Pedogenesis, permafrost, and soil moisture as controlling factors for soil nitrogen and carbon contents across the Tibetan Plateau

Baumann, Frank; He, Jin‐Sheng; Schmidt, Karsten; Kühn, Peter; Scholten, Thomas

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.01953.x

Cited by 168 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Low temperature leads to slower decomposition rates (Wu et al, 2003;Xie et al, 2007;Kirschbaum, 1995), and high precipitation causes high vegetation productivity (Jobbagy and Jackson, 2000;Wynn et al, 2006;Callesen et al, 2003). In addition, high moisture, and especially temporal water saturation in the Tibetan grasslands due to the frozen ground, also leads to slower decomposition rates (Baumann et al, 2009). All these factors contribute to the accumulation of organic carbon in the topsoil of the Tibetan grasslands.…”

Section: Higher Sic and Soc In The Tibetan Grasslandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, alpine meadows occur under cold and humid environments. Consequently, decomposition of SOC is limited by temperature and temporal water saturation (Davidson and Janssens, 2006;Jobbagy and Jackson, 2000;Baumann et al, 2009). These two interrelated processes (i.e.…”

Section: Different Controls On the Large Scale Patterns Of Sic And Socmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Soil sampling was split into two parts: schematic soil sampling by drilling at three depth increments (0-5, 5-10, and 10-20 cm) for SIC and SOC analyses, as well as volumetric sampling using a standard container (100 cm 3 in volume) at equal depths for soil bulk density (SBD) and gravimetric water content (equalling to soil moisture, SM) determination. The sampling protocol is described in Baumann et al (2009). Soil samples were air-dried, all live root material was removed and the remaining soil was grounded using a ball mill (NM200, Retsch, Germany).…”

Section: Soil and Biomass Surveymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SOC stocks are reported to range from 37.7 Pg (Xie et al, 2007) to 41.0 Pg (Ni, 2002) in Chinese grasslands, and about 16.7 Pg in northern China's grasslands (Yang et al, 2010b). On the scale of the whole of China, SOC densities are significantly influenced by temperature (Xie et al, 2007), while soil moisture and texture control SOC density in the Tibetan grasslands (Yang et al, 2008;Baumann et al, 2009). For SIC, total stocks of the top 1 m are estimated to vary from 53.3 Pg to 77.9 Pg Mi et al, 2008;Li et al, 2007) in China.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, many studies have been conducted to investigate the pattern, controls and dynamic of SOC (e.g. Ni, 2002;Yang et al, 2010b;Wu et al, 2003;Yu et al, 2007;Xie et al, 2007;Baumann et al, 2009) as well as SIC (e.g. Yang et al, 2010a;Mi et al, 2008;Feng et al, 2002) in Chinese grasslands.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organic and inorganic carbon in the topsoil of the Mongolian and Tibetan grasslands: pattern, control and implications

et al. 2012

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Abstract. Soil carbon (C) is the largest C pool in the terrestrial biosphere and includes both inorganic and organic components. Studying patterns and controls of soil C help us to understand and estimate potential responses of soil C to global change in the future. Here we analyzed topsoil data of 81 sites obtained from a regional survey across grasslands in the Inner Mongolia and on the Tibetan Plateau during 2006-2007, attempting to find the patterns and controls of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) and soil organic carbon (SOC). The averages of inorganic and organic carbon in the topsoil (0-20 cm) across the study region were 0.38 % and 3.63 %, ranging between 0.00-2.92 % and 0.32-26.17 % respectively. Both SIC and SOC in the Tibetan grasslands (0.51 % and 5.24 % respectively) were higher than those in the Inner Mongolian grasslands (0.21 % and 1.61 %). Regression tree analyses showed that the spatial pattern of SIC and SOC were controlled by different factors. Chemical and physical processes of soil formation drive the spatial pattern of SIC, while biotic processes drive the spatial pattern of SOC. SIC was controlled by soil acidification and other processes depending on soil pH. Vegetation type is the most important variable driving the spatial pattern of SOC. According to our models, given the acidification rate in Chinese grassland soils in the future is the same as that in Chinese cropland soils during the past two decades: 0.27 and 0.48 units per 20 yr in the Inner Mongolian grasslands and the Tibetan grasslands respectively, it will lead to a 30 % and 53 % decrease in SIC in the Inner Mongolian grasslands and the Tibetan grasslands respectively. However, negative relationship between soil pH and SOC suggests that acidification will inhibit decomposition of SOC, thus will not lead to a significant general loss of carbon from soils in these regions.

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Section: Higher Sic and Soc In The Tibetan Grasslandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Different Controls On the Large Scale Patterns Of Sic And Socmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Soil and Biomass Surveymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organic and inorganic carbon in the topsoil of the Mongolian and Tibetan grasslands: pattern, control and implications

et al. 2012

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Environmental controls on soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in the high‐altitude arid western Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau permafrost region

Zhao

Han

et al. 2016

JGR Biogeosciences

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While permafrost in the circum‐Artic has great influence on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks, this might not be the case in low‐latitude arid permafrost regions. We test this hypothesis in the western Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP) permafrost region. Fifty‐nine soil profiles were analyzed to examine the SOC and TN distribution and the controlling factors in western QTP, which is a desert steppe ecoregion. Mean stocks of SOC (5.29 kg m−2) and TN (0.56 kg m−2) for the top 200 cm in this area were lower than those of the east QTP and circum‐Arctic regions. The SOC and TN stocks under vegetative cover with permafrost conditions were significantly higher than those of desert conditions. The SOC and TN stocks for the layers of different depths were related to the content of clay, silt, and moisture. Although the active layer thickness (ALT) had a significant negative correlation to soil moisture, the ALT explained little or no variance in the SOC and TN stocks. The results showed that in the vast permafrost regions of the western QTP, the SOC and TN stocks are very low, and the main controlling factors for the SOC and TN are soil texture, moisture, and vegetation type. The SOC pool in this area may not be as vulnerable to degradation associated with climate warming and thus not emit greenhouse gases at the same rate as other permafrost regions. The different response of the SOC in this region should be considered in carbon cycling models.

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A conceptual model of the controlling factors of soil organic carbon and nitrogen densities in a permafrost-affected region on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Han

Zhao

et al. 2017

J. Geophys. Res. Biogeosci.

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Many investigations of the preservation of soil organic carbon (SOC) in permafrost regions have examined roles of geomorphology, pedogenesis, vegetation cover, and permafrost within particular regions. However, it is difficult to disentangle the effects of multiple factors on the SOC in permafrost regions due to the heterogeneity in environmental conditions. Based on data from 73 soil study sites in permafrost regions of the eastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau, we developed a simple conceptual model, which relates SOC to topography, vegetation, and pedogenesis. We summarized the dominant factors and their controls on SOC using 31 measured soil physiochemical variables. Soil texture explains approximately 60% of the variations in the SOC stocks for the upper 0–2 m soil. Soil particle size closely correlates to soil moisture, which is an important determinant of SOC. Soil salinity and cations are important factors as well and can explain about 10% of the variations in SOC. The SOC and total nitrogen (TN) stocks for the 1–2 m depths have larger uncertainties than those of upper 1 m soil layer. The vegetation, pH, and bulk density mainly affects SOC and TN stocks for the upper 1 m soil layers, while the active layer thickness and soil particle size have greater influence on SOC and TN stocks for the 1–2 m soils. Our results suggest that the soil particle size is the most important controller of SOC pools, and the stocks of SOC and TN are strongly effected by soil development processes in the permafrost regions of the eastern Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau.

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Pedogenesis, permafrost, and soil moisture as controlling factors for soil nitrogen and carbon contents across the Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 168 publications

References 68 publications

Organic and inorganic carbon in the topsoil of the Mongolian and Tibetan grasslands: pattern, control and implications

Organic and inorganic carbon in the topsoil of the Mongolian and Tibetan grasslands: pattern, control and implications

Environmental controls on soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in the high‐altitude arid western Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau permafrost region

A conceptual model of the controlling factors of soil organic carbon and nitrogen densities in a permafrost-affected region on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

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