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Response of the Organic Carbon Fractions and Stability of Soil to Alpine Marsh Degradation in Zoige, East Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

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Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions play a crucial role in the carbon cycle of alpine wetland ecosystems and regional climate regulation. In the last decades, alpine marshes at Tibetan Plateau have undergone increased degradation. The effects of marsh degradation on soil labile and recalcitrant organic carbon fractions and on SOC stability remain unclear. In this study, we investigated changes in SOC fractions with different biochemical recalcitrance and stability in the marsh ecosystems with various levels of degradation in the Zoige Wetland, Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Soil samples of relatively pristine marsh (RPM), lightly degraded marsh (LDM), moderately degraded marsh (MDM), heavily degraded marsh (HDM) and severely degraded marsh (SDM) were collected and analysed using the acid hydrolysis method. Compared with RPM, the concentrations of SOC labile fraction I (non-cellulosic polysaccharides), SOC labile fraction II (cellulose) and recalcitrant organic carbon (ROC) in degraded marshes decreased significantly: 29–97, 38–95 and 32–99%, respectively, except for the LDM. The SOC recalcitrance index (RIc) in the HDM and SDM was significantly lower than that in RPM by 11–35 and 15–47%, respectively; compared with RPM, the stability of organic carbon was significantly lower in the HDM and SDM. Additionally, the marsh degradation increased vertical variation in the concentrations of SOC fractions. The degradation of alpine marshes decreases the capacity for carbon (C) sequestration via decreasing the resistance of SOC to biodegradation, indicating that the alpine marsh degradation may weaken the carbon sink capacity of the Zoige Plateau, thus aggravating the global greenhouse effect.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Associate Professor Petri Penttinen, Sichuan Agricultural University, for critical revision of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41401328), and the CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilisation & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. kxysws1606). T

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  1. College of Resource Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China

    Yulin Pu, Chun Ye, Sijia Hu, Ting Li & Yongxia Jia

  2. CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilisation & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Yulin Pu & Shuang Xiang

  3. College of Environmental Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China

    Shirong Zhang, Guiyin Wang & Xiaoxun Xu

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  1. Yulin Pu
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Highlights

• Concentrations of labile and recalcitrant SOC decreased with marsh degradation.

• Vertical variation in labile and recalcitrant SOC increased in degraded marshes.

• Resistance of SOC to biodegradation decreased after marsh was moderately degraded.

• Marsh degradation reduced the capacity of SOC sequestration.

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Pu, Y., Ye, C., Zhang, S. et al. Response of the Organic Carbon Fractions and Stability of Soil to Alpine Marsh Degradation in Zoige, East Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 20, 2145–2155 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-020-00282-2

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