Phytolith Content In Larix Gmelinii Forest Soils And Its Relations With Soil Properties

Abstract

Aims Phytolith occluded carbon (PhytOC) has become one of the important mechanisms of long-term carbon sequestration in soil. Ecosystems with higher latitude in the northern hemisphere are expected to face the largest loss of soil carbon due to global warming. The contributions of phytoliths storage in soil layers of cold temperate forest need to be studied in depth. Methods We examined soil phytolith contents and other soil physicochemical properties of Larix gmelinii forest soils in Daxing’anling. ANOVA was employed to analyze differences in the quantitative characteristics of phytoliths. Bivariate correlation, regression analysis, principal component analysis and redundancy analysis were employed to analyze the relations between soil phytolith and soil properties. Results The phytolith in Larix gmelinii forest soil was mainly in elongate shape with a mean content of 19.1 g kg− 1. The phytolith had a stronger correlation with phosphorus rather than potassium and nitrogen and had no correlation with soil water content, and the dominant factors were Na, Mg and K content. Soil phytolith storage in the cold temperate zone (41.0 t ha− 1) was significantly higher than that in the tropical and subtropical zone. Conclusions Phytolith is an important way for long-term sequestration of soil organic carbon. Soil phytolith storage is affected by soil physicochemical properties and climate. However, the acid-base level of soil is more important for phytolith preservation. The effects of hydrothermal conditions on the yield and stability of phytoliths on a large spatial scale need to be studied in future.

Simulation of Radial Growth of Mongolian Pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) and Dahurian Larch (Larix gmelinii) Using the Vaganov–Shashkin Model in the Greater Khingan Range, Northeast China

“…Mongolian pine and Dahurian larch are the dominant species in natural coniferous forests in the Greater Khingan Range. Although several studies have investigated the response of major tree species to climatic changes in the Greater Khingan Range, they have primarily used linear models [39][40][41], with relatively few studies on tree physiological modeling [42]. No studies have been conducted on the physiological modeling of trees at the same elevation and different tree species in the western Greater Khingan Range.…”