Effects of land-use types on the vertical distribution of fractions of oxidizable organic carbon on the Loess Plateau,China

The oxidizability of soil organic carbon(SOC_) influences soil quality and carbon sequestration. Four fractions of oxidizable organic carbon(very labile(C_1), labile(C_2), less labile(C_3) and non-labile(C_4)) reflect the status and composition of SOC_ and have implications for the change and retention of SOC_. Studies of the fractions of oxidizable organic carbon(OC_) have been limited to shallow soil depths and agroecosystems. How these fractions respond at deep soil depths and in other types of land-use is not clear. In this study, we evaluated the vertical distributions of the fractions of oxidizable organic carbon to a soil depth of 5.0 m in 10 land-use types in the Zhifanggou Watershed on the Loess Plateau, C_hina. Along the soil profile, C_1 contents were highly variable in the natural grassland and shrubland I(C_aragana microphylla), C_2 and C_4 contents were highly variable in the natural grassland and two terraced croplands, respectively, and C_3 contents varied little. Among the land-use types, natural grassland had the highest C__1 and C_2 contents in the 0–0.4 m layers, followed by shrubland I in the 0–0.1 m layer. Natural grassland had the highest C_4 contents in the 1.0–4.5 m layers. Natural grassland and shrubland I thus contributed to improve the oxidizability of SOC_ in shallow soil, and the deep soil of natural grassland has a large potential to sequester SOC_ on the Loess Plateau.