Abstract
Litter input plays an important role in the soil organic carbon (SOC) balance between new C formation and old C loss in forests. However, the relative contributions of aboveground litter vs. belowground litter inputs to the SOC balance in various forests along a climatic gradient remain highly uncertain. In this study, we experimentally transplanted sugarcane soil with a heavy δ13C value to forest soil with a light δ13C value to evaluate the relative effects of aboveground and belowground litter inputs on new SOC formation and old SOC retention in natural secondary forests (boreal, temperate, subtropical and tropical forests) located across four different climatic regions in China. Our results showed that belowground root litter inputs can potentially lead to higher new SOC formation and lower old SOC retention compared to aboveground litter inputs. Moreover, the magnitudes of new SOC and old SOC change after litter inputs varied among natural forests, with SOC in tropical forests being more sensitive to belowground root inputs than SOC in temperate and subtropical forests. While the total and new SOC contents were positively correlated with mean annual temperature (MAT) and precipitation (MAP), the old SOC contents were negatively correlated with MAT and MAP. Our findings indicated that belowground root litter inputs have more profound influences on new SOC formation and old SOC loss than aboveground litter inputs, and climatic factors play a fundamental role in determining litter input-induced changes in SOC balance across different forest ecosystems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in supplementary information files.
References
Balesdent J, Balabane M (1996) Major contribution of roots to soil carbon storage inferred from maize cultivated soils. Soil Biol Biochem 28(9):1261–1263. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(96)00112-5
Bird JA, Torn MS (2006) Fine roots vs needles: a comparison of 13 C and 15 N dynamics in a ponderosa pine forest soil. Biogeochemistry 79(3):361–382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-5632-y
Bird JA, Kleber M, Torn MS (2008) 13 C and 15 N stabilization dynamics in soil organic matter fractions during needle and fine root decomposition. Org Geochem 39(4):465–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2007.12.003
Chen SP, Wang WT, Xu WT et al (2018) Plant diversity enhances productivity and soil carbon storage. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115(16):4027–4032. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1700298114
Cheng W, Parton WJ, Gonzalea-Meler MA et al (2014) Synthesis and modeling perspectives of rhizosphere priming. New Phytol 201:31–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12440
Cotrufo MF, Soong JL, Horton AJ, Campbell EE, Haddix ML, Wall DH, Parton WJ (2015) Formation of soil organic matter via biochemical and physical pathways of litter mass loss. Nat Geosci 8(10):776–779. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2520
Coûteaux MM, Bottner P, Berg B (1995) Litter decomposition, climate and litter quality. Tree 10:63–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(00)88978-8
Crow SE, Lajtha K, Bowden RD et al (2009) Sources of plant-derived carbon and stability of organic matter in soil: implications for global change. Glob Chang Biol 15:2003–2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.01850.x
Dixon RK, Solomon AM, Brown S et al (1994) Carbon pools and flux of global forest ecosystems. Science 263:185–190. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.263.5144.185
Fang X, Zhao L, Zhou G, Huang W, Liu J (2015) Increased litter input increases litter decomposition and soil respiration but has minor effects on soil organic carbon in subtropical forests. Plant Soil 392(1/2):139–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2450-4
Gale WJ, Cambardella CA, Bailey TB (2000) Surface residue- and root-derived carbon in stable and unstable aggregates. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64(1):196–201. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2000.641196x
Hatton PJ, Castanha C, Torn MS, Bird JA (2015) Litter type control on soil C and N stabilization dynamics in a temperate forest. Glob Chang Biol 21(3):1358–1367. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12786
Hoosbeek MR, Scarascia-Mugnozza GE (2009) Increased litter build up and soil organic matter stabilization in a poplar plantation after 6 years of atmospheric CO enrich (FACE): final results POP-EuroFACE compared other For FACE experiments. Ecosystems 12:220–239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-008-9219-z
Huo CF, Luo YQ, Cheng WX (2017) Rhizosphere priming effect: a meta analysis. Soil Biol Biochem 111(6):78–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.04.003
Huang J, Liu W, Yang S et al (2021) Plant carbon inputs through shoot, root, and mycorrhizal pathways affect soil organic carbon turnover differently. Soil Biol Biochem 160:108322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108322
Jobbágy EG, Jackson RB (2000) The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecol Appl 10:423–436. https://doi.org/10.2307/2641104
Kammer A, Hagedorn F (2011) Mineralisation, leaching and stabilisation of 13 C labelled leaf and twig litter in a beech forest soil. Biogeosciences 8(8):2195–2208. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-2195-2011
Kauppi P (1985) Sensitivity of boreal forest to possible climatic warming. Clim Change 7:45–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00139440
Kuzyakov Y, Bol R (2006) Sources and mechanisms of priming effect induced in two grassland soils amended with slurry and sugar. Soil Biol Biochem 38:747–758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2005.06.025
Kuzyakov Y, Friedel JK, Stahr K (2000) Review of mechanisms and quantification of priming effects. Soil Biol Biochem 32:1485–1498. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(00)00084-5
Lajtha K, Townsend KL, Kramer MG, Swanston C, Bowden RD, Nadelhoffer K (2014) Changes to particulate versus mineral-associated soil carbon after 50 years of litter manipulation in forest and prairie experimental ecosystems. Biogeochemistry 119(1–3):341–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-014-9970-5
Leff JW, Wieder WR, Taylor PG, Townsend AR, Nemergut DR, Grandy AS, Cleveland CC (2012) Experimental litterfall manipulation drives large and rapid changes in soil carbon cycling in a wet tropical forest. Glob Chang Biol 18(9):2969–2979. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-486.2012.02749.x
Liang C, Schimel JP, Jastrow JD (2017) The importance of anabolism in microbial control over soil carbon storage. Nat Microbiol 2(8):17105. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2017.105
Liu XF, Lin TC, Vadeboncoeur MA, Yang ZJ, Chen SD, Xiong DC, Xu C, Li YQ, Yang YS (2019) Root litter inputs exert greater influence over soil C than does aboveground litter in a subtropical natural forest. Plant Soil 444(1–2):489–499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04294-5
Luo Z, Wang E, Sun OJ (2016) A meta-analysis of the temporal dynamics of priming soil carbon decomposition by fresh carbon inputs across ecosystems. Soil Biol Biochem 101:96–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.07.011
Lyu M, Nie Y, Giardina CP et al (2019) Litter quality and site characteristics interact to affect the response of priming effect to temperature in subtropical forests. Funct Ecol 33:2226–2238. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13428
Miao SJ, Ye RZ, Qiao YF, Zhu-Barker X, Doane TA, Horwath WR (2017) The solubility of carbon inputs affects the priming of soil organic matter. Plant Soil 410(1/2):129–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2991-1
Mou Z, Kuang L, He L et al (2021) Climatic and edaphic controls over the elevational pattern of microbial necromass in subtropical forests. CATENA 207:105707. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105707
Ni HW, Jing XY, Xiao X, Zhang N, Wang XY, Sui YY, Sun B, Liang YT (2021) Microbial metabolism and necromass mediated fertilization effect on soil organic carbon after long- term community incubation in different climates. ISME J 15(9):2561–2573. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-00950-w
Olson JS (1963) Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology 44(2):322–331. https://doi.org/10.2307/1932179
Pan Y, Birdsey RA, Fang J et al (2011) A large and persistent carbon sink in the world’s forests. Science 333:988–993. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1201609
Peng C, Zhou X, Zhao S, Wang X, Zhu B, Piao S, Fang J (2009) Quantifying the response of forest carbon balance to future climate change in Northeastern China: model validation and prediction. Glob Planet Change 66:179–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2008.12.001
Rasse DP, Rumpel C, Dignac MF (2005) Is soil carbon mostly root carbon? Mechanisms for a specific stabilisation. Plant Soil 269(1–2):341–356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-004-0907-y
Rubino M, Lubritto C, D’Onofrio A et al (2009) Isotopic evidences for microbiologically mediated and direct C input to soil compounds from three different leaf litters during their decomposition. Environ Chem Lett 7:85–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-008-0141-6
Rubino M, Dungait JAJ, Evershed RP et al (2010) Carbon input belowground is the major C flux contributing to leaf litter mass loss: evidences from a 13C labelled-leaf litter experiment. Soil Biol Biochem 42(7):1009–1016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.02.018
Sayer EJ, Heard MS, Grant HK, Marthews TR, Tanner EVJ (2011) Soil carbon release enhanced by increased tropical forest litterfall. Nat Clim Change 1(6):304–307. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1190
Sayer EJ, Joseph Wright S, Tanner E et al (2012) Variable responses of lowland tropical forest nutrient status to fertilization and litter manipulation. Ecosystems 15:387–400. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9516-9
Scharlemann JPW, Tanner EVJ, Hiederer R, Kapos V (2014) Global soil carbon: understanding and managing the largest terrestrial carbon pool. Carbon Manag 5(1):81–91. https://doi.org/10.4155/cmt.13.77
Schmidt MWI, Torn MS, Abiven S et al (2011) Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property. Nature 478:49–56. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10386
Sokol NW, Bradford MA (2019) Microbial formation of stable soil carbon is more efficient from belowground than aboveground input. Nat Geosci 12:46–53. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0258-6
Sokol NW, Kuebbing SE, Karlsen-Ayala E, Bradford MA (2019) Evidence for the primacy of living root inputs, not root or shoot litter, in forming soil organic carbon. New Phytol 221:233–246. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15361
Steffens C, Helfrich M, Joergensen RG, Eissfeller V, Flessa H (2015) Translocation of 13 C- labeled leaf or root litter carbon of beech (fagus sylvatica L.) and ash (fraxinus excelsior L.) during decomposition-a laboratory incubation experiment. Soil Biol Biochem 83(2):125–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.01.015
Tamura M, Tharayil N (2014) Plant litter chemistry and microbial priming regulate the accrual, composition and stability of soil carbon in invaded ecosystems. New Phytol 203(1):110–124. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12795
Villarino SH, Pinto P, Jackson RB, Piñeiro G (2021) Plant rhizodeposition: a key factor for soil organic matter formation in stable fractions. Sci Adv 7(16):eabd3176. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd3176
Vincent AG, Turner BL, Tanner EVJ (2010) Soil organic phosphorus dynamics following perturbation of litter cycling in a tropical moist forest. Eur J Soil Sci 61:48–57. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2009.01200.x
Wang C, Qu LR, Yang LM, Liu DW, Morrissey E, Miao RH, Liu ZP, Wang QK, Fang YT, Bai E (2021) Large-scale importance of microbial carbon use efficiency and necromass to soil organic carbon. Glob Change Biol 27(10):2039–2048. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15550
Wen D, He N (2016) Forest carbon storage along the north-south transect of eastern China: Spatial patterns, allocation, and influencing factors. Ecol Indic 61(5):960–967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.10.054
Xia MX, Talhelm AF, Pregitzer KS (2015) Fine roots are the dominant source of recalcitrant plant litter in sugar maple-dominated northern hardwood forests. New Phytol 208(3):715–726. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13494
Xu S, Liu LL, Sayer EJ (2013) Variability of aboveground litter inputs alters soil physicochemical and biological processes: a meta-analysis of litterfall-manipulation experiments. Biogeosciences 10(3):5245–5272. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7537-2013
Zhang J, Zhao N, Liu C et al (2018) C:N:P stoichiometry in China’s forests: from organs to ecosystems. Funct Ecol 32:50–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12979
Zheng CH, Zeng CS, Chen ZQ, Lin MC (2006) A study on the changes of landscape pattern of estuary wetlands of the Minjiang river. Wetland Sci 4:29–34
Zhou G, Guan L, Wei X et al (2008) Factors influencing leaf litter decomposition: an intersite decomposition experiment across China. Plant Soil 311:61–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9658-5
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge and appreciate valuable comments made by two anonymous reviewers. We thank Dr. Liu Jun, Dr. Wang Yu-Zhe, Dr. Qu Lu-Ping, Ge Zhi-Qiang and Xu Wen-Bin for help in field work and laboratory, Dr. Abubakari Said Mgelwa for internal review and English proof.
Funding
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1805243; 42077094).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
TC wrote the first draft of the paper and analyzed data; XH collected samples and measured data. YH designed study concept and revised the final paper. QW, LY and XC critically revised the final paper.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Marie-Anne de Graaff.
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, T., Hong, XM., Hu, YL. et al. Effects of litter input on the balance of new and old soil organic carbon under natural forests along a climatic gradient in China. Biogeochemistry 160, 409–421 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-022-00970-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-022-00970-4