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Plant–soil interaction affects the mineralization of soil organic carbon: evidence from 73-year-old plantations with three coniferous tree species in subtropical Australia

  • Soils, Sec 2 • Global Change, Environ Risk Assess, Sustainable Land Use • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

Plantation is an important strategy for forest restoration and carbon (C) storage. Plantations with different tree species could significantly affect soil properties, including soil pH, soil nutrient content, soil microbial activities, and soil dissolved organic C. Changes in these abiotic and biotic factors could regulate mineralization of soil organic C (SOC). However, it remains unclear to what extent these factors affect the mineralization of SOC under different tree species plantations.

Materials and methods

Soil was collected at 0–10 cm depth from plantations with Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii, Araucaria cunninghamii, and Agathis australis, respectively, in southeast Queensland, Australia. Soil samples were assayed for soil organic C; organic N and mineralization of SOC; soil particle size; total C, N, and P; and pH. In addition, a 42-day laboratory incubation with substrate additions was done to examine the influence of different substrates and their combinations on bio-available organic C.

Results and discussion

Our results suggested that SOC mineralization was mainly determined by soil pH and soil C content among plantations with different tree species, whereas SOC mineralization was not correlated with soil N and P contents. These results were further confirmed by the substrate addition experiments. SOC mineralization of soils from slash pine showed greater response to C (glucose) addition than soils from other two plantations, which suggested significant differences in SOC mineralization among plantations with different tree species. However, neither N addition nor P addition had significant effects on SOC mineralization.

Conclusions

Our results indicated that plantations with different tree species substantially affect the mineralization and stability of soil organic C pool mainly by soil pH and soil C content.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31360136, 31560168, 31660072), the Jiangxi Province Natural Science Foundation of China (20151BAB204007, 20161BAB204175), the Opening Foundation of Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research (Jiangxi Normal University), and the Ministry of Education (PK2014009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, 330022, China

    Shunbao Lu & Yanjie Zhang

  2. Griffith School of Environment, Australian River Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, 4111, Australia

    Shunbao Lu & Chengrong Chen

  3. College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330045, China

    Shunbao Lu & Xiaomin Guo

  4. Environmental Futures Research Institute and School of Natural Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan, 4111, Australia

    Zhihong Xu

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  1. Shunbao Lu
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  2. Yanjie Zhang
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Correspondence to Chengrong Chen.

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Responsible editor: Hailong Wang

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Lu, S., Zhang, Y., Chen, C. et al. Plant–soil interaction affects the mineralization of soil organic carbon: evidence from 73-year-old plantations with three coniferous tree species in subtropical Australia. J Soils Sediments 17, 985–995 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1602-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1602-3

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