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The accumulation of phytolith-occluded carbon in soils of different grasslands

  • Soils, Sec 2 • Global Change, Environ Risk Assess, Sustainable Land Use • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

A better understanding of the role of grassland systems in producing and storing phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) will provide crucial information in addressing global climate change caused by a rapid increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration.

Materials and methods

Soil samples of typical steppe, meadow steppe, and meadow in Inner Mongolia, China, were taken at 0–10-, 10–20-, 20–40-, and 40–60-cm depths in July and August of 2015. The soil phytoliths were isolated by heavy liquid (ZnBr2), and the soil PhytOC was determined by the traditional potassium dichromate method.

Results and discussion

The results of our study showed that the storage of soil phytoliths was significantly higher in the meadow (33.44 ± 0.91 t ha−1) cf. meadow steppe (26.8 ± 0.98 t ha−1) and typical steppe (21.19 ± 4.91 t ha−1), which were not different. The soil PhytOC storage was significantly different among grassland types, being: meadow (0.39 ± 0.01 t ha−1) > meadow steppe (0.29 ± 0.02 t ha−1) > typical steppe (0.23 ± 0.02 t ha−1). PhytOC storage in typical steppe soil within the 0–60-cm soil layer is the lowest and that in meadow soils is the highest. The grassland type and the soil condition play significant roles in accumulation of phytoliths and PhytOC in different grassland soils. We suggest that the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) is important in soil phytolith accumulation and PhytOC content.

Conclusions

Phytolith and PhytOC storages in grassland soil are influenced by factors such as grass type, local climate and soil conditions, and management practices. Management practices to increase grass biomass production can significantly enhance phytolith C sequestration.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41522207, 41571130042) and State’s Key Project of Research and Development Plan of China (2016YFA0601002). We thank M.S. Wang Yajie and M.S. Qiu Bubu for the help in drawing Fig.1 of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment and Resources, Zhejiang Agricultural and Forestry University, Lin’an, Zhejiang, 311300, China

    Wenjie Pan, Zhaoliang Song, Yutong Li & Hailong Wang

  2. Institute of the Surface-Earth System Science Research, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Wenjie Pan, Zhaoliang Song, Yutong Li, Xiaomin Yang, Xiaodong Zhang & Zijuan Xu

  3. College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Hongyan Liu, Yue Han & Xu Liu

  4. New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, 1243 Bruxner Highway, Wollongbar, NSW, 2477, Australia

    Lukas Van Zwieten

  5. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, 528000, China

    Hailong Wang

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  1. Wenjie Pan
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  2. Zhaoliang Song
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Correspondence to Zhaoliang Song or Hongyan Liu.

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Pan, W., Song, Z., Liu, H. et al. The accumulation of phytolith-occluded carbon in soils of different grasslands. J Soils Sediments 17, 2420–2427 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1690-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1690-8

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