Land-Use Change Enhanced SOC Mineralization but Did Not Significantly Affect Its Storage in the Surface Layer

Haikuo Zhang, Xuli Zheng, Yanjiang Cai and Scott X. Chang
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Haikuo Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Xuli Zheng: Anji County Lingfeng Temple Forest Farm, Huzhou 313302, China
Yanjiang Cai: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Scott X. Chang: State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: To achieve carbon (C) neutrality and mitigate climate change, it is crucial to understand how converting natural forests to agricultural plantations influences soil organic C (SOC) mineralization. In this study, we investigated the impact of converting evergreen broadleaf forests (EBF) to extensively managed Moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys edulis (Carriere) J. Houzeau) plantations (MBP) in subtropical China on SOC mineralization rate; the concentrations of labile SOC fractions such as dissolved organic C (DOC), microbial biomass C (MBC), and readily oxidizable C (ROC); the activities of C-degrading enzymes (cellobiohydrolase and phenol oxidase); and the abundance of C-degrading enzyme-encoding genes ( cbh I and lcc ). Three paired soil samples were taken from the surface layer (0–20 cm) of adjacent EBF-MBP sites in Anji County, Zhejiang province. Results showed that converting EBF to MBP significantly increased the SOC mineralization rate as well as soil pH, MBC, cellobiohydrolase, and phenol oxidase activities, and cbh I gene abundance, but did not change other soil properties described above. In addition, structural equation modelling (SEM) showed that the conversion increased SOC mineralization rate through increasing soil pH, cbh I gene abundance, MBC, and cellobiohydrolase and phenol oxidase activities. Our novel finding that converting EBF to extensively managed MBP enhanced SOC mineralization via increasing the activities of C-degrading enzymes suggests that C-degrading enzymes were a key factor regulating SOC mineralization in the extensively managed subtropical bamboo plantations.

Keywords: carbon-degrading enzyme activity; forest conversion; soil organic carbon mineralization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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