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Impact of vegetation restoration on soil organic carbon stocks and aggregates in a karst rocky desertification area in Southwest China

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

The objectives of the study were as follows: (a) to determine the response of soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions to vegetation restoration; (b) to examine the contributions of aggregate-associated OC to total soil OC accumulation along vegetation restoration, (c) to identify the factors that affect SOC accumulation along natural vegetation restoration in a karst region in Southwest China.

Materials and methods

Four vegetation restoration stages, namely, grassland, shrubland, shrub-arbor mixed forestland, and arbor forestland, were compared with cropland (CL). Soil samples were collected at depths of 0–10 cm and separated into five aggregate size fractions. SOC, light fraction OC (LFOC), easily oxidizable OC (EOC), and aggregate-associated OCs were determined for different aggregate sizes and total soil.

Results and discussion

Natural vegetation restoration increased macroaggregate amount but decreased the fractions of meso- and microaggregates. Vegetation restoration significantly increased total SOC, EOC, and LFOC concentrations and stocks and soil aggregate-associated OC concentrations. The responses of EOC and LFOC in total soil and soil aggregates were more sensitive than those of SOC along with vegetation restoration. Aggregate-associated OC concentrations generally increased with a decrease in aggregate size. Macro- and microaggregate-associated OC stocks increased, but mesoaggregate-associated OC stocks decreased following the conversion of CL to a natural vegetation ecosystem. The increase in SOC stocks was primarily attributed to the macroaggregate-associated OC stocks and their changes. OC concentrations and stocks in total soil and the soil aggregates were significantly positively related to exchangeable calcium content.

Conclusions

Vegetation restoration considerably affects the amount of soil aggregates, OC concentrations, and stocks in total soil and soil aggregates. Changes in OC concentrations and stocks can be more pronounced in the liable carbon fraction than in total SOC. The increase in SOC was mostly attributed to OC accumulation in macroaggregates. Exchangeable calcium also affected soil OC accumulation in total soil and soil aggregates.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41601584), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0502603) and Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Foundation (Qiankehe Foundation [2017]1417), Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Program (Qiankehe Platform Talent [2017]5726), Guizhou Normal University Doctoral Research Fund (No. 2014), Earthquake science and Technology Spark Program, China Earthquake Administration (XH19028YSX), and Domestic First-class Discipline Construction Project in Guizhou (Geography of Guizhou Normal University, Qiankehe Research Foundation [2017] 85).

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Author notes

  1. Ning Hu and Jiacheng Lan contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earthquake Administration of Xinxiang City, Xinxiang, 453000, People’s Republic of China

    Ning Hu

  2. School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, People’s Republic of China

    Ning Hu

  3. School of Karst Science/State Engineering Technology Institute for Karst Desertification control, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, People’s Republic of China

    Jiacheng Lan

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  1. Ning Hu
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  2. Jiacheng Lan
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Correspondence to Jiacheng Lan.

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Responsible editor: Weixin Ding

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Hu, N., Lan, J. Impact of vegetation restoration on soil organic carbon stocks and aggregates in a karst rocky desertification area in Southwest China. J Soils Sediments 20, 1264–1275 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02532-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02532-y

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