Impacts of Different Vegetation Types on Soil Aggregate Stability in the Key Ecological Rehabilitation Area of the Tarim River Basin, Northwest China

Qin Zhang, Chunfang Yue (), Pujia Yu, Hailiang Xu (), Kun Liu, Jie Wu and Fangyu Sheng
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Qin Zhang: College of Hydraulic and Civil Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Chunfang Yue: College of Hydraulic and Civil Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Pujia Yu: Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Karst Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Hailiang Xu: State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China
Kun Liu: College of Hydraulic and Civil Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Jie Wu: College of Hydraulic and Civil Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Fangyu Sheng: College of Hydraulic and Civil Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: Disentangling the responses of total soil organic carbon (SOC), organic carbon fractions and soil aggregate stability to various vegetation types is essential for better understanding the carbon cycling process in terrestrial ecosystems, maintaining soil quality and mitigating global warming. To study the effects of vegetation types on soil aggregates in a specific area, the desert riverbanks of arid regions were studied. We set up experiments using three typical vegetation types in the arid zone of the Tarim River Basin (TRB), including Forestland, Shrubland, and Grassland. The total SOC content in the bulk soil and different soil aggregates was determined by oxidation with K 2 Cr 2 O 7 and H 2 SO 4 , and three carbon fractions (F1, very labile; F2, inert; F3, oxidizable resistant) were classified according to the degree of oxidation using the modified Walkley-Black method. The total SOC and three carbon fractions in the soil were significantly greater in the Forestland than in the other vegetation types, and the effect was more pronounced in macro-aggregate (MA) than in the other aggregates. In the bulk soil and soil aggregates, the percentages of F1, F2 and F3 in the total SOC with mean values of 0.36%, 0.28% and 0.36%, respectively, at soil depths of 0–20 cm, indicated that stabilizing carbon is the major carbon fraction of the SOC. The stability of the SOC in the aggregates across each vegetation type was greater in the lower layer (10–20 cm) than in the topsoil layer (0–10 cm). The SOC stability and MA content were positively related to the SOC in the soil aggregates and its F2 and F3 fractions ( p < 0.05). In summary, the Forestland significantly increased the SOC content and enhanced SOC stability. Conservation measures for poplar forests in vulnerable arid zones can sustainably accumulate SOC sequestration.

Keywords: vegetation type; aggregate composition; oxidizable carbon fraction; SOC stability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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