Soil carbon stock and its changes in northern China's grasslands from 1980s to 2000s

Climate warming is likely to accelerate the decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) which may lead to an increase of carbon release from soils, and thus provide a positive feedback to climate change. However, SOC dynamics in grassland ecosystems over the past two decades remains controversial. In this study, we estimated the magnitude of SOC stock in northern China's grasslands using 981 soil profiles surveyed from 327 sites across the northern part of the country during 2001–2005. We also examined the changes of SOC stock by comparing current measurements with historical records of 275 soil profiles derived from China's National Soil Inventory during the 1980s. Our results showed that, SOC stock in the upper 30 cm in northern China's grasslands was estimated to be 10.5 Pg C (1 Pg=10¹⁵ g), with an average density (carbon stock per area) of 5.3 kg C m^?2. SOC density (SOCD) did not show significant association with mean annual temperature, but was positively correlated with mean annual precipitation. SOCD increased with soil moisture and reached a plateau when soil moisture was above 30%. Site‐level comparison indicated that grassland SOC stock did not change significantly over the past two decades, with a change of 0.08 kg C m^?2, ranging from ?0.30 to 0.46 kg C m^?2 at 95% confidence interval. Transect‐scale comparison confirmed that grassland SOC stock remained relatively constant from 1980s to 2000s, suggesting that soils in northern China's grasslands have been carbon neutral over the last 20 years.     

Soil carbon stocks,deforestation and land‐cover changes in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot (India)

Habitat loss and soil organic carbon (SOC) stock variations linked to land‐cover change were estimated over two decades in the most densely populated biodiversity hotspot in the world, in order to assess the possible influence of conservation practices on the protection of SOC. For a study area of 88 484 km², 70% of which lie inside the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot (WGBH), land‐cover maps for two dates (1977, 1999) were built from various data sources including remote sensing images and ecological forest maps. SOC stocks were calculated from climatic parameters, altitude, physiography, rock type, soil type and land‐cover, with a modelling approach used in predictive learning and based on Multiple Additive Regression Tree. The model was trained on 361 soil profiles data, and applied to estimate SOC stocks from predictor variables using a Geographical Information System (GIS). Comparison of 1977 and 1999 land‐cover maps showed 628 km² of dense forests habitat loss (6%), corresponding to an annual deforestation rate of 0.44%. This was found consistent with other studies carried out in other parts of the WGBH, but not with FAO figures showing an increase in forest area. This could be explained by the different forest definitions used, based on ecological classification in the former, and on percentage tree cover in the latter. Unexpectedly, our results showed that despite ongoing deforestation, overall SOC stock was maintained (～0.43 Pg). But a closer examination of spatial differences showed that soil carbon losses in deforested areas were compensated by sequestration elsewhere, mainly in recent plantations and newly irrigated croplands. This suggests that more carbon sequestration in soils could be achieved in the future through appropriate wasteland management. It is also expected that increasing concerns about biodiversity loss will favour more conservation and reinforce the already prevailing protective measures, thus further maintaining C stocks.     

Large soil organic carbon increase due to improved agronomic management in the North China Plain from 1980s to 2010s

Agricultural soils are widely recognized to be capable of carbon sequestration that contributes to mitigating CO₂ emissions. To better understand soil organic carbon (SOC) stock dynamics and its driving and controlling factors corresponding with a period of rapid agronomic evolution from the 1980s to the 2010s in the North China Plain (NCP), we collected data from two region‐wide soil sampling campaigns (in the 1980s and 2010s) and conducted an analysis of the controlling factors using the random forest model. Between the 1980s and 2010s, environmental (i.e. soil salinity/fertility) and societal (i.e. policy/techniques) factors both contributed to adoption of new management practices (i.e. chemical fertilizer application/mechanization). Results of our work indicate that SOC stocks in the NCP croplands increased significantly, which also closely related to soil total nitrogen changes. Samples collected near the surface (0–20 cm) and deeper (20–40 cm) both increased by an average of 9.4 and 5.1 Mg C ha^?1, respectively, which are equivalent to increases of 73% and 56% compared with initial SOC stocks in the 1980s. The annual carbon sequestration amount in surface soils reached 10.9 Tg C year^?1, which contributed an estimated 43% of total carbon sequestration in all of China's cropland on just 27% of its area. Successful desalinization and the subsequent increases in carbon (C) inputs, induced by agricultural projects and policies intended to support crop production (i.e. reconstruction of low yield farmland, and agricultural subsidies), combined with improved cultivation practices (i.e. fertilization and straw return) since the early 1980s were the main drivers for the SOC stock increase. This study suggests that rehabilitation of NCP soils to reduce salinity and increase crop yields have also served as a pathway for substantial soil C sequestration.     

Soil organic carbon changes in landscape units of Belgium between 1960 and 2000 with reference to 1990

The present study quantifies changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in Belgium between 1960, 1990 and 2000 for 289 spatially explicit land units with unique soil association and land‐use type, termed landscape units (LSU). The SOC stocks are derived from multiple nonstandardized sets of field measurements up to a depth of 30 cm. Approximately half of the LSU show an increase in SOC between 1960 and 2000. The significant increases occur mainly in soils of grassland LSU in northern Belgium. Significant decreases are observed on loamy cropland soils. Although the largest SOC gains are observed for LSU under forest (22 t C ha^?1 for coniferous and 29 t C ha^?1 for broadleaf and mixed forest in the upper 30 cm of soil), significant changes are rare because of large variability. Because the number of available measurements is very high for agricultural land, most significant changes occur under cropland and grassland, but the corresponding average SOC change is smaller than for forests (9 t C ha^?1 increase for grassland and 1 t C ha^?1 decrease for cropland). The 1990 data for agricultural LSU show that the SOC changes between 1960 and 2000 are not linear. Most agricultural LSU show a higher SOC stock in 1990 than in 2000, especially in northern Belgium. The observed temporal and spatial patterns can be explained by a change in manure application intensity. SOC stock changes caused by land‐use change are estimated. The SOC change over time is derived from observed differences between SOC stocks in space. Because SOC stocks are continuously influenced by a number of external factors, mainly land‐use history and current land management and climate, this approach gives only an approximate estimate whose validity is limited to these conditions.     

Direct measurement of soil organic carbon content change in the croplands of China

Agricultural soils in China have been estimated to have a large potential for carbon sequestration, and modelling and literature survey studies have yielded contrasting results of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock change, ranging from ?2.0 to +0.6% yr^?1. To assess the validity of earlier estimates, we collected 1394 cropland soil profiles from all over the country and measured SOC contents in 2007–2008, and compared them with those of a previous national soil survey conducted in 1979–1982. The results showed that average SOC content in the 0–20 cm soil increased from 11.95 g kg^?1 in 1979–1982 to 12.67 g kg^?1 in 2007–2008, averaging 0.22% yr^?1. The standard deviation of SOC contents decreased. Four major soil types had statistically significant changes in their mean SOC contents for 0–20 cm. These were: +7.5% for Anthrosols (paddy soils), +18.3% for Eutric Cambisols, +30.5% for Fluvisols, and ?22.3% for Chernozems. The change of SOC contents showed a negative relationship with the average SOC contents of the two sampling campaigns only when soils in the region south of Yangtse River were excluded. SOC contents of the two major soil types in the region south of Yangtse River, i.e., Haplic Alisols/Haplic Acrisols and Anthrosols (paddy soils), changed little or significantly increased, though with a high SOC content. We suggest that the increase of SOC content is mainly attributed to the large increase in crop yields since the 1980s, and the short history as cropland establishment is mainly responsible for the decrease in SOC content for some soil types and regions showing a SOC decline.     

Widespread decreases in topsoil inorganic carbon stocks across China's grasslands during 1980s–2000s

Soil carbon (C) stocks consist of inorganic and organic components, ~1.7 times larger than the total of the C stored in vegetation and the atmosphere together. Significant soil C losses could thus offset any C sink in vegetation, creating a positive feedback to climate change. However, compared with the susceptible sensitivity of organic matter decay to climate warming, soil inorganic carbon (SIC) stocks are often assumed to be relatively stable. Here, we evaluated SIC changes across China's grasslands over the last two decades using data from a recent regional soil survey during 2001–2005 and historical national soil inventory during the 1980s. Our results showed that SIC stocks in the top 10 cm decreased significantly between the two sampling periods, with a mean rate of 26.8 (95% confidence interval: 15.8–41.7) g C m^?2 yr^?1. The larger decreases in SIC stocks were observed in those regions with stronger soil acidification and richer soil carbonates. The lost SIC could be released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, redistributed to the deeper soil layer, and transferred to the nearby regions. The fraction of soil carbonates entering into the atmosphere may diminish the strength of terrestrial C sequestration and amplify the positive C‐climate feedback.     

农田生态系统土壤有机碳库及其影响因子

土壤有机碳(SOC)的数量和质量在很大程度上与维持和提高土壤肥力密切相关。农田生态系统土壤碳库研究一直是农业、生态和环境领域的一个主要方向。土地利用、耕作、作物类型、种植密度、灌溉、施肥以及其他人为活动等,对农田生态系统土壤有机碳库的变化均能产生影响。本文综合评述了农田生态系统土壤有机碳库及其影响因子,土壤碳截获潜力,维持和提高土壤有机碳库的措施,以及农田土壤碳截获在温室气体减排及气候变化中的潜在作用等,最后提出了农田生态系统土壤有机碳库研究的主要方向。     

Increasing riverine export of dissolved organic carbon from China

River transport of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the ocean is a crucial but poorly quantified regional carbon cycle component. Large uncertainties remaining on the riverine DOC export from China, as well as its trend and drivers of change, have challenged the reconciliation between atmosphere-based and land-based estimates of China's land carbon sink. Here, we harmonized a large database of riverine in-situ measurements and applied a random forest model, to quantify riverine DOC fluxes (F_DOC) and DOC concentrations (C_DOC) in rivers across China. This study proposes the first DOC modeling effort capable of reproducing well the magnitude of riverine C_DOC and F_DOC, as well as its trends, on a monthly scale and with a much wider spatial distribution over China compared to previous studies that mainly focused on annual-scale estimates and large rivers. Results show that over the period 2001–2015, the average C_DOC was 2.25 ± 0.45 mg/L and average F_DOC was 4.04 ± 1.02 Tg/year. Simultaneously, we found a significant increase in F_DOC (+0.044 Tg/year², p = .01), but little change in C_DOC (−0.001 mg/L/year, p > .10). Although the trend in C_DOC is not significant at the country scale, it is significantly increasing in the Yangtze River Basin and Huaihe River Basin (0.005 and 0.013 mg/L/year, p < .05) while significantly decreasing in the Yellow River Basin and Southwest Rivers Basin (−0.043 and −0.014 mg/L/year, p = .01). Changes in hydrology, play a stronger role than direct impacts of anthropogenic activities in determining the spatio-temporal variability of F_DOC and C_DOC across China. However, and in contrast with other basins, the significant increase in C_DOC in the Yangtze River Basin and Huaihe River Basin is attributable to direct anthropogenic activities. Given the dominance of hydrology in driving F_DOC, the increase in F_DOC is likely to continue under the projected increase in river discharge over China resulting from a future wetter climate.     

Global climate change and soil carbon stocks; predictions from two contrasting models for the turnover of organic carbon in soil

Enhanced release of CO₂ to the atmosphere from soil organic carbon as a result of increased temperatures may lead to a positive feedback between climate change and the carbon cycle, resulting in much higher CO₂ levels and accelerated global warming. However, the magnitude of this effect is uncertain and critically dependent on how the decomposition of soil organic C (heterotrophic respiration) responds to changes in climate. Previous studies with the Hadley Centre's coupled climate–carbon cycle general circulation model (GCM) (HadCM3LC) used a simple, single‐pool soil carbon model to simulate the response. Here we present results from numerical simulations that use the more sophisticated ‘RothC’ multipool soil carbon model, driven with the same climate data. The results show strong similarities in the behaviour of the two models, although RothC tends to simulate slightly smaller changes in global soil carbon stocks for the same forcing. RothC simulates global soil carbon stocks decreasing by 54 Gt C by 2100 in a climate change simulation compared with an 80 Gt C decrease in HadCM3LC. The multipool carbon dynamics of RothC cause it to exhibit a slower magnitude of transient response to both increased organic carbon inputs and changes in climate. We conclude that the projection of a positive feedback between climate and carbon cycle is robust, but the magnitude of the feedback is dependent on the structure of the soil carbon model.     

Effects of fencing and grazing on the temporal dynamic of soil organic carbon content in two temperate grasslands in Inner Mongolia,China

This study aimed to investigate the impact of long-term grassland management on the temporal dynamic of SOC density in two temperate grasslands. The top soil SOC density, soil total nitrogen density and soil bulk density (0–20 cm) under long-term fencing and grazing treatments, the aboveground net primary productivity of fenced plots and the associated climatic factors of Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis grasslands in Inner Mongolia were collected from literatures and analyzed. The results showed that the SOC density increased linearly with fenced duration but was insensitive to grazed duration in both grasslands. Compared with long-term grazing, fenced plots had larger potential for carbon sequestration, and the accumulation rate of SOC density was 29 and 35 g Cm^–2y^–1 for L. chinensis and S. grandis grasslands. Fenced duration and mean annual temperature jointly contributed large effect on temporal pattern of SOC density. Climate change and grazed duration had little influence on the inter-annual variance of SOC density in grazed plots. Our results confirmed the enhancement effect of long-term fencing on soil carbon sequestration in degraded temperate grassland, and long-term permanent plot observation is essential and effective for accurately and comprehensively understanding the temporal dynamic of SOC storage.     

放牧对黄土高原退耕草地土壤有机碳储量的影响

放牧是影响草地土壤碳固存的重要因素。本研究选取黄土高原水蚀风蚀交错区西部、中部、东部地区及水蚀区,以各区20年以上退耕封禁地为对照,分析3个放牧强度下(羊粪球密度分别为0～10、10～20、>20 ind·m^-2)退耕草地0～20 cm土层土壤有机碳储量的分布特征,研究放牧及其强度对退耕草地土壤固碳效应的影响。结果表明: 放牧对交错区西部0～20 cm、东部0～10 cm,水蚀区0～5 cm土层土壤有机碳储量有显著影响,对交错区中部各土层均无显著影响;羊粪球密度0～10、＞20 ind·m^-2强度的放牧使交错区西部0～20 cm土层土壤有机碳储量显著降低了34.8%～50.9%,而在其他3个区域,放牧对有机碳储量的影响较退耕封禁地差异不显著。在交错区东部,放牧强度是影响退耕草地土壤有机碳储量的主要因素,而其他3个区域有机碳储量主要受土壤理化性质和(或)枯落物生物量的影响。羊粪球密度10～20 ind·m^-2强度的放牧对各区域退耕草地0～20 cm土层土壤有机碳储量无显著影响。     

Long-term tillage effects on soil organic carbon and dissolved organic carbon in a purple paddy soil of Southwest China

The impact of conservation tillage practices on soil carbon has been of great interest in recent years. Conservation tillage might have the potential to enhance soil carbon accumulation and alter the depth distribution of soil carbon compared to conventional tillage based systems. Changes in the soil organic carbon (SOC) as influenced by tillage, are more noticeable under long-term rather than short-term tillage practices. The objective of this study was to determine the impacts of long-term tillage on SOC and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) status after 19 years of four tillage treatments in a Hydragric Anthrosol. In this experiment four tillage systems included conventional tillage with rotation of rice and winter fallow system (CTF), conventional tillage with rotation of rice and rape system (CTR), no-till and ridge culture with rotation of rice and rape system (NT) and tillage and ridge culture with rotation of rice and rape system (TR). Soils were sampled in the spring of 2009 and sectioned into 0–10, 10–20, 20–30, 30–40, 40–50 and 50–60 cm depth, respectively.Tillage effect on SOC was observed, and SOC concentrations were much larger under NT than the other three tillage methods in all soil depths from 0 to 60 cm. The mean SOC concentration at 0–60 cm soil depth followed the sequence: NT (22.74 g kg^?1) > CTF (14.57 g kg^?1) > TR (13.10 g kg^?1) > CTR (11.92 g kg^?1). SOC concentrations under NT were significantly higher than TR and CTR (P < 0.01), and higher than CTF treatment (P < 0.05). The SOC storage was calculated on equivalent soil mass basis. Results showed that the highest SOC storage at 0–60 cm depth presented in NT, which was 158.52 Mg C ha^?1, followed by CTF (106.74 Mg C ha^?1), TR (93.11 Mg C ha^?1) and CTR (88.60 Mg C ha^?1). Compared with conventional tillage (CTF), the total SOC storage in NT increased by 48.51%, but decreased by 16.99% and 12.77% under CTR and TR treatments, respectively. The effect of tillage on DOC was significant at 0–10 cm soil layer, and DOC concentration was much higher under CTF than the other three treatments (P < 0.01). Throughout 0–60 cm soil depth, DOC concentrations were 32.92, 32.63, 26.79 and 22.10 mg kg^?1 under NT, CTF, CTR and TR, and the differences among the four treatments were not significant (P > 0.05). In conclusion, NT increased SOC concentration and storage compared to conventional tillage operation but not for DOC.     

红壤丘陵区水田和旱地土壤可溶性有机碳矿化对水分的响应

以亚热带红壤丘陵区典型水田和旱地土壤为研究对象,向土壤中添加¹⁴C标记稻草,培养30 d后,提取与原位土壤中结构相似的¹⁴C可溶性有机碳(DOC);将¹⁴C DOC加入水田和旱地土壤中,并设置45%、60%、75%、90%和105%田间持水量(WHC)5个水分梯度,在标准状态下(25 ℃)培养100 d,监测¹⁴C DOC在土壤中的矿化过程.结果表明: 培养100 d后,两种土壤中28.7%～61.4%的标记DOC被矿化为CO₂,且5个水分条件下,水田土壤DOC的矿化率均显著高于旱地,这主要是由于水田土壤DOC的结构组成比旱地土壤更简单.好气条件(56%～75%WHC)有利于两种土壤DOC的分解,淹水条件(105%WHC)则有利于DOC的积累.土壤处于好气条件(45%～90%WHC)时,DOC的生物可分解率及易分解态所占比例均随着含水量的增加而增加.100 d内,水田和旱地易分解态DOC分别占其累积矿化量的80.5%～91.1%和66.3%～72.4%,说明DOC的生物可分解率主要由其易分解态组分所占比例决定.     

Management-induced changes in soil organic carbon and related crop yield dynamics in China's cropland

Enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and food supply are vital for human survival when facing climate change. Site-specific best management practices (BMPs) are being promoted for adoption globally as solutions. However, how SOC and crop yield are related to each other in responding to BMPs remains unknown. Here, path analysis based on meta-analysis and machine learning was conducted to identify the effects and potential mechanisms of how the relationship between SOC and crop yield responds to site-specific BMPs in China. The results showed that BMPs could significantly enhance SOC and maintain or increase crop yield. The maximum benefits in SOC (30.6%) and crop yield (79.8%) occurred in mineral fertilizer combined with organic inputs (MOF). Specifically, the optimal SOC and crop yield would be achieved when the areas were arid, soil pH was ≥7.3, initial SOC content was ≤10 g kg⁻¹, duration was >10 years, and the nitrogen (N) input level was 100–200 kg ha⁻¹. Further analysis revealed that the original SOC level and crop yield change showed an inverted V-shaped structure. The association between the changes in SOC and crop yield might be linked to the positive role of the nutrient-mediated effect. The results generally suggested that improving the SOC can strongly support better crop performance. Limitations in increasing crop yield still exist due to low original SOC level, and in regions where the excessive N inputs, inappropriate tillage or organic input is inadequate and could be diminished by optimizing BMPs in harmony with site-specific conditions.     

Spatial distribution and influencing factors of soil organic carbon among different climate types in Sichuan,China

为探讨不同气候类型下, 草地土壤有机碳含量的分布特征及其影响因素, 以四川省广元市、雅安市和凉山州为研究地区, 对区域内分层土壤(0-10、10-20、20-30 cm)有机碳含量、氮含量, 根系碳含量、土壤pH值、土壤容重、草地物种组成和盖度等进行了分析, 探讨不同气候类型下引起土壤有机碳含量变化的主要原因。结果表明: (1) 3个地区草地总土壤有机碳含量差异显著, 量差依次为雅安>凉山>广元, 均出现土壤碳表聚现象, 并随深度增加而递减; (2)雅安草地不同分层土壤有机碳含量占比与广元和凉山具有明显差异, 其中雅安0-10 cm土壤有机碳含量占比显著降低, 而10-20 cm占比显著升高, 土壤有机碳随土层深度增加其降幅与后两者相比略微平缓; (3)广元10-20 cm土壤有机碳含量与草地丰富度指数正相关, 20-30 cm土壤有机碳含量与Shannon-Winner指数负相关, 而分层土壤有机碳则与土壤pH值和土壤氮含量正相关, 雅安和凉山分层土壤有机碳分别与土壤pH值和土壤氮含量正相关; (4)主成分分析显示, 影响3个地区草地土壤有机碳总量变化的主要因素是气候因素, 次要因素是植被因素。     

China's wetland soil organic carbon pool: New estimation on pool size,change, and trajectory

Robust estimates of wetland soil organic carbon (SOC) pools are critical to understanding wetland carbon dynamics in the global carbon cycle. However, previous estimates were highly variable and uncertain, due likely to the data sources and method used. Here we used machine learning method to estimate SOC storage and their changes over time in China's wetlands based on wetland SOC density database, associated geospatial environmental data, and recently published wetland maps. We built a database of wetland SOC density in China that contains 809 samples from 181 published studies collected over the last 20 years as presented in the published literature. All samples were extended and standardized to a 1-m depth, on the basis of the relationship between SOC density data from soil profiles of different depths. We used three different machine learning methods to evaluate their robustness in estimating wetland SOC storage and changes in China. The results indicated that random forest model achieved accurate wetland SOC estimation with R² being .65. The results showed that average SOC density of top 1 m in China's wetlands was 25.03 ± 3.11 kg C m⁻² in 2000 and 26.57 ± 3.73 kg C m⁻² in 2020, an increase of 6.15%. SOC storage change from 4.73 ± 0.58 Pg in 2000 to 4.35 ± 0.61 Pg in 2020, a decrease of 8.03%, due to 13.6% decreased in wetland area from 189.12 × 10³ to 162.8 × 10³ km² in 2020, despite the increase in SOC density during the same time period. The carbon accumulation rate was 107.5 ± 12.4 g C m⁻² year⁻¹ since 2000 in wetlands with no area changes. Climate change caused variations in wetland SOC density, and a future warming and drying climate would lead to decreases in wetland SOC storage. Estimates under Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 1-2.6 (low-carbon emissions) suggested that wetland SOC storage in China would not change significantly by 2100, but under Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 5-8.5 (high-carbon emissions), it would decrease significantly by approximately 5.77%. In this study, estimates of wetland SOC storage were optimized from three aspects, including sample database, wetland extent, and estimation method. Our study indicates the importance of using consistent SOC density and extent data in estimating and projecting wetland SOC storage.     

Depth‐dependent soil organic carbon dynamics of croplands across the Chengdu Plain of China from the 1980s to the 2010s

Agricultural soils have tremendous potential to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC) and mitigate global climate change. However, agricultural land use has a profound impact on SOC dynamics, and few studies have explored how agricultural land use combined with soil conditions affect SOC changes throughout the soil profile. Based on a paired soil resampling campaign in the 1980s and 2010s, this study investigated the SOC changes of the soil profile caused by agricultural land use and the correlations with parent material and topography across the Chengdu Plain of China. The results showed that the SOC content increased by 3.78 g C/kg in the topsoil (0–20 cm), but decreased in the 20–40 cm and 40–60 cm soil layers by 0.90 and 1.26 g C/kg respectively. SOC increases in topsoil were observed for all types of agricultural land. Afforestation on former agricultural land also caused SOC decreases in the 20–60 cm soil layers, while SOC decreases only occurred in the 40–60 cm soil layer for agricultural land using a traditional crop rotation (i.e. traditional rice–wheat/rapeseed rotation) and with rice–vegetable rotations converted from the traditional rotations. For each agricultural land use, SOC decreases in deep soils only occurred in high relief areas and in soils formed from Q4 (Quaternary Holocene) grey‐brown alluvium and Q4 grey alluvium that had a relatively low soil bulk density and clay content. The results indicated that SOC change caused by agricultural land use was depth dependent and that the effects of agricultural land use on soil profile SOC dynamics varied with soil characteristics and topography. Subsoil SOC decreases were more likely to occur in high relief areas and in soils with low soil bulk density and low clay content.     

Soil carbon sequestration due to post‐Soviet cropland abandonment: estimates from a large‐scale soil organic carbon field inventory

The break‐up of the Soviet Union in 1991 triggered cropland abandonment on a continental scale, which in turn led to carbon accumulation on abandoned land across Eurasia. Previous studies have estimated carbon accumulation rates across Russia based on large‐scale modelling. Studies that assess carbon sequestration on abandoned land based on robust field sampling are rare. We investigated soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks using a randomized sampling design along a climatic gradient from forest steppe to Sub‐Taiga in Western Siberia (Tyumen Province). In total, SOC contents were sampled on 470 plots across different soil and land‐use types. The effect of land use on changes in SOC stock was evaluated, and carbon sequestration rates were calculated for different age stages of abandoned cropland. While land‐use type had an effect on carbon accumulation in the topsoil (0–5 cm), no independent land‐use effects were found for deeper SOC stocks. Topsoil carbon stocks of grasslands and forests were significantly higher than those of soils managed for crops and under abandoned cropland. SOC increased significantly with time since abandonment. The average carbon sequestration rate for soils of abandoned cropland was 0.66 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1 (1–20 years old, 0–5 cm soil depth), which is at the lower end of published estimates for Russia and Siberia. There was a tendency towards SOC saturation on abandoned land as sequestration rates were much higher for recently abandoned (1–10 years old, 1.04 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1) compared to earlier abandoned crop fields (11–20 years old, 0.26 Mg C ha^?1 yr^?1). Our study confirms the global significance of abandoned cropland in Russia for carbon sequestration. Our findings also suggest that robust regional surveys based on a large number of samples advance model‐based continent‐wide SOC prediction.     

Daycent模型模拟不同农作管理措施下华北地区土壤有机碳的变化

基于华北地区3个长期定位试验站点（河南郑州、山东禹城和河北曲周）的试验数据,用站点实测作物产量和土壤有机碳（SOC）双标准对Daycent模型进行校验和验证.结果表明： 模型参数组合对作物产量和SOC的长期变化动态拟合效果良好,表明Daycent模型可较好地模拟作物产量和SOC的动态变化.用校验和验证了的模型对3个站点在气候情景RCP 4.5下4种不同管理措施（单施化肥NPK、化肥+有机肥MNPK、秸秆还田SNPK、免耕+秸秆NT）下SOC的变化动态进行模拟.结果表明： 郑州站点NPK、MNPK、SNPK处理中,MNPK处理的SOC相对年平均增幅最高,2001—2050年间的SOC年增幅达1.7%,其次为SNPK处理（年均增幅为1.3%）和NPK处理（年均增幅为0.8%）,从长远角度看,增施有机肥对灌溉轻壤土有机碳的增加有明显效果.在禹城站点,研究期间,MNPK处理的SOC年均增幅（0.4%）高于NPK处理（0.3%）,由于该站点土壤有轻度盐化特征,因此各措施下SOC的增幅较低.在曲周站点,NT处理更有利于SOC的增加,研究期间的SOC年均增幅达1.3%,远高于SNPK处理（0.7%）和NPK处理（0.4%）.华北地区气温适宜、灌溉条件好、具备秸秆还田及免耕机械条件,免耕+秸秆还田是该地区增加SOC的较好农作管理措施.     

Changes in soil organic carbon of terrestrial ecosystems in China: A mini-review

The present study provides an overview of existing literature on changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) of various terrestrial ecosystems in China. Datasets from the literature suggest that SOC stocks in forest, grassland, shrubland and cropland increased between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, amounting to (71±19) Tg·a⁻¹. Conversion of marshland to cropland in the Sanjiang Plain of northeast China resulted in SOC loss of (6±2) Tg·a⁻¹ during the same period. Nevertheless, large uncertainties exist in these estimates, especially for the SOC changes in the forest, shrubland and grassland. To reduce uncertainty, we suggest that future research should focus on: (i) identifying land use changes throughout China with high spatiotemporal resolution, and measuring the SOC loss and sequestration due to land use change; (ii) estimating the changes in SOC of shrubland and non-forest trees (i.e., cash, shelter and landscape trees); (iii) quantifying the impacts of grassland management on the SOC pool; (iv) evaluating carbon changes in deep soil layers; (v) projecting SOC sequestration potential; and (vi) developing carbon budget models for better estimating the changes in SOC of terrestrial ecosystems in China.