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Dynamics of soil labile carbon and nitrogen pools in riparian zone of Wyaralong Dam in Southeast Queensland, Australia

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

Purpose

Soil labile carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools are considered to be sensitive indicators of changes in soil C and N pools. In this study, we examined possible factors affecting spatial and seasonal variations in soil labile C and N pools in the riparian zones in Southeast Queensland, Australia.

Materials and methods

Soil and sediment samples were collected from two sites in the riparian areas. The spatial and seasonal variabilities of soil moisture, hot-water extractable organic C and total N (HWEOC and HWETN), microbial biomass C and N (MBC and MBN), and the relationships among them were examined.

Results and discussion

Soil labile C and N pools decreased along the transects in both soil depths of the two soil types, with the peak or bottom of values detected between upland slope and the riparian zone. Other factors rather than soil moisture were more important in regulating seasonal changes of soil HWEOC and HWETN except the dry-rewetting influence in November 2013. Soil moisture played a significant role in the seasonal variations of MBC and MBN. Soil labile C (HWEOC and MBC) and N (HWETN and MBN) pools at Site 1 (S1; heavy texture), which were significantly higher than those at Site 2 (S2; light texture).

Conclusions

Soil moisture would be an important driving factor for the spatial and seasonal distributions of soil labile C and N pools. Our study highlighted the importance of riparian zones as the hot spot of soil C and N dynamics, especially at the onset of rewetting dry soil in subtropical Australia.

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Acknowledgements

This work was sponsored by SEQ Water DAM Project. Geoffrey Lambert, Haitao Zhao, Jian Wang, and Yan Zhao were greatly acknowledged for their assistance in the field work. We also thank Rene Diocares and Radoslaw Bak for their technical supports in sample analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia

    Qi Jiang, Zhihong Xu & Haibo Dong

  2. School of Natural Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia

    Qi Jiang & Zhihong Xu

  3. College of Life Sciences, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yanbin Hao

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  1. Qi Jiang
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  2. Zhihong Xu
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  4. Haibo Dong
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Correspondence to Qi Jiang or Zhihong Xu.

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Responsible editor: Hailong Wang

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Jiang, Q., Xu, Z., Hao, Y. et al. Dynamics of soil labile carbon and nitrogen pools in riparian zone of Wyaralong Dam in Southeast Queensland, Australia. J Soils Sediments 17, 1030–1044 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1675-7

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