Effect of Zoige alpine wetland degradation on the density and fractions of soil organic carbon

Huo, Lili; Chen, Zhike; Zou, Yuanchun; Lü, Xianguo; Guo, Jiawei; Tang, Xuguang

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.12.020

Cited by 90 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The main vegetation is Kobresia-dominated alpine meadow (e.g. Kobresia tibetica, Blysmus sinocompressus, Carex muliensis and others) and the corresponding soil is silt loam, an alpine meadow soil type (Huo et al, 2013).…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation of soil hydraulic properties with alpine grassland degradation in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Pan

Hou

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Ecosystems in alpine mountainous regions are vulnerable and easily disturbed by global environmental change. Alpine swamp meadow, a unique grassland type in the eastern Tibetan Plateau that provides important ecosystem services to the upstream and downstream regions of international rivers of Asia and other parts of the world, is undergoing severe degradation, which can dramatically alter soil hydraulic properties and water cycling processes. However, the effects of alpine swamp meadow degradation on soil hydraulic properties and the corresponding influencing mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, soil moisture content (SMC), field capacity (FC) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (K s ) together with several basic soil properties under lightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD) and severely degraded (SD) alpine swamp meadow were investigated; the variations in SMC, FC and K s with alpine swamp meadow degradation and their dominant influencing factors were analysed. The results showed that SMC and FC decreased consistently from LD to SD, while K s decreased from LD to MD and then increased from MD to SD, following the order of LD > SD > MD. Significant differences in soil hydraulic properties between degradation degrees were found in the upper soil layers (0-20 cm), indicating that the influences of degradation were most pronounced in the topsoils. FC was positively correlated with capillary porosity, water-stable aggregates, soil organic carbon, and silt and clay content; K s was positively correlated with non-capillary porosity (NCP). Relative to other soil properties, soil porosity is the dominant factor influencing FC and K s . Capillary porosity explained 91.1 % of total variance in FC, and NCP explained 97.3 % of total variance in K s . The combined effect of disappearing root activities and increasing sand content was responsible for the inconsistent patterns of NCP and K s . Our findings suggest that alpine swamp meadow degradation would inevitably lead to reduced water holding capacity and rainfall infiltration. This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the soil hydrological effects of vegetation degradation. Further hydrological modelling studies in the Tibetan Plateau and similar regions are recommended to understand the effects of degraded alpine swamp meadows on soil hydraulic properties.

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Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation of soil hydraulic properties with alpine grassland degradation in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Pan

Hou

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…However, the region has been warming by 0.4 C per decade over the past 40 years, based on data from the Chinese National Meteorological Information Center. C dynamics in this region continue to attract increasing interest from researchers interested in greenhouse gas flux in grasslands, permafrost degradation and carbon loss, and soil organic carbon density in degraded wetlands Wang et al, 2008;Huo et al, 2013;Kato et al, 2004;Zhu et al, 2012). However, little is known about how CH 4 emissions from the Zoige peatlands are changing as a result of climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of soil warming, rainfall reduction and water table level on CH 4 emissions from the Zoige peatland in China

Yang

Chen

et al. 2014

Soil Biology and Biochemistry

109

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“…The major vegetation types are marsh-meadow and meadow. The marsh-meadow is dominated by Carex muliensis, C. lasiocarpa, and C. meyeriana, whereas the meadow is dominated by Poaceae grasses such as Elymus dahuricus, and Poa pratensis (Huo et al 2013).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gao et al (2008) demonstrated that soil moisture strongly influences microbial activity and SOM decomposition in wetlands. Numerous researchers have found that the content and quality of SOM may influence SOM decomposition to large extent in alpine wetlands where temperature and moisture are not limiting (de Bruijn and Butterbach-Bahl 2010;Huo et al 2013;Kirschbaum 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of SOM decomposition to changing temperature in Zoige alpine wetland, China

Xue

Zhang²,

et al. 2015

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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Alpine wetlands are considered to be very sensitive to future climate warming. Understanding changes in decomposition rates (Rs) of soil organic matter (SOM) and temperature sensitivity (Q 10 ) in alpine wetlands, under the scenarios of a warming climate and decreasing soil moisture, is important for predicting their carbon (C) budget. Here, we established three sampling transects from wetland edge to meadow in the Zoige alpine wetlands in China, which represented the gradients of decreasing soil moisture. We conducted an incubation experiment (5-25°C) to explore changes in Q 10 with the degradation process from alpine wetland to alpine meadow. The results showed that temperature significantly influenced Rs in all locations. Rs first increased from site I to site IV and then decreased from site IV to site V. However, Q 10 and activation energy (E a ) showed no apparent trends with soil coming from sites along a moisture gradient. Overall, the Q 10 values in the wetland (sites 1.50) were significantly lower than that of the meadow (1.83); similar trends were observed for E a . In addition, E a exhibited a negative logarithmic relationship with C quality indices in all locations, which suggested that the C quality-temperature hypothesis is applicable to both alpine wetlands and meadows. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for predicting the potential influences of warming climate on soil C turnover and storage in alpine wetlands.

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Effect of Zoige alpine wetland degradation on the density and fractions of soil organic carbon

Cited by 90 publications

References 38 publications

Variation of soil hydraulic properties with alpine grassland degradation in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Variation of soil hydraulic properties with alpine grassland degradation in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Effects of soil warming, rainfall reduction and water table level on CH 4 emissions from the Zoige peatland in China

Responses of SOM decomposition to changing temperature in Zoige alpine wetland, China

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