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Latitudinal patterns and influencing factors of soil humic carbon fractions from tropical to temperate forests

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Abstract

Soil humic carbon is an important component of soil organic carbon (SOC) in terrestrial ecosystems. However, no study to date has investigated its geographical patterns and the main factors that influence it at a large scale, despite the fact that it is critical for exploring the influence of climate change on soil C storage and turnover. We measured levels of SOC, humic acid carbon (HAC), fulvic acid carbon (FAC), humin carbon (HUC), and extractable humus carbon (HEC) in the 0–10 cm soil layer in nine typical forests along the 3800-km North-South Transect of Eastern China (NSTEC) to elucidate the latitudinal patterns of soil humic carbon fractions and their main influencing factors. SOC, HAC, FAC, HUC, and HEC increased with increasing latitude (all P<0.001), and exhibited a general trend of tropical < subtropical < temperate. The ratios of humic C fractions to SOC were 9.48%–12.27% (HAC), 20.68%–29.31% (FAC), and 59.37%–61.38% (HUC). Climate, soil texture, and soil microbes jointly explained more than 90% of the latitudinal variation in SOC, HAC, FAC, HEC, and HUC, and interactive effects were important. These findings elucidate latitudinal patterns of soil humic C fractions in forests at a large scale, and may improve models of soil C turnover and storage.

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Author notes

  1. The authors Xu Li and Wang Chunyan contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing, 100101, China

    Li Xu, Jianxing Zhu, Yang Gao, Meiling Li, Guirui Yu & Nianpeng He

  2. College of Geographical Science, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Yuliang Lv

  3. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Li Xu, Jianxing Zhu & Nianpeng He

  4. Branch of Experimental School of Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China

    Chunyan Wang

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  1. Li Xu
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  2. Chunyan Wang
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Correspondence to Nianpeng He.

Additional information

Foundation: National Key Research Project of China, No2016YFC0500202; STS of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.KFJ- SW-STS-167; National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.31290221, No.31570471; Youth Innovation Research Team Project, NoLENOM2016Q0005

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Xu, L., Wang, C., Zhu, J. et al. Latitudinal patterns and influencing factors of soil humic carbon fractions from tropical to temperate forests. J. Geogr. Sci. 28, 15–30 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-018-1456-2

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