Effects of freeze-thaw cycles and initial soil moisture content on soil aggregate stability in natural grassland and Chinese pine forest on the Loess Plateau of China

Xiao, Lie; Yao, Kehan; Li, Peng; Liu, Ying; Zhang, Yi

doi:10.1007/s11368-019-02526-w

Cited by 35 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Variations in soil water potential caused by freezing of soil drive soil moisture from unfrozen areas to the freezing front (Li et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2014;Yang and Wang., 2019), resulting in variations in soil moisture distribution (Wu et al, 2017;Lai et al, 2018;Lu et al, 2019). However, soil moisture distribution has had a direct impact on vegetation growth activities in recent years (Xiao et al, 2019;Frost et al, 2020), especially in the arid and semi-arid areas of the Loess Plateau, where long-term rainfall is insufficient and irrigation cannot be practiced (Yang et al, 2012;Cheng and Liu, 2014;Xiao et al, 2020). Therefore, studying soil freezing and thawing processes will enhance our understanding of soil moisture migration dynamics, and could have a guiding significance for the hydrological management of the study area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Freeze-Thaw and Water Transport Characteristics Under Different Vegetation Types in Seasonal Freeze-Thaw Areas of the Loess Plateau

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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In the arid and semi-arid regions of the Loess Plateau, seasonal freezing and thawing influence soil water movement, and water movement directly influences vegetation growth. However, currently, research with regard to freezing and thawing processes under various vegetation types and the mechanism of soil water movement is lacking. Therefore, the present study explored soil water migration characteristics of two typical vegetation types [arbor land (AL) and shrub land (SL)] on the Loess Plateau during seasonal freezing and thawing processes using bare land (BL) as a control. We used field measured data for hourly soil temperature (ST) and soil water content (SWC) at a depth of 100 cm below the soil surface from November 2017 to March 2018. Freezing and thawing process was divided into three stages based on ST change (initial freezing period, stable freezing period, and thawing period). Compared with previous studies in this area, ST is lower than expected, and SWC migration characteristics are also different. The results revealed that: 1) the maximum freezing depth of AL and SL was 60 cm, which was 30 cm less than that of BL. The freezing date of each soil layer in BL was the earliest and average ST value was the lowest. BL had the highest degree of freezing. The freezing of all soil layers in AL occurred at a later date than that of SL. ST and the minimum soil freezing temperatures were higher than those of SL, and the capacity of AL to resist freezing was higher; 2) the SWCs in AL and BL at depths of 0–10 cm and 10–30 cm decreased, whereas SWCs of AL and BL at a depth of 60 cm increased by 152 and 146%, respectively. The SWCs of SL at soil depths of 0–10 cm, 10–30 cm, and 30–60 cm increased by 46.3, 78.4 and 205%, respectively. The amount and distribution of soil moisture in SL were optimum when compared to those of AL and BL. The results of the present study could provide a scientific basis for vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid areas of the Loess Plateau.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Freeze-Thaw and Water Transport Characteristics Under Different Vegetation Types in Seasonal Freeze-Thaw Areas of the Loess Plateau

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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“…Soil moisture may therefore play a complex role in affecting available soil micronutrients. FTCs are associated with energy transmission in soil (Li et al 2002;Zhang et al 2016), and the disruptive strength of the FTCs increases significantly with increased soil moisture content (Dagesse 2011;Xiao et al 2020c). The volume of water expands during freezing when the liquid water becomes ice, thus increasing the disruption of aggregates, which is likely to increase desorption and release available micronutrients from soil minerals and soil organic matter (Li et al 2008).…”

Section: Effects Of Smc On Bulk and Aggregate-associated Available Micronutrientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vegetation restoration is an important method for stabilizing soil aggregate (Dou et al 2020;Xiao et al 2020b), thereby increasing available soil micronutrient content in degraded ecosystems (Zhang et al 2012;Xiao et al 2020a). However, soils in mid-to-high latitudes and high elevations suffer seasonal freeze-thaw cycles in winter-spring seasons (Song et al 2017), which significantly influence the distribution and stability of soil aggregates (Li and Fan 2014;Li et al 2019;Xiao et al 2020c). In these more temperate regions, then, there may be an important interaction between vegetation restoration and seasonal freeze-thaw cycles that affects available soil micronutrients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the variation of bulk and aggregate-associated available soil micronutrients under freeze-thaw cycles with distinct initial soil moisture content in the three typical vegetation types (cropland, forestland, and natural grassland). Our previous study indicated that freeze-thaw cycles and soil moisture content had significantly influenced the soil aggregate distribution and stability and that the structure of natural grassland soil was less sensitive to FTCs than the structure of the Chinese pine forest soil (Xiao et al 2020c). The aims of the present research, therefore, were to (1) evaluate the influences of freeze-thaw cycles and soil moisture content on soil available micronutrient content at aggregate scale and (2) discriminate the different response characteristics of natural grassland soil and Chinese pine forestland soil to freezethaw cycles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of freeze-thaw cycles and soil moisture content on soil available micronutrients on aggregate scale in natural grassland and Chinese pine forestland on the Loess Plateau, China

Zhang

et al. 2020

J Soils Sediments

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Purpose Micronutrient presence and concentration are strongly influenced by soil aggregate size. Seasonal freeze-thaw patterns are known to modify soil aggregate distributions, thereby contributing to the transformation and redistribution of available soil micronutrients. Few studies, however, have evaluated the response of aggregate-associated available micronutrients to freezethaw cycles (FTCs) under different types of vegetation restoration. Materials and methods We designed a laboratory experiment to simulate the three typical types of ecosystems on the Loess Plateau in China (cropland, Chinese pine forestland, and natural grassland). In this experiment, we measured the effects of number of FTCs (0, 1, 3, and 9) and soil moisture content (SMC) (40 and 80% field capacity) on available micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) in bulk soil and three soil aggregate size classes. Results and discussion FTCs significantly increased available micronutrient content in bulk soil by increasing > 2000 μm aggregate-associated available micronutrient contents and decreasing < 250 μm aggregate-associated available micronutrient contents. In most cases, the influences of FTCs on bulk soil and aggregate-associated available micronutrient content were enhanced by increased SMC. Compared with cropland soil, the bulk soil available Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in natural grassland soil and available Cu in Chinese pine forestland soil were significantly increased. The increasing effects of FTCs on the available micronutrient content in cropland and natural grassland soils were larger than that in Chinese pine forestland soil. Conclusions The results indicated that increasing FTCs and SMC was beneficial for alleviating available micronutrient deficiencies in soil, and natural grassland was better than Chinese pine forestland for increasing available micronutrients in this loessderived soil.

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“…Snow absence directly drives soil temperature, moisture, and freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs), which are positively associated with microorganisms and enzyme activities (Allison et al, 2008;Xiao et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of snow absence on N pools and enzyme activities within soil aggregates in a spruce forest on the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Reichel

et al. 2021

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Background Snow cover change has a great potential to impact soil nitrogen (N) pools and enzyme activities in boreal forests. Yet, the nature of this biochemical processes within soil aggregates is still limited. We conducted a snow manipulation experiment to investigate the effects of snow absence on N pools and enzyme activities within soil aggregates in a subalpine spruce forest on the eastern Tibetan Plateau of China. Results Snow absence increased extractable inorganic N pools (ammonium and nitrate) and enzyme activities, accompanying with the improvement of N mineralization rate. Regardless of snow manipulations, both soil extractable inorganic N and net N mineralization was higher in macroaggregates than that in the other two aggregates. In contrast, microaggregates had higher urease and nitrite reductase activities compared to macroaggregates and large macroaggregates. Compared with small macroaggregates and large macroaggregates, N pools and enzymes within microaggregates is more sensitive to snow absence. Conclusions Our results indicated that the impacts of snow cover change on soil N dynamic depend on aggregate sizes and winter conditions (e.g., snow cover and temperature). Such findings have important implication for soil N cycling in snow-covered subalpine forests experiencing pronounced winter climate change.

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Effects of freeze-thaw cycles and initial soil moisture content on soil aggregate stability in natural grassland and Chinese pine forest on the Loess Plateau of China

Cited by 35 publications

References 57 publications

Soil Freeze-Thaw and Water Transport Characteristics Under Different Vegetation Types in Seasonal Freeze-Thaw Areas of the Loess Plateau

Soil Freeze-Thaw and Water Transport Characteristics Under Different Vegetation Types in Seasonal Freeze-Thaw Areas of the Loess Plateau

Effects of freeze-thaw cycles and soil moisture content on soil available micronutrients on aggregate scale in natural grassland and Chinese pine forestland on the Loess Plateau, China

Effects of snow absence on N pools and enzyme activities within soil aggregates in a spruce forest on the eastern Tibetan Plateau

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