Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8bljj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-18T23:01:03.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Local-Scale Spatial Variability of Soil Organic Carbon and its Stock in the Hilly Area of the Loess Plateau, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Yafeng Wang ,
Bojie Fu ,
Yihe Lü ,
Chengjun Song  and
Yong Luan
Yafeng Wang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, PR China
Bojie Fu*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, PR China
Yihe Lü
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, PR China
Chengjun Song
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, PR China
Yong Luan
Affiliation:
School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, PR China
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +86 10 62923557. E-mail address:bfu@rcees.ac.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the key components for assessing soil quality. Meanwhile, the changes in the stocks SOC may have large potential impact on global climate. It is increasingly important to estimate the SOC stock precisely and to investigate its variability. In this study, Yangjuangou watershed was selected to investigate the SOC distribution under different land uses. We found that SOC concentration decreased with increasing soil depth under all land uses and was significantly different across the vertical soil profile (P < 0.01). However, considering effect of land use on SOC, it is only significant (P < 0.01) in the topsoil (0–5 cm) layer. This indicated that land use has a large effect on the stocks of SOC in the surface soil. The stratification ratio of SOC > 1.2 may mean that soil quality is improving. The order of the SOC density (0–30 cm) under different land uses is forestland > orchard land > grassland > immature forestland > terraced cropland. The SOC stock is found to be as large as 2.67 × 10 t (0–30 cm) in this watershed. Considering time effect of restoration, the slope cropland just abandoned is more efficient for SOC accumulation than trees planted in the semi-arid hilly loess area.

Keywords

Soil organic carbon (SOC)Land-use changeSoil qualityStratification ratioLoess Plateau
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 73 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 70 - 76
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ardö, J., Olsson, L., (2003). Assessment of soil organic carbon in semi-arid Sudan using GIS and the CENTURY model. Journal of Arid Environments 54, 633–651.Google Scholar
Bernoux, M., Carvalho, M.D.S., Volkoff, B., Cerrib, C.C., (2002). Brazil's soil carbon stocks. Soil Science Society of America Journal 66, 888–896.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhatti, J.S., Apps, M.J., Jiang, H., (2002). Influence of nutrients, disturbances and site conditions on carbon stocks along a boreal forest transect in central Canada. Plant Soil 242, 1–14.Google Scholar
Bohn, H.L., (1976). Estimate of organic carbon in world soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 40, 468–470.Google Scholar
Bolin, B., (1977). Change of land biota and their importance for the carbon cycle. Science 196, 613–615.Google Scholar
Chen, L.D., Gong, J., Fu, B.J., Huang, Z.L., Huang, Y.L., Gui, L.D., (2007a). Effect of land use conversion on soil organic carbon sequestration in the loess hilly area, loess plateau of China. Ecological Research 22, 641–648.Google Scholar
Chen, L.D., Huang, Z.L., Gong, J., Fu, B.J., Huang, Y.L., (2007b). The effect of land cover/vegetation on soil water dynamic in the hilly area of the loess plateau, China. Catena 70, 200–208.Google Scholar
Degryze, S., Six, J., Paustian, K., Morris, S., Paul, E.A., Merckx, R., (2004). Soil organic carbon pool changes following land-use conversion. Global Change Biology 10, 1120–1132.Google Scholar
Fang, J.Y., Liu, G.H., Xu, S.L., (1996). The carbon pool of the terrestrial ecosystems in China. Wang, G.C., Wen, Y.P. Monitoring and Relevant Process of Greenhouse Gas Concentration and Emission.China Environmental Science Press, Beijing.109–128. (in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar
Follett, R.F., (2001). Soil management concepts and carbon sequestration in cropland soils. Soil Tillage Research 61, 77–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franzluebbers, A.J., (2002). Soil organic matter stratification ratio as an indicator of soil quality. Soil Tillage Research 66, 95–106.Google Scholar
Franzluebbers, A.J., Hons, F.M., Zuberer, D.A., (1998). In situ and potential CO2 evolution from a Fluventic Ustochrept in southcentral Texas as affected by tillage and cropping intensity. Soil Tillage Research 47, 303–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fu, B.J., Chen, L.D., Ma, K.M., Zhou, H.F., Wang, J., (2000). The relationships between land use and soil conditions in the hilly area of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi, China. Catena 39, 69–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fu, B.J., Chen, L.D., Qiu, Y., Wang, J., Meng, Q.H., (2002). Land Use Structure and Ecological Processes in the Losses Hilly Area, China. Commercial Press, Beijing.1–50. (in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar
Gregorich, E.G., Carter, M.R., Angers, D.A., Monreal, C.M., Ellert, B.H., (1994). Toward a minimum data set to assess soil organic-matter quality in agricultural soils. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 74, 885–901.Google Scholar
Grünzweig, J.M., Lin, T., Rotenberg, E., Schwartz, A., Yakir, D., (2003). Carbon sequestration in arid-land forest. Global Change Biology 9, 791–799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IPCC Land-use, land-use change, and forestry. Watson, R.T., Noble, I.R., Bolin, B.R., Ravindranath, N.H., Verardo, D.J., Dokken, D.J., (2000). Land-use, Land-use Change, and Forestry, A Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Cambridge University Press, UK.1–51.Google Scholar
Lal, R., (2002). Soil carbon dynamics in cropland and rangeland. Environmental Pollution 116, 353–362.Google Scholar
Lal, R., (2004). Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science 304, 1623–1627.Google Scholar
Li, Z., Zhao, Q.G., (2001). Organic carbon content and distribution in soils under different land uses in tropical and subtropical China. Plant Soil 231, 175–185.Google Scholar
Li, X.L., Tian, J.Y., Zhang, C.E., (1992). A study on effects of different types of forest on the loess plateau on physical properties of soil. Science Silvae Sinica 28, 98–106. (in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar
Li, Y., Yang, J., Zhu, Y., (1997). Using 137Cs and 210Pb to assess the sediment sources in a dam reservoir catchment on the Loess Plateau, China. China Nuclear Sciences and Technology Report. Atomic Energy Press, Beijing.1–15.Google Scholar
Li, K.R., Wang, S.Q., Cao, M.K., (2004). Vegetation and soil carbon storage in China. Science in China Ser. D Earth Sciences 47, 49–57.Google Scholar
Liu, G.S., Jiang, N.H., Zhang, L.D., Liu, Z.L., (1996). Soil Physical and Chemical Analysis and Description of Soil Profile. China Standardization Publishing House, Beijing.131–134. (in Chinese)Google Scholar
Liu, M.Y., An, S.S., Chang, Q.R., (2005). Features of soil organic carbon under different land use in mountain area of southern Ningxia. Resource and Soil Water Conservation 12, 47–49. (in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar
McCarty, G.W., Lyssenko, N.N., Starr, J.L., (1998). Short-term changes in soil carbon and nitrogen pools during tillage management transition. Soil Science Society of America Journal 62, 1564–1571.Google Scholar
McGrath, D., Zhang, C., (2003). Spatial distribution of soil organic carbon concentrations in grassland of Ireland. Applied Geochemistry 18, 1629–1639.Google Scholar
(2000). National Environmental Protection Bureau. Report on Chinese ecological problems.China Environmental Science Press, Peking.50–110. (in Chinese)Google Scholar
Pan, G.X., Li, L.Q., Zhang, X.H., (2002). Perspectives on issues of soil carbon pools and global change: With suggestions for studying organic carbon sequestration in paddy soils of China. Journal of Nanjing Agricultural University 25, 100–109. (in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar
Pan, G.X., Li, L.Q., Wu, L.S., Zhang, X.H., (2003). Storage and sequestration potential of topsoil organic carbon in China's paddy soils. Global Change Biology 10, 79–92.Google Scholar
Pascual, J.A., Garcia, C., Hernandez, T., Moreno, J.L., Ros, M., (2000). Soil microbial activity as a biomarker of degradation and remediation processes. Soil Biology Biochemistry 32, 1877–1883.Google Scholar
Peng, L., Yu, C.Z., (1995). Nutrient losses in soils on Loess Plateau. Pedosphere 5, 83–92.Google Scholar
Schwager, S.J., Mikhailova, E.A., (2002). Estimating variability in soil organic carbon storage using the method of statistical differentials. Soil Science 167, 194–200.Google Scholar
Shi, H., Shao, M.A., (2000). Soil and water loss from the Loess Plateau in China. Journal of the Arid Environments 45, 9–20.Google Scholar
Squires, V.R., (1998). Dryland soils: their potential as a sink for carbon and as an agent to mitigate climate change. Advances in GeoEcology 31, 209–215.Google Scholar
Venteris, E.R., McCarty, G.W., Ritchie, J.C., Gish, T., (2004). Influence of management history and landscape variables on soil organic carbon and soil redistribution. Soil Science 169, 787–795.Google Scholar
Wu, J.G., Zhang, X.Q., Xu, D.Y., (2004). The mineralization of soil organic carbon under different land uses in the Liupan mountain forest zone. Acta Phytoecological Sinica 28, 530–538. (in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar
Xie, X.L., Sun, B., Zhou, H.Z., Li, A.B., (2004). Soil organic carbon storage in China. Pedosphere 14, 491–500.Google Scholar
Xu, Y., Tian, J.L., (2004). The evaluating method of eco-environment restoration pattern, a case study of the loess hilly-gully region. Acta Geographic Sinica 59, 621–628. (in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar
Xu, X.L., Zhang, K.L., Xu, X.L., Peng, W.Y., (2003). Spatial distribution and estimating of soil organic carbon on Loess Plateau. Journal of Soil and Water Conversation 17, 13–15. (in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar
Zhang, J.T., (2005). Succession analysis of plant communities in abandoned cropland in the Loess Plateau of China. Journal of the Arid Environments 63, 458–474.Google Scholar
Zhu, X.M., (1999). Rapid and overall recovery of vegetation cover is the foundation of eliminating river disasters. Soil and Water Conservation in China 10, 29–31. (in Chinese with English abstract)Google Scholar