Soil temperatures and active carbon components as key drivers of C stock dynamics between two different stand ages of Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation

PeerJ

article

Junyong Ma¹  Hairong Han¹  Xiaoqin Cheng¹ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Ministry of Forest Cultivation and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University

关键词: Environmental factors;    Soil organic carbon;    Forest stand age;    Soil carbon components;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.8384

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Forest soils sequester a large amount of carbon (C) and have a significant effect on the global C balance. Forests are commonly managed to maintain certain age structures but the effects of this management on soil C pools (kg C m−2) is still uncertain. We compared 40-year-old (1GF) and 24-year-old (2GF) plantations of Larix principis-rupprechtii in North China. Specifically, we measured environmental factors (e.g., soil temperature, moisture, and pH), the active C and nitrogen (N) pools (e.g., soil organic C, soil total N, dissolved organic C and N, microbial biomass C and N), and soil processes (e.g., C mineralization and microbial activity in different seasons) in five soil layers (0–50 cm, 10 cm for each soil layer) across the growing seasons in three 25 m × 25 m plots in each age class (1GF and 2GF). Findings indicated that the soil organic C pool in the older 1GF forest (12.43 kg C m−2) was significantly higher than 2GF forests (9.56 kg C m−2), and that soil temperature in 1GF forests was 9.8 °C, on average, 2.9% warmer than temperature in 2GF forests. The C lost as carbon dioxide (CO2) as a result of mineralization in the 2GF plots may partly explain the lower soil organic C pool in these younger forests; microorganisms likely drive this process.

【 授权许可】

CC BY