Spatial Variation of Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen in the Coastal Area of Mid-Eastern China

Yan Xu, Lijie Pu, Qilin Liao, Ming Zhu, Xue Yu, Tianying Mao and Chenxing Xu
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Yan Xu: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Lijie Pu: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Qilin Liao: Geological Survey of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210028, China
Ming Zhu: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Xue Yu: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Tianying Mao: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Chenxing Xu: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-12

Abstract: Soils play an important role in sequestrating atmospheric CO 2 . Coastal tidal flats have been intensively reclaimed for food security and living spaces worldwide. We aimed to identify the changes of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) following coastal reclamation and their spatial variation in the coastal area of mid-Eastern China to provide information for coastal cropland management. We measured SOC and TN of 463 soil samples in the coastal plain of mid-Eastern China. The results showed that SOC and TN increased highly from the uncultivated coastal tidal flat (2.49 g·kg −1 and 0.21 g·kg −1 , respectively) to the cropland (10.73 g·kg −1 and 1.3 g·kg −1 , respectively). After long-term cultivation, SOC and TN in the old farmland (12.98 g·kg −1 and 1.49 g·kg −1 , respectively) were greater than those in the young farmland (5.76 g·kg −1 and 0.86 g·kg −1 , respectively). The density of SOC in the uncultivated coastal tidal flat, young farmland, and old farmland were 0.68 kg·C·m −2 , 1.52 kg·C·m −2 , and 3.31 kg·C·m −2 , respectively. The density of TN in the uncultivated coastal tidal flat, young farmland and old farmland were 0.05 kg·N·m −2 , 0.23 kg·N·m −2 , and 0.38 kg·N·m −2 , respectively. The C/N (11.17) in the uncultivated coastal tidal flat was highest comparing to that in the young and old farmland due to lower nitrogen. The C/N increased from 6.78 to 8.71 following cultivation. Reclaimed coastal tidal flats had high carbon and nitrogen sequestration potential that not only mitigated the threat of global warming, but also improved soil fertility for crop production. Coastal management of cropland should consider the spatial distribution of SOC and TN to improve ecosystem services of coastal soils.

Keywords: ecosystem services; coastal reclamation; carbon sequestration; prograding coast (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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