whole soils ranged from 10 to 28%. The CPFC/OC values in the aggregate fractions were 21% or more in 10 samples from a total of 24 fractions, with a maximum value of 34%. On the basis of the findings obtained in the present study, it is assumed that in Japanese volcanic ash soils the silt-sized fraction is an important reservoir of CPFC and OC, and CPFC merits attention as one of the constituents of OC in particle size fractions.     

Manuring and rotation effects on soil organic carbon concentration for different aggregate size fractions on two soils in northeastern Ohio, USA

Soil carbon (C) sequestration is important to the mitigation of increasing atmospheric concentration of CO₂. This study was conducted to assess soil aggregation and C concentration under different management practices. The effects of crop rotation, manure application and tillage were investigated for 0–5 and 5–10 cm depths on two silt loam soils (fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Aquic Fragiudalfs and fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Aeric Fragiadalf) in Geauga and Stark Counties, respectively, in northeastern Ohio, USA. Wet sieve analysis and gravity fractionation techniques were used to separate samples in aggregate and particle size groups, respectively. In the Stark County farms water stable aggregate (WSA) is higher in wooded (W) controls (WSA = 94.8%) than in cultivated soils with poultry manure (PM, 78.7%) and with chemical fertilizers (CF, 79.0%). Manure applications did not increase aggregation compared to unmanured soils. The C concentrations (%) within aggregates (C_agg) are higher in W than in cultivated soils (W = 5.82, PM = 2.11, CF = 1.96). Soil C (%) is enriched in the clay (W = 9.87, PM = 4.17, CF = 4.21) compared to silt (4.26, 1.04 and 0.98, respectively) and sand (0.93, 0.14 and 0.32, respectively) fractions. In the Geauga County farm, continuous corn (CC) with conventional tillage has lower WSA (83.1%) than soils with rotations (R) (93.9%), dairy manure (DM) application (93.2%) and no-till (NT) (91.1%). The C concentrations within macroaggregates (C_agg) were higher in W soils (4.84%) than in cultivated soils (ranging from 2.65 to 1.75%). The C (%) is enriched in clay (W = 8.56, CC = 4.18, R = 5.17, DM = 5.73, NT = 4.67) compared to silt (W = 2.35, CC = 0.90, R = 0.96, DM = 1.57, NT = 1.06) and sand (W = 0.44, CC = 0.33, R = 0.13, DM = 0.41, NT = 0.18). Cultivation decreased C concentration whereas reduced tillage, rotation and manure enhanced C concentration in soil.     

Surface-active properties of particle size fractions in two humic acids

The relationships between surface active properties and humic acid (HA) particle sizes were investigated. Two HAs from an Ando soil and a Brown forest soil were separated into 6 particle size fractions by gel permeation chromatography. Surface-active properties characterized by surface excess value (\gT mol cm^-2), cross-sectional surface area per molecule (A nm²), critical micelle concentration (CMC g L^-1), efficiency and effectiveness of water surface tension reduction were obtained by the measurement of the surface tension of HA solutions from different particle size fractions. For the HA from the Ando soil, except for the smallest particle size fraction, increasing particle size enhanced the efficiency of reduction of the water surface tension and decreased the CMC, while the effectiveness of reduction of the water surface tension was about the same. The surface activity of the HA from the Ando soil increased with increasing particle size. This phenomenon was similar to the surface activity of a homologous series of surfactants, which increased with increasing alkyl chain length. For the HA from the Brown forest soil, the smallest particle size fraction and three large fractions showed a high efficiency, namely a high surface activity. The smallest fraction from the Brown forest soil showed the highest efficiency and the lowest CMC value. In both HAs, the smallest particle size fraction showed exceptional surface-active properties compared with the other fractions and three fractions with large particle size showed a higher surface activity than other smaller fractions.     

Isolation and characterization of labile organic phosphorus pools in soils from the Askov long‐term field experiments

Isolierung und Kennzeichnung des labilen organischen Phosphor‐Pools in Böden des Langzeitdüngungsexperimentes Askov Labiler organischer Phosphor (P_o) im Boden spielt eine wichtige Rolle in der P‐Ernährung der Pflanzen und ist bedeutend hinsichtlich der Gewässereutrophierung. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden neuere Ergebnisse zu den Eigenschaften des labilen P_o und seiner Reaktion auf unterschiedliche Düngungssysteme diskutiert. Die Untersuchungen fanden an Böden des Langzeitexperimentes zur organischen und anorganischen Düngung in Askov statt. Unser analytischer Ansatz basierte auf einer Kombination der Extraktion von labilem P_o mittels makroporösem Anionenaustauscher‐Harz und der Kennzeichnung von Struktur und Herkunft des NaOH‐extrahierbaren P_o mittels ³¹P‐NMR‐Spektroskopie. Die Analysen wurden an der Feinerde und an Korngrößenfraktionen durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Harz‐Extraktion einen aktiven Pool an P_o isoliert, welcher v.a. aus mikrobiell synthetisierten Strukturen besteht. Die Größe dieses Pools variiert im Jahresgang und hängt von der P‐Düngung ab. Die Art des Düngers (NPK gegenüber Stallmist und Gülle) scheint demgegenüber den labilen P_o kaum zu beeinflussen. Der größte Teil des leicht verfügbaren P_o ist in der Tonfraktion lokalisiert. Es ist daher zu schließen, dass diese Fraktion wichtig im kurzfristigen Umsatz von P_o ist.     

矿区复垦土壤碳组分对外源碳输入的响应特征

研究外源碳输入对复垦土壤有机碳及组分的影响,对于深入探究矿区复垦土壤有机碳提升及培肥管理具有重要意义。本文依托山西省襄垣县采煤沉陷复垦区的长期定位试验,研究了矿区复垦土壤碳组分对不同外源碳(生物炭、堆肥、沼渣、牛粪与秸秆)输入的响应特征。分别在2011年与2016年对矿区复垦土壤样品进行采集,测定0～20 cm土层土壤有机碳、易氧化有机碳、活性碳库Ⅰ、Ⅱ的含量。结果表明,生物炭处理的土壤有机碳增长率和年变化量较对照(CK,无外源碳添加)分别增加101.80%和0.56g·kg–1·a–1,且均显著高于其他有机物料处理;生物炭、牛粪处理土壤0～20 cm土层固碳量较CK分别提高100.52%和91.52%,二者间差异不显著,均显著高于其他有机物料处理,堆肥、沼渣和秸秆处理间对土壤固碳量的提升作用不显著。添加有机物料均能显著增加复垦土壤易氧化有机碳的增长率和年变化量,均表现为堆肥处理最高,较CK分别增加12.37%和0.16 g·kg–1·a–1。复垦土壤活性碳库Ⅰ、Ⅱ的增长率和年变化量均为牛粪处理显著高于其他有机物料处理。有机物料添加均能提高土壤稳定性有机碳含量,与CK相比,生物炭和牛粪处理的提高幅度最大,显著高于其他有机物料,而牛粪与生物碳之间差异不显著。生物炭处理碳库管理指数最高,分别较堆肥、沼渣、牛粪、秸秆处理提高36.30%、52.23%、41.50%、52.02%。施用生物炭、堆肥、沼渣、牛粪与秸秆都能显著提升复垦土壤各碳组分含量和碳库管理指数,施用生物炭的效果最优,因此施用生物炭可作为矿区复垦土壤有机碳提升的有效管理措施。     

长期施肥红壤性稻田和旱地土壤有机碳积累差异

  【目的】  提高土壤有机碳水平对提升农田生产力有重要意义。基于长期定位施肥试验,比较施肥影响下相同成土母质发育的红壤性稻田和旱地土壤的总有机碳 (TOC) 及其组分的积累差异,以深入理解红壤有机碳的固持及稳定机制。  【方法】  稻田和旱地长期施肥试验分别始于1981和1986年,包含CK (不施肥对照)、NPK (施氮磷钾化肥) 和NPKM (有机无机肥配施) 3个处理,在2017年晚稻和晚玉米收获后,采集两个试验上述处理的耕层 (0—20 cm) 土样,通过硫酸水解法分离土壤活性与惰性有机碳,测定并计算土壤中TOC及其组分的含量及储量,并利用Jenny模型拟合试验期间耕层土壤TOC含量的变化动态,估算土壤固碳潜力。  【结果】  与CK相比,长期施肥可提高稻田和旱地土壤各有机碳组分的含量,且NPKM处理的效果优于NPK处理。相比于稻田土壤,施肥对旱地土壤各有机碳组分含量的提升更加明显。NPK和NPKM处理下,旱地土壤活性有机碳组分Ⅰ、活性有机碳组分Ⅱ、惰性有机碳含量的增幅分别是稻田土壤的2.7、2.7、5.8倍和2.0、1.4和2.5倍。不论施肥与否,稻田土壤TOC的固存量和固存潜力均显著高于旱地土壤。施肥促进土壤固碳,在稻田和旱地土壤上,NPKM处理的TOC固存量分别是NPK处理的1.7和25.5倍,TOC固存潜力则分别是NPK处理的1.4和5.8倍。长期不同施肥均显著提高稻田和旱地土壤年均碳投入量,线性拟合方程表明,随碳投入量增加,土壤活性有机碳储量的累积对稻田、旱地土壤TOC储量累积的贡献率分别达64.7%、44.6%。不同处理间稻田与旱地土壤活性有机碳 (包括活性有机碳组分Ⅰ与活性有机碳组分Ⅱ) 含量的差异可解释其TOC含量差异的52.9%～60.0%。  【结论】  与施氮磷钾化肥相比,有机无机肥配施可更好的促进土壤固碳,且在旱地土壤上的促进作用比在稻田土壤上更为明显。与稻田土壤相比,旱地土壤各有机碳组分含量的变化对长期施肥的响应更敏感,且在施氮磷钾化肥条件下表现更为明显。红壤性稻田和旱地土壤TOC积累的主要贡献组分分别为活性有机碳和惰性有机碳。红壤植稻虽有利于有机碳固持,但红壤性稻田土壤的活性碳占比较高,可能易因不当管理而发生损失。     

Changes in soil organic carbon stocks and soil quality: land-use system effects in northern Ethiopia

Abstract

In Tigray, Ethiopia, land degradation is a dominant environmental problem and hence the regional government has undertaken restoration measures on degraded soils since 1991. The present study was aimed to assess the impact of land uses and soil management practices on soil properties, and consequently on soil quality of degraded soils. The catchments selected were Maileba and Gum Selassa, and land uses included cultivated (CL), grazing (GL), plantation (PA) and area exclosure (AE). Replicated soil samples were collected from topsoil and profiles of four land-use types in both catchments. Soils in area exclosure showed higher soil organic carbon (SOC), total N and extractable K than grazing land, cultivated land and plantation area mainly at 0–40 cm soil depth. Estimated soil organic carbon stock at Maileba in 0–40 cm depth varied between 54 to 74 Mg C ha^?1, being lowest in cultivated land and highest in area exclosure, and the soil organic carbon stock in area exclosure represents 63% of total carbon stock stored in the profile. Soil organic carbon stock (0–40 cm) at Gum Selassa ranged between 33 to 38 Mg C ha^?1, being higher in cultivated land and lower in plantation area. Soil quality index (SQI) of area exclosure (0.794) at Maileba and cultivated land (0.721) at Gum Selassa scored highest among all land uses, and the order was area exclosure>grazing land>plantation area>cultivated land at Maileba and cultivated land>grazing land>plantation area at Gum Selassa, highlighting the effectiveness of area exclosure in restoring soil quality of degraded soils.     

长期免耕对东北地区玉米田土壤有机碳组分的影响

Increasing evidence has shown that conservation tillage is an effective agricultural practice to increase carbon (C) sequestration in soils. In order to understand the mechanisms underlying the responses of soil organic carbon (SOC) to tillage regimes, physical fractionation techniques were employed to evaluate the effect of long-term no-tillage (NT) on soil aggregation and SOC fractions. Results showed that NT increased the concentration of total SOC by 18.1% compared with conventional tillage (CT) under a long-term maize (Zea mays L.) cropping system in Northeast China. The proportion of soil large macroaggregates ( 2000 μm) was higher in NT than that in CT, while small macroaggregates (250-2000 μm) showed an opposite trend. Therefore, the total proportion of macroaggregates ( 2000 and 250-2000 μm) was not affected by tillage management. However, C concentrations of macroaggregates on a whole soil basis were higher under NT relative to CT, indicating that both the amount of aggregation and aggregate turnover affected C stabilization. Carbon concentrations of intra-aggregate particulate organic matter associated with microaggregates (iPOM m) and microaggregates occluded within macroaggregates (iPOM mM) in NT were 1.6 and 1.8 times greater than those in CT, respectively. Carbon proportions of iPOM m and iPOM mM in the total SOC increased from 5.4% and 6.3% in CT to 7.2% and 9.7% in NT, respectively. Furthermore, the difference in the microaggregate protected C (i.e., iPOM m and iPOM mM) between NT and CT could explain 45.4% of the difference in the whole SOC. The above results indicate that NT stimulates C accumulation within microaggregates which then are further acted upon in the soil to form macroaggregates. The shift of SOC within microaggregates is beneficial for long-term C sequestration in soil. We also corroborate that the microaggregate protected C is useful as a pool for assessing the impact of tillage management on SOC storage.     

Soil organic carbon fractions and management index after 20 yr of manure and fertilizer application for greenhouse vegetables

Impacts of organic manure and inorganic fertilizer on total organic carbon (C_T), water‐soluble organic C (C_WS), microbial biomass C (C_MB), particulate organic C (C_P), labile organic C (C_L), C storage and sequestration, and C management index (CMI) in surface soil (0–20 cm) were investigated in a 20‐yr field experiment under a greenhouse vegetable system in northeast China. The treatments included unfertilized control (CK), N fertilizer (N), balanced NPK fertilizer (NPK), organic manure alone (M) and the NPK fertilizer combined with the manure (MNPK). Under the treatments of N and NPK, C_T content and C storage were not significantly changed over the experimental period, while C_WS, C_MB, C_P, C_L concentrations and CMI were significantly increased compared with the unfertilized control. In comparison with the control, the manure treatments, M and MNPK, significantly increased C_T content and C storage, sequestrating organic C of 8.9 and 9.2 Mg/ha, respectively. The M and MNPK treatments showed higher C_WS, C_MB, C_P and C_L concentrations and CMI than the other three treatments. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were used to show that C_WS, C_MB, C_P, C_L and CMI could be useful indicators for assessing soil quality and total C changes. The M treatment is effective in sequestrating soil C, but resulted in lower crop yield compared with the NPK treatment. The MNPK treatment showed the greatest increases in crop yield and C sequestration in the greenhouse vegetable system.     

菜地土壤有机碳分级以及总量变化的动态特征研究

Fertilisers significantly affect crop production and crop biomass inputs to soil organic carbon（SOC）. However, the long-term effects of fertilisers on C associated with aggregates are not yet fully understood. Based on soil aggregate and SOC fractionation analysis, this study investigated the long-term effects of organic manure and inorganic fertilisers on the accumulation and change in SOC and its fractions, including the C concentrations of free light fraction, intra-aggregate particulate organic matter（POM） and intra-aggregate mineral-associated organic matter（MOM）. Long-term manure applications improved SOC and increased the concentrations of some C fractions. Manure also accelerated the decomposition of coarse POM（cPOM） into fine POM（fPOM） and facilitated the transformation of fPOM encrustation into intra-microaggregate POM within macroaggregates. However, the application of inorganic fertilisers was detrimental to the formation of fPOM and to the subsequent encrustation of fPOM with clay particles, thus inhibiting the formation of stable microaggregates within macroaggregates. No significant differences were observed among the inorganic fertiliser treatments in terms of C concentrations of MOM, intra-microaggregate MOM within macroaggregate（imMMOM） and intra-microaggregate MOM（imMOM）. However, the long-term application of manure resulted in large increases in C concentrations of MOM（36.35%）, imMMOM（456.31%） and imMOM（19.33%） compared with control treatment.     

Long-term fertilization and manuring effects on physically-separated soil organic matter pools under a wheat-wheat-maize cropping system in an arid region of China

With increasing food demand worldwide, agriculture in semiarid and arid regions becomes increasingly important, though knowledge about organic matter (OM) conserving management systems is scarce. This study aimed at examining organic C (OC) and nitrogen (N) concentrations in various soil OM pools affected by 26-years application of chemical fertilizer and farmyard manure at an arid site of Gansu Province, China. Macro OM (>0.05 mm) was extracted by wet sieving and then separated into light macro OM (<1.8 g cm⁻³) and heavy macro OM (>1.8 g cm⁻³) sub-fractions; bulk soil was differentiated into free particulate OM (FPOM, <1.6 g cm⁻³), occluded particulate OM (OPOM, 1.6-1.8 g cm⁻³) and mineral-associated OM (>1.8 g cm⁻³). OC and N concentrations of heavy macro OM and FPOM were slightly affected by long-term N fertilization alone and its combination with P and K, but their magnitudes of change had not significantly contributed to total soil OC and N concentrations. Farmyard manure increased light macro OC and N by 58 and 70%, heavy macro OC and N by 86 and 117%, free particulate OC and N by 29 and 55%, occluded particulate OC and N by 29 and 55%, and mineral-associated OC and N by 44 and 48%, respectively, compared to nil-manure. Mineral fertilization improved soil OM quality by decreasing C/N ratio in the light macro OM and FPOM fractions where farmyard manure was absent. Organic manure led to a decline of the C/N ratio in all physically-separated OM fractions possibly due to the increased input of processed organic materials. We found about two thirds of macro OM was actually located within 2-0.05 mm organo-mineral associations or/and aggregates. In conclusion, this study stresses the vital importance to apply organic manure to the wheat-corn production system characterized by straw removal and conventional tillage in the region.     

Regional simulation of long-term organic carbon stock changes in cropland soils using the DNDC model: 2. Scenario analysis of management options

The development of successful agricultural policies in response to the Kyoto Protocol is aided by the identification of regions where the effects of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration measures can be maximized. We describe a modelling approach which incorporates a spatial analysis of the results from regional simulation under different management alternatives. SOC stock changes in Flemish cropland soils, simulated with the DNDC model, were previously fitted to a large data set of SOC measurements for the period 1990–2000. Using the results of this study, simulations with DNDC of SOC stock changes during the period 2006–2012 including the Kyoto commitment period were carried out at the community level for a business‐as‐usual (BAU) scenario and seven alternative agricultural management options for SOC sequestration. The baseline SOC stock decreased during that period by 0.15 t OC ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ compared with 0.48 t OC ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in the 1990s. All alternative scenarios resulted in net SOC storage compared with the BAU scenario, but none of the individual scenarios were able to increase the average absolute SOC stock. Overall, spatial variability in SOC storage for the selected management options was strongly dependent on the current distribution of crops and associated management. The modelling approach used in this study provides a case study in regional scale modelling of SOC sequestration and is applicable to other regions in Europe with comparable intensive agriculture.     

The initial lignin:nitrogen ratio of litter from above and below ground sources strongly and negatively influenced decay rates of slowly decomposing litter carbon pools

Understanding the interactions between the initial biochemical composition and subsequent decomposition of plant litter will improve our understanding of its influence on microbial substrate use to explain the flow of organic matter between soil carbon pools. We determined the effects of land use (cultivation/native woodland/native pasture), litter type (above and below ground) and their interaction on the initial biochemical composition (carbon, nitrogen, water soluble carbon, lignin, tannin and cellulose) and decomposition of litter. Litter decomposition was studied as the mineralization of C from litter by microbial respiration and was measured as CO₂–C production during 105 d of laboratory incubation with soil. A two-pool model was used to quantify C mineralization kinetics. For all litter types, the active C pool decay rate constants ranged from 0.072 d⁻¹ to 0.805 d⁻¹ which represented relatively short half-lives of between 1 and 10 days, implying that this pool contained compounds that were rapidly mineralized by microbes during the initial stages of incubation. Conversely, the decay rate constants for the slow C pool varied widely between litter types within and among land uses ranging from 0.002 d⁻¹ and 0.019 d⁻¹ representing half-lives of between 37 and 446 days. In all litter types, the initial lignin:N ratio strongly and negatively influenced the decay rate of the slow C pool which implied that the interaction between these two litter quality variables had important controls over the decomposition of the litter slow C pool. We interpret our results to suggest that where the flow of C from the active pool to the slow pool is largely driven by microbial activity in soil, the rate of transfer of C will be largely controlled by the quality of litter under different land-use systems and particularly the initial lignin:N ratio of the litter. Compared with native pastures and cultivation, above and below ground litter from native woodland was characterized by higher lignin:N ratio and more slowly decomposing slow C pools which implies that litter is likely to persist in soils, however based on the sandy nature of the soils in this study, it is likely to lack protection from microbial degradation in the long term.     

Formation of sandy anthropogenic soils in NW Europe: identification of inputs based on particle size distribution

Anthropogenic sandy soils in Scotland, Denmark and The Netherlands were studied to determine the extent to which they had been influenced by inputs of materials and current land management. Particle size distribution, pH, loss on ignition, ECEC, base saturation and total P were determined for eight profiles under different land uses (arable, meadow and woodland). Inputs of materials were identified by comparison of particle size distributions of the deepened cultivated horizons with those of parent materials. At all three sites turf derived from local sources was the main input though there were other mineral additions including an aeolian component. Overall, the anthropogenic soils are remarkably similar in field and some analytical properties, though land use has influenced pH, base saturation and total P.     

Variation in amounts of carbon and nitrogen associated with particle size fractions of soils from the Palace Leas meadow hay plots

An increase in carbon (C) content of one of the more acid Palace Leas meadow hay plots (pH 4.0) is shown to occur in the >63 pm size fraction, while there is a reduction in organic matter associated with clay size fraction relative to a less acid plot (pH 5.8). Total nitrogen (N) content also is higher on the more acid plot, but the increase is smaller than for carbon, and leads to a wider overall C:N ratio in the acid plot. The lower N accumulation in the more acid plot is due to the relative increase in coarse (> 2 mm) organic matter, with a high C:N ratio. The technique used for separation of the particle size fractions does not involve removal of coarse organic matter (> 2 mm) or drying of the soil. In the grassland soils studied, coarse organic matter is a significant component (up to 13%) of total C, yet this fraction is frequently removed before analysis. By not drying the soil, separation into particle size fractions is facilitated.     

Regional simulation of long-term organic carbon stock changes in cropland soils using the DNDC model: 1. Large-scale model validation against a spatially explicit data set

Because of the large spatial and temporal variability of soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics, a modelling approach is crucial in detailed regional analyses. Several estimates of regional scale SOC sequestration potential have been made using dynamic soil organic matter (SOM) models which have been linked to spatial databases contained within a Geographic Information System. In all these previous studies, a large‐scale model validation, which provides information on the general model performance for the study area under concern, was impossible because of lack of data. A data set of over 190 000 SOC measurements, grouped as means per community and covering the period 1989–2000 was available for Flanders in northern Belgium. In order to validate the DNDC model at a large spatial scale, we used this data set along with detailed pH, soil texture and crop areas which were all available at the municipality scale to simulate SOC stocks for the entire study area during the period 1990–2000. A minor adjustment of the initial distribution of SOC in the model's SOC pool was necessary to fit the simulated SOC stock changes to the measured decrease of −475 kg OC ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ (0–30 cm). Although DNDC was able to simulate the SOC stock changes well for the whole study area, the simulated decrease in the SOC stocks was overestimated for communities predominantly having sandy textures and underestimated for communities with silt loam to silt textures. This study also urges caution with the application of SOM models at regional scales after limited validation or calibration at the field scale as these do not guarantee good simulation of spatial variation in SOC changes.     

Potential carbon stock in Japanese forest soils – simulated impact of forest management and climate change using the CENTURY model

Forest management and climate change may have a substantial impact on future soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks at the country scale. Potential SOC in Japanese forest soils was regionally estimated under nine forest managements and a climate change scenario using the CENTURY ecosystem model. Three rotations (30, 50, 100 yr) and three thinning regimes were tested: no‐thinning; 30% of the trees cut in the middle of the rotation (e.g. 15 year in a 30‐yr rotation) and thinned trees all left as litter or slash (ThinLef) and the trees from thinning removed from the forest (ThinRem). A climate change scenario was tested (ca. 3 °C increase in air temperature and 9% increase in precipitation). The model was run at 1 km resolution using climate, vegetation and soil databases. The estimated SOC stock ranged from 1600 to 1830 TgC (from 6800 to 7800 gC/m²), and the SOC stock was largest with the longest rotation and was largest under ThinLef with all three rotations. Despite an increase in net primary production, the SOC stock decreased by 5% under the climate change scenario.     

长期施肥下褐土易氧化有机碳及有机碳库的变化特征

本研究探讨了24年长期施肥对褐土土壤有机碳(TOC)、有机碳储量(TOCs)、净固碳效率(NCSE)和碳库管理指数(CPMI)的影响,为评价褐土土壤碳库变化与质量及科学施肥提供理论依据。研究以褐土肥力与肥料长期定位试验为平台,通过9个处理[A组:不施肥处理(N_0P_0、CK);B组:单施无机肥处理(N_1P_1、N_2P_2、N_3P_3和N_4P_4);C组:有机肥与无机肥配施处理(N_2P_1M_1、N_3P_2M_3和N_4P_2M_2);D组:单施高量有机肥处理(M_6)]测定土壤TOC与易氧化有机碳(ROOC)含量,并计算TOCs、NCSE及CPMI等相关指标。结果表明,在不同土层不同时期施用较高量有机肥配施无机肥及施用高量有机肥(N_3P_2M_3、N_4P_2M_2和M_6)均可提高TOC和ROOC含量,且随土层深度加深提升作用减弱。TOCs、NCSE与0~20 cm土层TOC含量在时间和空间上的变化规律基本一致。施用高量有机肥(C组、D组)可有效提高TOCs,A组、B组的TOCs均值分别比C组、D组低76.77%与17.36%。长期施肥处理可提高NCSE,尤其是施用有机肥处理可显著提高NCSE。NCSE为D组C组A组=B组;D组NCSE为1 152.27 kg·hm~(-2)·a~(-1),是C组的2.51倍,B组的16.20倍。与试验前相比,C组和D组的CPMI无显著变化,且C组与D组间差异不显著,但A组与B组比试验前降低16.38~40.02。与A组(CK)相比,B组中N1P1处理与C、D组处理显著影响CPMI,提高了23.30~45.67。在0~40 cm土层CPMI与ROOC含量呈显著正相关,CPMI可以很好地指示有机碳的变化。可见,施用高量有机肥或者较高量有机肥与无机肥配施可极显著提高褐土土壤TOCs、NCSE和CPMI,即施用高量有机肥或者较高量有机肥与无机肥配施(N_3P_2M_3和N_4P_2M_2)有利于褐土有机碳的固存,可减少无机肥的施用量,使土壤性质向良性方向发展,培肥土壤。