Precipitation Controls Topsoil Nutrient Buildup in Arid and Semiarid Ecosystems

Eduardo Medina-Roldán, Meixin Wang, Takafumi Miyasaka, Yueming Pan, Xiang Li, Bing Liu and Hao Qu ()
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Eduardo Medina-Roldán: Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Urat Desert-Grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Meixin Wang: Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Urat Desert-Grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Takafumi Miyasaka: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
Yueming Pan: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
Xiang Li: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
Bing Liu: Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Urat Desert-Grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Hao Qu: Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Urat Desert-Grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Soil nutrient buildup is a key process in nutrient-poor arid and semiarid regions. However, our knowledge of the factors that control soil nutrient buildup in these systems is still limited. An experiment was set up and carried out for five and a half years in order to investigate how precipitation and other site factors control soil nutrient buildup. Topsoil carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) derived from litter (soil nutrient buildup) were tracked twice a year at two sites differing in terms of climate and soils (Urat: arid and Naiman: semiarid, both in Inner Mongolia). Precipitation was manipulated at both sites to include seven precipitation levels: three reduced levels (−20, −40, and −60% with respect to the background), background (control), and three enhanced levels (+20, +40, and +60% with respect to the background). The dynamic buildup (i.e., amount of nutrients released among consecutive samplings) for all nutrients was controlled by precipitation (nonlinearly), site effects (lower buildup at the site dominated by aeolian pedogenesis), and seasonality (higher under warm conditions). However, the considered nutrients differed in the factor that most determined their buildup. Through studying the concurrent dynamics of litter decomposition and soil nutrient buildup, we can foresee that changes in precipitation and land degradation are most likely to affect the soil nutrient pools in these ecosystems.

Keywords: arid regions; semiarid regions; soil nutrients accrual; litter mass loss; soil nutrients availability; precipitation thresholds (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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