Storage and Stability of Soil Organic Carbon in Two Temperate Forests in Northeastern China

Dongwei Liu, Shanlong Li, Weixing Zhu (), Yongyang Wang, Shasha Zhang and Yunting Fang ()
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Dongwei Liu: CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
Shanlong Li: CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
Weixing Zhu: CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
Yongyang Wang: Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Shasha Zhang: Division of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research, Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Yunting Fang: CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Forests worldwide store large quantities of carbon (C), particularly in soils as soil organic C (SOC). In northeastern China, two dominant forest types, secondary mixed forest (MF) and larch plantation forest (LF), cover extensive areas. However, we lack an understanding of the patterns and the mechanisms of SOC storage and stabilization in MF and LF, especially in deep soil layers. This research aims to illustrate the vertical distribution and mineral protection of SOC over soil depth; we also used δ 13 C values of soil fractions to evaluate SOC stability. Samples from the surface litter (O i ), organic layer (O a+e ), and 0–40 cm mineral soils were collected from both MF and LF plots. We used two different methods to separate bulk soils into distinguished fractions: (1) macro- and micro-aggregates and the non-aggregated fraction, and (2) particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM). The C concentrations, C stocks, and δ 13 C of all soil fractions were determined. Our findings were as follows: (1) SOC was mainly stored in mineral soils and was 13.6% lower in LF (8609 ± 1180 g C m −2 ) than MF (9969 ± 2084 g C m −2 ). (2) In both MF and LF, the SOC stock was mainly stored in aggregates (averaged 92.7%); macroaggregates dominated in the surface layers (O a+e layer and 0–10 cm) but microaggregates dominated in the deep layers (10–20 cm and 20–40 cm). In mineral soils, MAOM was the dominant fraction of the C stock (averaged 81.6%). (3) The proportion of C distributed in microaggregates and MAOM increased from O a+e to the 20–40 cm layer. (4) The C/N ratios and δ 13 C values of MAOM were smaller and heavier compared to those of POM. Our study demonstrated that in both forests, aggregate formation and mineral association predominantly contributed to SOC storage, and large stocks of SOC were distributed in the deep soil. The increasing proportion of SOC in microaggregates and MAOM along the soil depth, most likely derived from microbial turnover and microbial necromass, influenced SOC stability in both forest types.

Keywords: soil carbon; stability; aggregates; mineral association; land use change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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