Contrasting Responses of Soil Inorganic Carbon to Afforestation in Acidic Versus Alkaline Soils

Hong, Songbai; Chen, Anping

doi:10.1029/2021gb007038

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…As expected, our analyses also support the importance of abiotic factors (e.g., soil properties) in explaining the global variation in topsoil SIC. Our results aligned with numerous studies that emphasized the crucial roles of lithology (i.e., carbonate rocks), soil pH, texture, bulk density, Ca, and EC in explaining the distribution of SIC (Ferdush & Paul, 2021; Hong & Chen, 2022; Tao et al., 2022). However, it is unexpected that despite the positive correlation between soil pH and SIC (Figure S6 in Supporting Information S1), soil pH had a potentially negative effect on SIC when we considered other environmental factors (Figures 2b and 4b).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The Contribution of Biotic Factors in Explaining the Global Distribution of Inorganic Carbon in Surface Soils

Zeng,

Bastida,

Plaza

et al. 2023

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) plays a crucial role in regulating global carbon (C) cycling by linking the long‐term geological and short‐term biological C cycles. Soil inorganic carbon stocks are thought to be mainly driven by abiotic factors. However, despite the well‐known influence of vegetation and soil microbes on terrestrial C pools, the relative contribution of biotic and abiotic factors in explaining the global distribution of SIC remains virtually unknown. Here, we conducted a global field survey including information on SIC of 398 composite topsoil samples from 134 locations to investigate the contribution of biotic drivers in explaining the global distribution of SIC in surface soils compared with climate and abiotic factors. Overall, SIC content peaked in arid and temperate ecosystems with warmer and drier conditions, particularly shrublands. We further revealed that although soil properties (e.g., Ca and C/N ratio) explained the highest variance in SIC globally, biotic factors, associated with vegetation and soil microbes, explained a considerable proportion of the global variation in SIC. In particular, plant richness, plant cover, and fungal biomass were significantly and positively associated with SIC, suggesting that biotic control could play an important role in explaining the global distribution of topsoil SIC. We propose that changes in the biotic factors, such as alterations in vegetation and soil microbes resulting from global changes, may have important direct and indirect consequences for global SIC dynamics and terrestrial C‐climate feedback.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The Contribution of Biotic Factors in Explaining the Global Distribution of Inorganic Carbon in Surface Soils

Zeng,

Bastida,

Plaza

et al. 2023

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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“…Our work also provided a typical example of how fine‐scale microbial activities were upscaled to shape ecosystem functional processes under long‐term afforestation. Importantly, recent studies indicated that soil physical structure varied significantly and was important factor driving soil C stocks under large‐scale afforestation (e.g., at the regional and global‐scale) (Hong & Chen, 2022; Nave et al., 2021). Therefore, further studies are needed to better understand the role of fine‐scale soil microbial P acquisition in driving soil C sequestration under afforestation at large‐scale, in order to better predict soil P dynamics and its impacts on C sequestration following future afforestation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Adaptations Within Fine‐Scale Soil Structure Alleviate Phosphorus Limitation on Carbon Sequestration Following Afforestation

Feng

Song

Zheng

et al. 2023

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Afforestation has been proposed as an effective approach to reduce atmospheric carbon (C) and mitigate climate change (Lewis et al., 2019;Peng et al., 2014). Globally, the area of afforested land has increased from 168 to 278 million hectares from 1990 to 2015 (FAO, 2015;Keenan et al., 2015), which is estimated to sequester ∼860 Gt CO 2 in plant biomass and soil at the end of the century (Kreidenweis et al., 2016). However, several recent studies have indicated that afforestation do not necessarily enhance C sequestration due to strong nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) limitations on plant growth with time after afforestation (Deng et al., 2017;Nolan et al., 2021). In particular, soil P cycling may become decoupled with C and N following afforestation because P is derived predominantly from the weathering of parent material, whereas C and nitrogen (N) can enter the ecosystem through biological fixation (Delgado-Baquerizo et al., 2013). This decoupling provokes imbalances between C, N, and P in soils, with important implications for the long-term sustainability of afforested ecosystems. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate soil P availability (plant-available inorganic P) for C sequestration following afforestation, in order to advance accurate prediction for future C uptake by afforested lands.Increases in plant growth and biomass stocks could induce gradual transfer of P from the mineral soil to aboveground plant biomass and lead to an overall decline in soil total P content at top soils following afforestation (

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“…In less arid regions, however, vegetation cover's effect on total carbon is negative. Increased vegetation cover may enhance organic carbon decomposition (Shahzad et al, 2015) and result in a decrease in inorganic carbon (Hong & Chen, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In less arid regions, however, vegetation cover's effect on total carbon is negative. Increased vegetation cover may enhance organic carbon decomposition (Shahzad et al., 2015) and result in a decrease in inorganic carbon (Hong & Chen, 2022). At low aridity levels, biocrusts prevent organic carbon from being eroded (Chamizo et al., 2017), whereas at high aridity levels, crusts can produce organic acids (Belnap, 2011) that can lead to inorganic carbon decomposition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of aridification on soil total carbon pools in China's drylands

Ren,

Li,

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

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Drylands are important carbon pools and are highly vulnerable to climate change, particularly in the context of increasing aridity. However, there has been limited research on the effects of aridification on soil total carbon including soil organic carbon and soil inorganic carbon, which hinders comprehensive understanding and projection of soil carbon dynamics in drylands. To determine the response of soil total carbon to aridification, and to understand how aridification drives soil total carbon variation along the aridity gradient through different ecosystem attributes, we measured soil organic carbon, inorganic carbon and total carbon across a ~4000 km aridity gradient in the drylands of northern China. Distribution patterns of organic carbon, inorganic carbon, and total carbon at different sites along the aridity gradient were analyzed. Results showed that soil organic carbon and inorganic carbon had a complementary relationship, that is, an increase in soil inorganic carbon positively compensated for the decrease in organic carbon in semiarid to hyperarid regions. Soil total carbon exhibited a nonlinear change with increasing aridity, and the effect of aridity on total carbon shifted from negative to positive at an aridity level of 0.71. In less arid regions, aridification leads to a decrease in total carbon, mainly through a decrease in organic carbon, whereas in more arid regions, aridification promotes an increase in inorganic carbon and thus an increase in total carbon. Our study highlights the importance of soil inorganic carbon to total carbon and the different effects of aridity on soil carbon pools in drylands. Soil total carbon needs to be considered when developing measures to conserve the terrestrial carbon sink.

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Contrasting Responses of Soil Inorganic Carbon to Afforestation in Acidic Versus Alkaline Soils

Cited by 11 publications

References 61 publications

The Contribution of Biotic Factors in Explaining the Global Distribution of Inorganic Carbon in Surface Soils

The Contribution of Biotic Factors in Explaining the Global Distribution of Inorganic Carbon in Surface Soils

Microbial Adaptations Within Fine‐Scale Soil Structure Alleviate Phosphorus Limitation on Carbon Sequestration Following Afforestation

Effects of aridification on soil total carbon pools in China's drylands

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