Processes and lands for sequestering carbon in the tropical forest landscape

Balancing the C budget in the tropics has been hindered by the assumption that those forests not undergoing deforestation are in C steady state with respect to their C pools and thus with the atmosphere. The long history of human activity in tropical forests suggests otherwise. In this paper we discuss the forest compartments into which C can be stored, what the likely rates of storage are and for how long, and over which areas of the tropical landscape these processes occur. Results of our analysis suggest that tropical forests have the potential to sequester up to 2.5 Pg C yr^?1 from the atmosphere if human pressure could be completely removed. Addition of agroecosystems and degraded lands could increase this estimate markedly.     

The interaction of climate and land use in future terrestrial carbon storage and release

The processes controlling total carbon (C) storage and release from the terrestrial biosphere are still poorly quantified. We conclude from analysis of paleodata and climate biome model output that terrestrial C exchanges since the last glacial maximum (LGM) were dominated by slow processes of C sequestration in soils, possibly modified by C starvation and reduced water use efficiency of trees during the LGM. Human intrusion into the C cycle was immeasurably small. These processes produced an averaged C sink in the terrestrial biosphere on the order of 0.05 Pg yr^?1 during the past 10,000 years. In contrast, future C cycling will be dominated by human activities, not only from increasing C release with burning of fossil fuels, and but also from indirect effects which increase C storage in the terrestrial biosphere (CO₂ fertilization; management of C by technology and afforestation; synchronous early forest succession from widespread cropland abandonment) and decrease C storage in the biosphere (synchronous forest dieback from climatic stress; warming-induced oxidation of soil C; slowed forest succession; unfinished tree life cycles; delayed immigration of trees; increasing agricultural land use). Comparison of the positive and negative C flux processes involved suggests that if the C sequestration processes are important, they likely will be so during the next few decades, gradually being counteracted by the C release processes. Based only on tabulating known or predicted C flux effects of these processes, we could not determine if the earth will act as a significant C source from dominance by natural C cycle processes, or as a C sink made possible only by excellent earth stewardship in the next 50 to 100 yrs. Our subsequent analysis concentrated on recent estimates of C release from forest replacement by increased agriculture. Those results suggest that future agriculture may produce an additional 0.6 to 1.2 Pg yr^?1 loss during the 50 to 100 years to CO₂ doubling if the current ratio of farmed to potentially-farmed land is maintained; or a greater loss, up to a maximum of 1.4 to 2.8 Pg yr^?1 if all potential agricultural land is farmed.     

Boreal forests and tundra

The circumpolar boreal biomes coverca. 2 10⁹ ha of the northern hemisphere and containca. 800 Pg C in biomass, detritus, soil, and peat C pools. Current estimates indicate that the biomes are presently a net C sink of 0.54 Pg C yr^?1. Biomass, detritus and soil of forest ecosystems (includingca. 419 Pg peat) containca. 709 Pg C and sequester an estimated 0.7 Pg C yr^?1. Tundra and polar regions store 60–100 Pg C and may recently have become a net source of 0.17 Pg C yr^?1. Forest product C pools, including landfill C derived from forest biomass, store less than 3 Pg C but increase by 0.06 Pg C yr^?1. The mechanisms responsible for the present boreal forest net sink are believed to be continuing responses to past changes in the environment, notably recovery from the little ice-age, changes in forest disturbance regimes, and in some regions, nutrient inputs from air pollution. Even in the absence of climate change, the C sink strength will likely be reduced and the biome could switch to a C source. The transient response of terrestrial C storage to climate change over the next century will likely be accompanied by large C exchanges with the atmosphere, although the long-term (equilibrium) changes in terrestrial C storage in future vegetation complexes remains uncertain. This transient response results from the interaction of many (often non-linear) processes whose impacts on future C cycles remain poorly quantified. Only a small part of the boreal biome is directly affected by forest management and options for mitigating climate change impacts on C storage are therefore limited but the potential for accelerating the atmospheric C release are high.     

Assessment of C budget for grasslands and drylands of the world

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates indicate that potential changes in seasonal rainfall and temperature patterns in central North America and the African Sahel will have a greater impact on biological response (such as plant production and biogeochemical cycling) and feedback to climate than changes in the overall amount of annual rainfall. Simulation of grassland and dryland ecosystem responses to climate and CO₂ changes demonstrates the sensitivity of plant productivity and soil C storage to projected changes in precipitation, temperature and atmospheric CO₂. Using three different land cover projections, changes in C levels in the grassland and dryland regions from 1800 to 1990 were estimated to be ?13.2, ?25.5 and ?14.7 Pg, i.e., a net source of C due to land cover removal resulting from cropland conversion. Projections into the future based on a double-CO₂ climate including climate-driven shifts in biome areas by the year 2040 resulted in a net sink of +5.6, +27.4 and +26.8 Pg, respectively, based upon sustainable grassland management. The increase in C storage resulted mainly from an increase in area for the warm grassland sub-biome, together with increased soil organic matter. Preliminary modeling estimates of soil C losses due to 50 yr of regressive land management in these grassland and dryland ecoregions result in a 11 Pg loss relative to current conditions, and a potential loss of 37 Pg during a 50 yr period relative to sustainable land-use practices, an average source of 0.7 Pg C yr^?1. Estimates of the cost of a 20 yr rehabilitation program are 5 to 8×10⁹ US$ yr^?1, for a C sequestering cost of approximately 10 US$ per tC.     

Offsetting global CO2 emissions by restoration of degraded soils and intensification of world agriculture and forestry

Increase in atmospheric concentration of CO₂ from 285 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in 1850 to 370 ppm in 2000 is attributed to emissions of 270 ± 30 Pg carbon (C) from fossil fuel combustion and 136 ± 55 Pg C by land‐use change. Present levels of anthropogenic emissions involve 6·3 Pg C by fossil fuel emissions and 1·8 Pg C by land‐use change. Out of the historic loss of terrestrial C pool of 136 ± 55 Pg, 78 ± 12 Pg is due to depletion of soil organic carbon (SOC) pool comprising 26 ± 9 Pg due to accelerated soil erosion. A large proportion of the historic SOC lost can be resequestered by enhancing the SOC pool through converting to an appropriate land use and adopting recommended management practices (RMPs). The strategy is to return biomass to the soil in excess of the mineralization capacity through restoration of degraded/desertified soils and intensification of agricultural and forestry lands. Technological options for agricultural intensification include conservation tillage and residue mulching, integrated nutrient management, crop rotations involving cover crops, practices which enhance the efficiency of water, plant nutrients and energy use, improved pasture and tree species, controlled grazing, and judicious use of inptus. The potential of SOC sequestration is estimated at 1–2 Pg C yr⁻¹ for the world, 0·3–0·6 Pg C yr⁻¹ for Asia, 0·2–0·5 Pg C yr⁻¹ for Africa and 0·1–0·3 Pg C yr⁻¹ for North and Central America and South America, 0·1–0·3 Pg C yr⁻¹ for Europe and 0·1–0·2 Pg C yr⁻¹ for Oceania. Soil C sequestration is a win–win strategy; it enhances productivity, improves environment moderation capacity, and mitigates global warming. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Carbon trends of productive temperate forests of the coterminous United States

Carbon trends of U. S. timberlands reflect past and current harvesting patterns and forest growth. Using periodic forest inventory data coupled with the Carbon Budget Model, we estimate C inventory from 1952 to the present, and project future trends through 2070. Two sets of projections are presented, one based on economically derived harvest levels and the other assuming no harvests after 1990. Productive forests sequester an average of 250 Tg C yr^?1 from 1952–1987, but projections under expected harvests assuming no changes in growing conditions indicate this rate will fall to 60 Tg C yr^?1 from 1987 to at least 2050, and then become a C source by 2070. Carbon sequestered in products and landfills over the projection period average 75 Tg C yr^?1. An estimated 328 Tg C yr^?1 would be sequestered if harvesting ceased.     

Forest management and carbon storage: An analysis of 12 key forest nations

Forests of the world sequester and conserve more C than all other terrestrial ecosystems and account for 90% of the annual C flux between the atmosphere and the Earth's land surface. Preliminary estimates indicate that forest and agroforest management practices throughout the world can enhance the capability of forests to sequester C and reduce accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Yet of the 3600 × 10⁶ ha of forests in the world today, only about 10% (350×10⁶ ha) are actively managed. The impetus to expand lands managed for forestry or agroforestry purposes lies primarily with nations having forest resources. In late 1990, an assessment was initiated to evaluate the biological potential and initial site costs of managed forest and agroforest systems to sequester C. Within the assessment, 12 key forested nations were the focus of a special analysis: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, former USSR, and USA. These nations contain 59% of the world's natural forests and are representative of the world's boreal, temperate, and tropical forest biomes. Assessment results indicate that though the world's forests are contained in 138 nations, a subset of key nations, such as the 12 selected for this analysis, can significantly contribute to the global capability to sequester C through managed tree crops. Collectively, the 12 nations are estimated to have the potential to store 25.7 Pg C, once expanded levels of practices such as reforestation, afforestation, natural regeneration and agroforestry are implemented and maintained. Initial site costs based upon establishment costs for management practices are less than US$33/Mg C.     

Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization on the ratio of activities of carbon-acquiring to nitrogen-acquiring enzymes in a primary lowland tropical rainforest in Borneo,Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Previous meta-analyses revealed that the ratio of activities of carbon (C)-acquiring enzyme to nitrogen (N)-acquiring enzymes in tropical forest ecosystems was nearly identical to those in other ecosystems, despite of the N-rich condition in tropical forests. This could be explained by microbes in tropical forest soils, which require a large amount of N to produce N-rich acid phosphatase (AP) for catalyzation of the organic form of phosphorus (P) and compensation for poor P availability in soils. Based on this idea, we hypothesized that experimental P fertilization would reduce the allocation to N-acquiring enzymes compared with that of C-acquiring enzymes, i.e. that it would increase the ratios of activities of β-1,4-glucosidase (BG) to β-1,4-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). We tested this hypothesis using an experimental fertilization site with factorial N (100 kg ha^?1 yr^?1) and P (50 kg ha^?1 yr^?1) addition in a primary tropical lowland forest in Bornean Malaysia, where our earlier work demonstrated that P fertilization reduced AP activity. Contrary to our hypothesis, the BG:NAG and BG:(NAG + LAP) ratios were not altered by either N or P fertilizations. This result indicated that AP production was not a reason for the maintenance of a relatively high investment in N-acquiring enzyme at our study site. Rather, NAG and LAP production was likely driven by C acquisition, rather than N acquisition, as the target substrates contained C as well as N. This idea was supported by the fact that neither the BG:NAG ratio nor the BG:(NAG + LAP) ratio was elevated by N addition. We propose that the ratios of activities of BG to NAG and LAP do not necessarily indicate the ratio of C:N acquisition, at least in our N-rich tropical forest ecosystem.     

Soil carbon sequestration in China through agricultural intensification,and restoration of degraded and desertified ecosystems

The industrial emission of carbon (C) in China in 2000 was about 1 Pg yr⁻¹, which may surpass that of the United States (1ċ84 Pg C) by 2020. China's large land area, similar in size to that of the United States, comprises 124 Mha of cropland, 400 Mha of grazing land and 134 Mha of forestland. Terrestrial C pool of China comprises about 35–60 Pg in the forest and 120–186 Pg in soils. Soil degradation is a major issue affecting 145 Mha by different degradative processes, of which 126 Mha are prone to accelerated soil erosion. Total annual loss by erosion is estimated at 5ċ5 Pg of soil and 15ċ9 Tg of soil organic carbon (SOC). Erosion‐induced emission of C into the atmosphere may be 32–64 Tg yr⁻¹. The SOC pool progressively declined from the 1930s to 1980s in soils of northern China and slightly increased in those of southern China because of change in land use. Management practices that lead to depletion of the SOC stock are cultivation of upland soils, negative nutrient balance in cropland, residue removal, and soil degradation by accelerated soil erosion and salinization and the like. Agricultural practices that enhance the SOC stock include conversion of upland to rice paddies, integrated nutrient management based on liberal use of biosolids and compost, crop rotations that return large quantities of biomass, and conservation‐effective systems. Adoption of recommended management practices can increase SOC concentration in puddled soil, red soil, loess soils, and salt‐affected soils. In addition, soil restoration has a potential to sequester SOC. Total potential of soil C sequestration in China is 105–198 Tg C yr⁻¹ of SOC and 7–138 Tg C yr⁻¹ for soil inorganic carbon (SIC). The accumulative potential of soil C sequestration of 11 Pg at an average rate of 224 Tg yr⁻¹ may be realized by 2050. Soil C sequestration potential can offset about 20 per cent of the annual industrial emissions in China. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of two methods to assess the carbon budget of forest biomes in the Former Soviet Union

The sink of CO₂ and the C budget of forest biomes of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) were assessed with two distinct methods: (1) ecosystem/ecoregional, and (2) forest statistical data. The ecosystem/ecoregional method was based on the integration of ecoregions (defined with a GIS analysis of several maps) with soil/vegetation C data bases. The forest statistical approach was based on data on growing stock, annual increment of timber, and FSU yield tables. Applying the ecosystem/ecoregional method, the area of forest biomes in the FSU was estimated at 1426.1 Mha (10⁶ ha); forest ecosystems comprised 799.9 Mha, non-forest ecosystems and arable land comprised 506.1 and 119.9 Mha, respectively. The FSU forested area was 28% of the global area of closed forests. Forest phytomass (i.e., live plant mass), mortmass (i.e., coarse woody debris), total forest plant mass, and net increment in vegetation (NIV) were estimated at 57.9 t C ha^?1, 15.5 t C ha^?1, 73.4 t C ha^?1, and 1.0 t C ha^?1 yr^?1, respectively. The 799.9 Mha area of forest ecosystems calculated in the ecosystem/ecoregional method was close to the 814.2 Mha reported in the FSU forest statistical data. Based on forest statistical data forest phytomass was estimated at 62.7 t C ha^?1, mortmass at 37.6 t C ha^?1; thus the total forest plant mass C pool was 100.3 t C ha^?1. The NIV was estimated at 1.1 t C ha^?1 yr^?1. These estimates compared well with the estimates for phytomass, total forest plant mass, and NIV obtained from the ecosystem/ecoregional method. Mortmass estimated from the forest statistical data method exceeded the estimate based on the ecosystem/ecoregional method by a factor of 2.4. The ecosystem/ecoregional method allowed the estimation of litter, soil organic matter, NPP (net primary productivity), foliage formation, total and stable soil organic matter accumulation, and peat accumulation (13.9 t C ha^?1, 125.0 t C ha^?1, 3.1 t C ha^?1 yr^?1, 1.4 t C ha^?1 yr^?1, 0.11, and 0.056 t C ha^?1 yr^?1, respectively). Based on an average value of NEP (net ecosystem productivity) from the two methods, and following a consideration of anthropogenic influences, FSU forests were estimated to be a net sink of approximately 0.5 Gt C yr^?1 of atmospheric C.     

Estimating the global potential of forest and agroforest management practices to sequester carbon

Forests play a prominent role in the global C cycle. Occupying one-third of the earth's land area, forest vegetation and soils contain about 60% of the total terrestrial C. Forest biomass productivity can be enhanced by management practices, which suggests that, by this means, forests could store more C globally and thereby slow the increase in atmospheric CO₂. The question is how much C can be sequestered by forest and agroforest management practices. To address the question, a global database of information was compiled to assess quantitatively the potential of forestry practices to sequester C. The database presently has information for 94 forested nations that represent the boreal, temperate and tropical latitudes. Results indicate that the most promising management practices are reforestation in the temperate and tropical latitudes, afforestation in the temperate regions, and agroforestry and natural reforestation in the tropics. Across all practices, the median of the mean C storage values for the boreal latitudes is 16 tCha[^?1 (n=46) while in the temperate and tropical latitudes the median values are 71 tCha^?1 (n=401) and 66 tCha^?1 (n=170), respectively. Preliminary projections are that if these practices were implemented on 0.6 to 1.2×10⁹ ha of available land over a 50-yr period, approximately 50 to 100 GtC could be sequestered.     

Elevational trends in the fluxes of sulphur and nitrogen in throughfall in the Southern Appalachian Mountains: Some surprising results

From 1986–1989, a team of scientists measured atmospheric concentrations and fluxes in precipitation and throughfall, and modeled dry and cloudwater deposition in a spruce-fir forest of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which is located in the Southern Appalachian Region of the United States. The work was part of the Integrated Forest Study (IFS) conducted at 12 forests in N. America and Europe. The spruce-fir forest at 1740 m consistently received the highest total deposition rates (～2200, 1200, and 700 eq ha^?1 yr^?1 for SO₄ ^2?, NO₃ ^?, and NH₄ ⁺). During the summers of 1989 and 1990 we used multiple samplers to measure hydrologie, SO₄ ^2?, and NO₃ ^? fluxes in rain and throughfall events beneath spruce forests above (1940 m) and below (1720 m) cloud base. Throughfall was used to estimate total deposition using relationships determined during the IFS. Although the SO₄ ^2? fluxes increased with elevation by a factor of ～2 due to higher cloudwater interception at 1940 m, the NO₃ ^? fluxes decreased with elevation by ～30%. To investigate further, we began year round measurements of fluxes of all major ions in throughfall below spruce-fir forests at 1740 m and at 1920 m in 1993–1994. The fluxes of most ions showed a 10–50% increase with elevation due to the ～70 cm yr^?1 cloudwater input at 1920 m. However, total inorganic nitrogen exhibited a 40% lower flux in throughfall at 1920 m than at 1740 m suggesting either higher dry deposition to trees at 1740 m or much higher canopy uptake of nitrogen by trees at 1920 m. Differential canopy absorption of N by trees at different elevations would have significant consequences for the use of throughfall N fluxes to estimate deposition. We used artificial trees to understand the foliar interactions of N.     

After the Kyoto Protocol: Can soil scientists make a useful contribution?*

Abstract. Over 170 countries have ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which aims at ‘the stabilisation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system’. The Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997, commits the developed (‘Annex 1′) countries to a reduction in gaseous emissions. The global increase in atmospheric CO₂, the main greenhouse gas, comes mainly from fossil fuels (6.5 Gt C yr^?1), together with about 1.6 Gt C yr^?1 from deforestation. The atmospheric increase is only 3.4 Gt C yr^?1, however, due to a net sink in terrestrial ecosystems of about 2 Gt C yr^?1, and another in the oceans. Increasing net carbon sequestration by afforestation of previously non-forested land is one way of reducing net national emissions of CO₂ that is permitted under the Kyoto Protocol. Future modifications may also allow the inclusion of carbon sequestration brought about by other forestry and agricultural land management practices. However, associated changes in net fluxes of two other greenhouse gases identified in the Protocol — nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) — will have to be taken into account. Growth of biomass crops can increase N₂O emissions, and drainage of wetlands for forestry or agriculture also increases them, as well as emissions of CO₂, while decreasing those of CH₄. The problems of how to quantify these soil sources and sinks, to maximize soil C sequestration, and to minimize soil emissions of CH₄ and N₂O, will present a major scientific challenge over the next few years — one in which the soil science community will have a significant part to play.     

Impact of land use on soil organic carbon stocks in the humid tropics of NE Tanzania

The conversion of tropical forests to agricultural land use is considered as a major cause for a decline in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. However, the extent and impact of different land uses on SOC stock development is highly uncertain, especially for tropical Africa due to a lack of reliable data. Interactions of SOC with the soil mineral phase can modify the susceptibility of SOC to become mineralized. Pedogenic Fe‐, Al‐oxides and clay potentially affect SOC stabilization in highly weathered soils typically found in the humid tropics. The aim of our study was to determine the impact of different land uses on SOC stock on such soils. For that purpose, 10 pedologically similar, deeply weathered acidic soils (Acrisols, Alisols) in the Eastern Usambara Mountains (Amani Nature Reserve, NE Tanzania) under contrasting land use were sampled to a depth of 100 cm. The calculated mean SOC stocks were 17.5 kg C m^?2, 16.8 kg C m^?2, 16.9 kg C m^?2, and 20.0 kg C m^?2 for the four forests, two tea plantations, three croplands, and one homegarden, respectively. A significant difference in mean SOC stock of 1.3 kg C m^?2 was detected between forest and cropland land use for the 0–10 cm depth increment. No further significant impacts of land use on SOC stocks were observed. All soils have a clearly clay‐dominated texture. They are characterized by high content of pedogenic oxides with 29 to 47 g kg^?1 measured for the topsoils and 36 to 65 g kg^?1 for the subsoils. No positive significant relationship was found between SOC and clay content. Statistically significant positive relationships existed between oxalate‐extractable Fe, Al, and SOC content for cropland soils only. Compared to data published in literature the SOC stocks determined in our study were generally high independent of the established land use. It appears that efficient SOC stabilization mechanisms are counteracting the higher disturbance regime under agricultural land use in these highly weathered tropical soils.     

Riverine transport of atmospheric carbon: Sources,global typology and budget

Atmospheric C (TAC) is continuously transported by rivers at the continents’ surface as soil dissolved and particulate organic C (DOC, POC) and dissolved inorganic C (DIC) used in rock weathering reactions. Global typology of the C export rates (g.m^?2.yr^?1) for 14 river classes from tundra rivers to monsoon rivers is used to calculate global TAC flux to oceans estimated to 542 Tg.yr^?1, of which 37 % is as DOC, 18 % as soil POC and 45 % as DIC. TAC originates mostly from humid tropics (46 %) and temperate forest and grassland (31 %), compared to boreal forest (14 %), savannah and sub-arid regions (5 %), and tundra (4 %). Rivers also carry to oceans 80 Tg. yr^?1 of POC and 137 TG.yr^?1 of DIC originating from rock erosion. Permanent TAC storage on land is estimated to 52 Tg.yr^?1 in lakes and 17 Tg.yr^?1 in internal regions of the continents.     

Carbon sinks in mangroves and their implications to carbon budget of tropical coastal ecosystems

Nearly 50% of terrigenous materials delivered to the world's oceans are delivered through just twenty-one major river systems. These river-dominated coastal margins (including estuarine and shelf ecosystems) are thus important both to the regional enhancement of productivity and to the global flux of C that is observed in land-margin ecosystems. The tropical regions of the biosphere are the most biogeochemically active coastal regions and represent potentially important sinks of C in the biosphere. Rates of net primary productivity and biomass accumulation depend on a combination of global factors such as latitude and local factors such as hydrology. The global storage of C in mangrove biomass is estimated at 4.03 Pg C; and 70% of this C occurs in coastal margins from 0° to 10° latitude. The average rate of wood production is 12.08 Mg ha^?1 yr^?1, which is equivalent to a global estimate of 0.16 Pg C/yr stored in mangrove biomass. Together with carbon accumulation in mangrove sediments (0.02 Pg C/yr), the net ecosystem production in mangroves is about 0.18 Pg C/yr. Global estimates of export from coastal wetlands is about 0.08 Pg C/yr compared to input of 0.36 Pg C/yr from rivers to coastal ecosystems. Total allochthonous input of 0.44 Pg C/yr is lower than in situ production of 6.65 Pg C/yr. The trophic condition of coastal ecosystems depends on the fate of this total supply of 7.09 Pg C/yr as either contributing to system respiration, or becoming permanently stored in sediments. Accumulation of carbon in coastal sediments is only 0.41 Pg C/yr; about 6% of the total input. The NEP of coastal wetlands also contribute to the C sink of coastal margins, but the source of this C is part of the terrestrial C exchange with the atmosphere. Accumulation of C in wood and sediments of coastal wetlands is 0.205 Pg C/yr, half the estimate for sequestering of C in coastal sediments. Burial of C in shelf sediments is probably underestimated, particularly in tropical river-dominated coastal margins. Better estimates of these two C sinks in the tropics, coastal wetlands and shelf sediments, is needed to better understand the contribution of coastal ecosystems to the global carbon budget.     

Effects of phosphorus addition on soil microbial biomass and community composition in three forest types in tropical China

Elevated nitrogen (N) deposition in humid tropical regions may aggravate phosphorus (P) deficiency in forest on old weathered soil found in these regions. From January 2007 to August 2009, we studied the responses of soil microbial biomass and community composition to P addition (in two monthly portions at level of 15 g P m^?2 yr^?1) in three tropical forests in southern China. The forests were an old-growth forest and two disturbed forests (mixed species and pine dominated). The objective was to test the hypothesis that P addition would increase microbial biomass and change the composition of the microbial community, and that the old-growth forests would be more sensitive to P addition due to its higher soil N availability. Microbial biomass C (MBC) was estimated twice a year and the microbial community structure was quantified by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis at the end of the experiment. Addition of P significantly increased the microbial biomass and altered the microbial community composition in the old-growth forest, suggesting that P availability is one of the limiting factors for microbial growth. This was also reflected by significant increases in soil respiration after P addition. In contrast, P addition had no effect on the microbial biomass and the microbial community composition in the pine forests. Also in the mixed forest, the microbial biomass did not significantly respond to P addition, but soil respiration and the ratio of fungal-to-bacteria was significantly increased.     

Contribution of temperate forests to the world's carbon budget

Temperate forests currently cover about 600 MHa, about half of their potential. Almost all these forests have been directly impacted by humans. The total living biomass in trees (including roots) was estimated to contain 33.7 Gt C. The total C pool for the entire forest biome was estimated as 98.8 Gt. The current net sink flux of biomass was calculated at 205 Mt yr^?1, with a similar amount removed in harvests for manufacture into various products. The major cause of this C sink is forest regrowth. Forest regrowth is possible because fossil fuels are the major source of energy in temperate countries, instead of fuelwood. Future C in these forests will be greatly influenced by human activity. Options to sequester more C include conservation of forest resources, activities that increase forest productivity such as adopting rotation ages to optimize C production, afforestation, improvement of wood utilization, and waste management.     

Nitrogen flux patterns through Oxisols and Ultisols in tropical forests of Cameroon,Central Africa

We lack an understanding of nitrogen (N) cycles in tropical forests of Africa, although the environmental conditions in this region, such as soil type, vegetation, and climate, are distinct when compared with other tropical forests. Herein, we simultaneously quantified N fluxes through precipitation, throughfall, and 0-, 15-, and 30-cm soil solutions, as well as litterfall, in two forests with different soil acidity (Ultisols at the MV village (exchangeable Al³⁺ in 0–30 cm, 126 kmol_c ha^–1) and Oxisols at the AD village (exchangeable Al³⁺ in 0–30 cm, 59.8 kmol_c ha^–1)) over 2 years in Cameroon. The N fluxes to the O horizon via litterfall plus throughfall were similar for both sites (MV and AD, 243 and 273 kg N ha^–1 yr^–1, respectively). Those values were remarkably large relative to other tropical forests, reflecting the dominance of legumes in this region. The total dissolved N flux from the O horizon at the MV was 28 kg N ha^–1 yr^–1, while it was 127 kg N ha^–1 yr^–1 mainly as NO₃^–-N (~80%) at the AD. The distinctly different pattern of N cycles could be caused by stronger soil acidity at the MV, which was considered to promote a superficial root mat formation in the O horizon despite the marked dry season (fine root biomass in the O horizon and its proportion to the 1-m-soil profile: 1.5 Mg ha^–1 and 31% at the MV; 0.3 Mg ha^–1 and 9% at the AD). Combined with the published data for N fluxes in tropical forests, we have shown that Oxisols, in combination with N-fixing species, have large N fluxes from the O horizon; meanwhile, Ultisols do not have large fluxes because of plant uptake through the root mat in the O horizon. Consequently, our results suggest that soil type can be a major factor influencing the pattern of N fluxes from the O horizon via the effects of soil acidity, thereby determining the contrasting plant–soil N cycles in the tropical forests of Africa.     

Land Use and Soil Organic Carbon in China’s Village Landscapes

Village landscapes, which integrate small-scale agriculture with housing, forestry, and a host of other land use practices, cover more than 2 million square kilometers across China. Village lands tend to be managed at very fine spatial scales (≤ 30 m), with managers both adapting their practices to existing variation in soils and terrain (e.g., fertile plains vs. infertile slopes) and also altering soil fertility and even terrain by terracing, irrigation, fertilizing, and other land use practices. Relationships between fine-scale land management patterns and soil organic carbon (SOC) in the top 30 cm of village soils were studied by sampling soils within fine-scale landscape features using a regionally weighted landscape sampling design across five environmentally distinct sites in China. SOC stocks across China’s village regions (5 Pg C in the top 30 cm of 2 × 10 6 km 2 ) represent roughly 4% of the total SOC stocks in global croplands. Although macroclimate varied from temperate to tropical in this study, SOC density did not vary significantly with climate, though it was negatively correlated with regional mean elevation. The highest SOC densities within landscapes were found in agricultural lands, especially paddy, the lowest SOC densities were found in nonproductive lands, and forest lands tended toward moderate SOC densities. Due to the high SOC densities of agricultural lands and their predominance in village landscapes, most village SOC was found in agricultural land, except in the tropical hilly region, where forestry accounted for about 45% of the SOC stocks. A surprisingly large portion of village SOC was associated with built structures and with the disturbed lands surrounding these structures, ranging from 18% in the North China Plain to about 9% in the tropical hilly region. These results confirmed that local land use practices, combined with local and regional variation in terrain, were associated with most of the SOC variation within and across China’s village landscapes and may be an important cause of regional variation in SOC.