Soil carbon stores in Nordic well‐drained forest soils—relationships with climate and texture class

Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) pools in forest floors and mineral soil to a depth of 100 cm were determined in 234 well‐drained Nordic forest soils from latitude 55–68?‚??°‐N, and longitude 6–28?‚??°‐E. The data were compiled in a database of Nordic forest soils, from literature, and sources of validated data the authors had access to. The SOC pool increased with both mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP), and the increase with MAT was more pronounced for coarse‐textured soils than for medium‐textured soils. Soil organic carbon in fine‐textured soils was not correlated with MAT and MAP. Differences between texture classes were mainly due to different carbon stores in the upper 40 cm of the mineral soil and in the forest floor. The emphasis on well‐drained soils eliminated the impact of hampered decomposition in hydromorphic soils. Large carbon accumulation in such soils probably explains the negative relationship between SOC and temperature reported in other studies. The increase in SOC with temperature and precipitation is interpreted as an indirect effect of higher net primary production.

Influence of Environmental Conditions on Carbon and Nitrogen Content in Serbian Rendzina Soils

“…Decarbonated Rendzinas have greatest content of C and N in southeast and central Serbia, while the amount of nitrogen in humus is the greatest in west and central Serbia. Similar inconsistent results have been reported in other regions [21,22].…”

Soil Organic Carbon Storage and Stability in the Aspen-Conifer Ecotone in Montane Forests in Utah, USA

“…Surface interactions between SOC and mineral particles thus results in the longer residence time of the MoM fraction and the accumulation of stable SOC. The relationship between clay content and total SOC storage has been used in regional and global SOC assessments [3,[53][54][55]. In Mediterranean climates, clay content and soil properties contributing to stabilization mechanisms (e.g., polyvalent cations involved in organo-mineral associations) have also been found to favor SOC storage in evergreen oak forests [56].…”

Mean residence time of O horizon carbon along a climatic gradient in Scandinavia estimated by 14C measurements of archived soils

“…At Birkenes too, high N deposition might explain the MRT being higher than expected from the mild climate. The trend with increasing SOC stocks with latitude across Scandinavia has in some previous studies been interpreted as an effect of a gradient in climate (Liski & Westman 1997;Callesen et al 2003). It has however been suggested recently that the gradient in SOC is mainly related to a gradient in N deposition (Kleja et al 2008), as N deposition has the dual effect of both increasing litter inputs and increasing MRT.…”

“…Differences in climate have been suggested as a likely mechanism by some authors (Liski & Westman, 1997;Callesen et al 2003), while others have proposed that the differences in SOC stocks are mainly due to a gradient in N deposition (Kleja et al 2008). The size of the SOC stock is determined by both the rate of litter input and by how long the carbon stays in the soil, i.e.…”