Effects of land use and cultivation time on soil organic and inorganic carbon storage in deep soils

doi:10.1007/s11442-020-1762-3

Abstract

Abstract:

The vertical distribution and exchange mechanisms of soil organic and inorganic carbon (SOC, SIC) play an important role in assessing carbon (C) cycling and budgets. However, the impact of land use through time for deep soil C (below 100 cm) is not well known. To investigate deep C storage under different land uses and evaluate how it changes with time, we collected soil samples to a depth of 500 cm in a soil profile in the Gutun watershed on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP); and determined SOC, SIC, and bulk density. The magnitude of SOC stocks in the 0-500 cm depth range fell into the following ranking: shrubland (17.2 kg m^-2) > grassland (16.3 kg m^-2) > forestland (15.2 kg m^-2) > cropland (14.1 kg m^-2) > gully land (6.4 kg m^-2). The ranking for SIC stocks were: grassland (104.1 kg m^-2) > forestland (96.2 kg m^-2) > shrubland (90.6 kg m^-2) > cropland (82.4 kg m^-2) > gully land (50.3 kg m^-2). Respective SOC and SIC stocks were at least 1.6- and 2.1-fold higher within the 100-500 cm depth range, as compared to the 0-100 cm depth range. Overall SOC and SIC stocks decreased significantly from the 5th to the 15th year of cultivation in croplands, and generally increased up to the 70th year. Both SOC and SIC stocks showed a turning point at 15 years cultivation, which should be considered when evaluating soil C sequestration. Estimates of C stocks greatly depends on soil sampling depth, and understanding the influences of land use and time will improve soil productivity and conservation in regions with deep soils.

Key words: cultivation time, deep soil, Gutun watershed, land use, inorganic carbon, organic carbon

YU Xia, ZHOU Weijian, WANG Yunqiang, CHENG Peng, HOU Yaoyao, XIONG Xiaohu, DU Hua, YANG Ling, WANG Ya. Effects of land use and cultivation time on soil organic and inorganic carbon storage in deep soils[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2020, 30(6): 921-934.

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Land-use type	Texture (%)			BD*(g cm^-3)	SWC(g kg^-1)	SOC(g kg^-1)	SIC(g kg^-1)
Land-use type	Sand	Silt	Clay	BD*(g cm^-3)	SWC(g kg^-1)	SOC(g kg^-1)	SIC(g kg^-1)
Grassland	19.2±3.8ab	78.2±3.6a	2.6±0.3bc	1.3±0.1b	126.0±20.3b	2.96±2.22a	16.77±3.00a
Shrubland	19.7±3.0ab	77.6±2.8a	2.7±0.4bc	1.3±0.1b	92.8±47.5c	2.76±1.75ab	13.79±2.40bc
Forestland	22.3±4.5a	75.4±4.3a	2.3±0.4c	1.3±0.1b	71.7±19.4c	2.58±1.22ab	14.82±1.81ab
Cropland	22.1±5.4a	75.1±5.0a	2.8±0.7b	1.5±0.2ab	177.2±51.6a	2.04±1.10ab	12.38±3.18c
Gully land	18.6±4.2b	78.2±3.8a	3.2±0.6a	1.4±0.1a	197.7±31.0a	1.84±1.29b	14.22±2.65bc

Factor of variation	BD		SWC		SOC		SIC		SOCS		SICS
Factor of variation	F	p	F	p	F	p	F	p	F	p	F	p
Land-use types	24.32	0.000	79.060	0.000	11.852	0.000	25.320	0.000	3.452	0.009	6.222	0.000
Soil depth	2.310	0.033	6.080	0.000	4.434	0.000	2.121	0.000	4.651	0.000	17.781	0.000
Time	112.59	0.000	36.283	0.000	18.082	0.000	31.666	0.000	21.867	0.000	13.365	0.000

Depth (cm)		0-20	20-60	60-100	100-200	200-300	300-400	400-500
SOC	Grassland	7.26±4.56aA	3.93±3.05aAB	2.38±0.93aB	2.51±1.12aB	3.09±1.68aB	2.27±0.61aB	1.88±1.35bB
	Shrubland	3.79±1.52abA	1.55±0.8aB	1.07±0.2aB	2.89±2.71aA	2.71±1.25abA	1.77±0.58aB	4.40±1.33aA
	Forestland	3.29±0.94abA	2.90±1.57aA	2.38±1.49aA	2.08±0.89aA	2.39±0.84abA	3.19±1.61aA	2.03±0.51bA
	Cropland	2.52±1.25bA	1.81±1.25aAB	1.46±0.63aB	1.99±1.05aAB	1.89±0.86bAB	2.34±1.07aAB	2.22±1.30bAB
	Gully land	1.68±1.27bA	1.61±1.14aA	2.03±1.57aA	2.26±1.77aA	1.42±0.39bA
SIC	Grassland	14.97±1.39abB	17.2±2.0abAB	17.4±2.2abAB	16.25±0.92aB	14.18±1.86aB	17.45±3.7aAB	20.18±2.58aA
	Shrubland	16.91±0.01aA	16.55±0.21aA	16.45±0.07aA	14.3±2.9abAB	13.31±1.13aB	13.21±1.01bB	10.96±1.44bB
	Forestland	14.27±1.37abA	13.97±1.96abA	14.42±1.61abA	14.75±1.12abA	14.57±1.20aA	14.76±2.63aA	17.01±0.53abA
	Cropland	13.40±1.61bA	13.39±1.44bA	13.05±2.77bA	12.68±1.69bA	11.99±3.47aA	11.52±4.16bA	11.34±5.04bA
	Gully land	15.10±1.40abA	15.66±1.72abA	14.91±1.07abA	14.17±2.86abA	11.88±3.68aA

Depth (cm)		0-20	20-60	60-100	100-200	200-300	300-400	400-500
SOC	RC5	2.02±1aAB	1.41±0.94bB	1.63±0.78aAB	2.35±0.96abAB	1.87±0.35bcAB	2.96±0.48abA	2.6±0.77aAB
	RC15	1.82±0.5bA	1.51±1.82bA	1.13±0.66aA	1.45±0.88bA	1.3±0.89cA	1±0.76cA	0.72±0.53bA
	RC35	3.3±0.83aA	2.4±1.07aAB	1.69±0.26aB	2.12±0.43abAB	2.34±0.53abAB	2.49±0.43abAB	2.9±1.5aAB
	RC60	2.61±1.96aA	1.61±1.14bA	1.4±0.75aA	1.69±0.45bA	1.79±0.6cA	2.35±1.28bA	2.03±1.31abA
	RC70	3.04±1.18aAB	2.26±1.25aAB	1.50±0.57aB	2.66±1.90aAB	3.03±1.02aAB	3.45±0.77aA
SIC	RC5	11.95±1.41bA	12.47±2.5aA	12.66±2.9abA	12.29±1.67bA	13.56±1.45aA	12.9±1.64aA	12.75±2.99aA
	RC15	14.07±2.21abA	14.29±1.2aA	14.31±1.11aA	12.83±1bAB	10.46±5.41aAB	6.16±5.2bBC	0.94±0.63bC
	RC35	13.64±0.37abA	13.44±0.73aA	14.39±1.09aA	13.5±0.51bA	13.12±1aA	12.99±1.82aA	14.13±3.16aA
	RC60	14.65±1.39aA	13.52±0.93aAB	13.32±0.83abAB	13.17±0.94bAB	12.33±0.9aB	13.26±1.93aAB	12.9±1.26aAB
	RC70	12.35±0.25abA	13.13±0.82aA	9.65±5.08bA	16.43±3.24aA	10.53±3.87aA	13.09±1.48aA