Patterns and environmental controls of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in alpine ecosystems of northwestern China

Chen, Longfei; He, Zhibin; Du, Jun; Yang, Junjun; Zhu, Xi

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2015.08.017

Cited by 97 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(72 reference statements)

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“…In the present study, the trends observed in the abiotic factors (excluding soil mechanical properties) in the SF and NF aspects, and in terms of soil depth (Fig. 2), were similar to other studies (Sidari et al 2008, Li et al 2011, Ussiri and Lal 2013, Chen et al 2016. Although some studies found that pH decreases with increased soil depth (Sonmez et al 2014), the reverse has also been shown, as was found in this study and forage-based pastures in the subtropical region of southeastern United States (Sigua and Coleman 2010).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Controlling factors of plant community composition with respect to the slope aspect gradient in the Qilian Mountains

et al. 2019

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Slope aspect can affect soil temperature and soil type distribution, which, in turn, is likely to influence plant community composition. Three Qilian mountains, located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China, with four distinct slope aspects including south‐facing (SF), southwest‐facing (SW), northwest‐facing (NW), and north‐facing (NF) slope aspects, were studied to investigate the impact of slope aspect on plant assemblages. The results indicated that the environmental conditions were favorable under the NF and NW slope aspects as the soil water, soil organic carbon (SOC), and soil total nitrogen (STN) contents were significantly higher, and soil temperature (ST) and soil bulk density (SBD) were significantly lower than under the SF and SW aspects. Under all slope aspects, however, SOC, STN, and soil total phosphate in the top 0.2 m of topsoil accounted for about 60% of its total quantity, to a soil depth of 0.6 m. The plant communities on the SF and SW slopes were found to be primarily composed of Poa pratensis, Potentilla anrisena, and Carex aridula. In contrast, the plant community on the NW slope was mainly composed of Kobresia humilis, Carex crebra, and Potentilla bifurca, while on the NF slope it was mainly composed of Picea crassifolia, Carex scabrirostris, and Polygonum macrophyllum. The order of the influence of environmental factors on species distributions was ST > SBD > sand > STN. Results suggest that the slope aspect has an important role in the regulation of the soil environment and plant assemblages and that ST and SBD were the main factors influencing plant community composition. Furthermore, evidence from this study suggests that these mountains will become increasingly vulnerable to global warming. Thus, the plant community composition on these mountains must be monitored continuously in order to allow for strategic adaptive management.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…, Ussiri and Lal , Chen et al. ). Although some studies found that pH decreases with increased soil depth (Sonmez et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling factors of plant community composition with respect to the slope aspect gradient in the Qilian Mountains

et al. 2019

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“…Bojko and Kabala [71] established a significant relationship between soil organic carbon pools and humus forms of mountain soils. In that regard, our results confirm the findings from earlier studies that demonstrated the pivotal role of topography (alongside with factors such as vegetation and climate) for the formation of soil organic carbon patterns in high mountain areas [72][73][74]. Spatial variation of organic matter decomposition has been reported to be engendered by differences of soil temperature [75][76][77][78], soil moisture [79][80][81][82], litter quality and quantity [83][84][85], slope processes [86] and seasonality.…”

Section: Soil Ecological Implicationssupporting

confidence: 81%

Humus Forms and Soil Microbiological Parameters in a Mountain Forest: Upscaling to the Slope Scale

et al. 2018

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Humus forms are the morphological results of organic matter decay and distribution in the topsoil, and thus important indicators for decomposer activities in forest ecosystems. The first aim was to examine if humus forms are suitable indicators of microbiological properties of the topsoil in a high mountain forest (Val di Rabbi, Trentino, Italian Alps). The second aim was to predict microbiological parameters based on the topsoil pH value on two slopes of the study area (ca. 1200-2200 m a.s.l.). We investigated humus forms and determined pH values and microbiological parameters (enzymatic activities, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio and the ratio of bacterial/archaeal abundance) of the uppermost mineral horizon. The results reveal significant correlations between pH value and microbiological parameters (except for bacterial/archaeal abundance), which enable upscaling to the landscape scale using linear models. Based on a random forest with kriging of model residuals, predictive maps of humus form, pH value and microbiological parameters show that decomposition processes in our study area correspond with the topography. As compared to locations on south-facing slopes or close to the valley bottom, locations on north-facing slopes or close to the upper treeline exhibit Moder (scarcely Mull or Amphimull), more acidic topsoil (around pH 4), a lower activity of leucine-aminopeptidase, a lower ratio of alkaline/acid phosphomonoesterase activity and a higher soil C/N ratio (above 20). Our results suggest a high potential of humus forms to indicate soil microbiological properties in a high mountain forest. Together with the pH values of the topsoil, humus forms proved to be a useful tool as a basis for predictive maps of leucine-aminopeptidase activity, ratio of alkaline/acid phosphomonoesterase activity and C/N ratio of the mineral topsoil.

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“…In addition, this growth stimulation may also be related to the temperature‐induced increase in soil N availability. A steady decline of the C:N ratios was observed with decreasing elevation (and a temperature increase) at soil depths 0–50 cm at this site; this is known to benefit aboveground growth of P. crassifolia (Chen et al, ). Other studies also reported that warming tended to increase soil N‐mineralization (Aerts, Cornelissen, & Dorrepaal, ; Natali, Schuur, & Rubin, ; Xu et al, ) and thus to change resource allocation among tissues (Danby & Hik, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Monitoring confirmed the relative consistency in micrometeorological conditions among control groups of the blocks (Supporting Information Table ). Moreover, soil sampling by Chen, He, Du, Yang, and Zhu () also revealed a non‐significant difference in soil depth, nutrient status, and light condition of each block site. The OTCs were made of polycarbonate with 90% of sunlight penetration.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Age‐mediation of tree‐growth responses to experimental warming in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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The trajectory of tree‐growth response to climate warming may be related to attributes like tree age. However, age‐mediation of temperature sensitivity of tree growth has received little attention. This study aimed to determine how age affects tree growth in a future warmer world. In a 2‐year ecosystem warming experiment in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau of China, we explored the response of Qinghai spruce saplings at two life stages to two warming levels. Our results indicated a significant interaction between warming and age for sapling growth of Qinghai spruce. In high‐level warming scenario, the experiment increased growing season air temperatures by approximately 1.0°C and annual growing degree‐days by 38%. In response, warmed saplings lengthened the growing season by 10 days on average and increased the final shoot length to a maximum of 104% compared to control groups. Comparison of age classes revealed that old saplings exhibited significantly higher temperature sensitivity than young saplings. This performance may be caused by the differences in adaptive strategy to the asymmetric warming occurring during the whole day. Increased daytime temperature was expected to significantly enhance leaf photosynthesis, whereas lack of obvious nighttime warming would effectively restrict autotrophic respiration, thus resulting in the higher growth rate of old saplings compared with young saplings. Moreover, lack of nighttime warming rendered young saplings to be still in high stresses of freezing injury at low temperatures. These findings highlight the need for additional research on the effects of further climate anomalies on tree species during their ontogenetic processes.

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Patterns and environmental controls of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in alpine ecosystems of northwestern China

Cited by 97 publications

References 39 publications

Controlling factors of plant community composition with respect to the slope aspect gradient in the Qilian Mountains

Controlling factors of plant community composition with respect to the slope aspect gradient in the Qilian Mountains

Humus Forms and Soil Microbiological Parameters in a Mountain Forest: Upscaling to the Slope Scale

Age‐mediation of tree‐growth responses to experimental warming in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

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