Abstract
Purpose
Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) soil profiles are influenced by several environmental factors. However, the contents and distributions of these elements in deep soils and sediments are largely underestimated. We aimed to estimate the stocks, patterns, and driving factors of deep soil C and N on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) after large-scale ecological restoration projects.
Materials and methods
Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents in different soil layers were measured directly at 86 sites along a regional transect across the CLP.
Results and discussion
SOC and TN contents ranged from 1.97 to 6.83 g C kg−1 and 0.24 to 0.72 g N kg−1, respectively, as the soil depth varied from 0 to 5 m. The mean contents and degrees of variability of SOC and TN decreased with the increasing of soil depth. Based on SOC and TN content patterns, we divided the 0–5-m soil profile into layers of 0–0.1, 0.1–0.4, 0.4–1, and 1–5 m. In the 1–5-m soil layer, approximately 70% of the mean SOC stock (14.97 kg C m−2) and 71% of the mean TN stock (1.75 kg N m−2) were stored. A partial least square regression model showed satisfactory predictive performance, with R2 and Q2 > 0.5 for SOC and TN stocks in the 0.1–0.4-m soil layer. Climatic factors, soil water content (SWC), and field capacity strongly affected SOC and TN stocks in all soil layers. The significance of clay content, SWC, and normalized difference vegetation index varied with soil depth and became the strongest in the 1–5-m soil layer. The highest proportion of SOC and TN stocks for this soil layer were found in grassland and in 450–550 mm rainfall zone.
Conclusion
Considerable amounts of SOC and TN stocks were stored in the 1–5-m-deep soils. Land-use types and rainfall zones can significantly affect the SOC and TN stocks. This information is helpful for identifying local land uses associated with high SOC and TN stocks and is essential for accurately estimating and predicting regional C and N stocks and cycles in terrestrial ecosystems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdi H (2010) Partial least squares regression and projection on latent structure regression (PLS regression). Wiley Interdiscip Rev Comput Stat 2:97–106
Adhikari K, Owens PR, Libohova Z, Miller DM, Wills SA, Nemecek J (2019) Assessing soil organic carbon stock of Wisconsin, USA and its fate under future land use and climate change. Sci Total Environ 667:833–845
Batjes NH (2014) Total carbon and nitrogen in the soils of the world. Eur J Soil Sci 65:10–21
Berihu T, Girmay G, Sebhatleab M, Berhane E, Zenebe A, Sigua GC (2017) Soil carbon and nitrogen losses following deforestation in Ethiopia. Agron Sustain Dev 37:1
Bingham AH, Cotrufo MF (2016) Organic nitrogen storage in mineral soil: implications for policy and management. Sci Total Environ 551–552:116–126
Biswas A (2018) Scale–location specific soil spatial variability: a comparison of continuous wavelet transform and Hilbert–Huang transform. Catena 160:24–31
Borchard N, Bulusu M, Meyer N, Rodionov A, Herawati H, Blagodatsky S, Cadisch G, Welp G, Amelung W, Martius C (2019) Deep soil carbon storage in tree-dominated land use systems in tropical lowlands of Kalimantan. Geoderma 354:113864
Bossio DA, Cook-Patton SC, Ellis PW, Fargione J, Sanderman J, Smith P, Wood S, Zomer RJ, von Unger M, Emmer IM, Griscom BW (2020) The role of soil carbon in natural climate solutions. Nat Sustain 3:391–398
Brunner I, Herzog C, Dawes MA, Arend M, Sperisen C (2015) How tree roots respond to drought. Front Plant Sci 6:547
Chang X, Chai Q, Wu G, Zhu Y, Li Z, Yang Y, Wang G (2017) Soil organic carbon accumulation in abandoned croplands on the Loess Plateau. Land Degrad Dev 28:1519–1527
Chaopricha NT, Marín-Spiotta E (2014) Soil burial contributes to deep soil organic carbon storage. Soil Biol and Biochem 69:251–264
D’Odorico P, Porporato A, Laio F, Ridolfi L, Rodriguez-Iturbe I (2004) Probabilistic modeling of nitrogen and carbon dynamics in water-limited ecosystems. Ecol Model 179:205–219
Dalal RC, Allen DE, Wang WJ, Reeves S, Gibson I (2011) Organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks in a vertisol following 40 years of no-tillage, crop residue retention and nitrogen fertilisation. Soil Till Res 112:133–139
Davidson EA, Ackerman IL (1993) Changes in soil carbon inventories following cultivation of previously untilled soils. Biogeochemistry 20:161–193
Deng L, Liu GB, Shangguan ZP (2014) Land-use conversion and changing soil carbon stocks in China’s ‘Grain-for-Green’ Program: a synthesis. Global Chang Biol 20:3544–3556
Deng L, Shangguan ZP (2016) Afforestation drives soil carbon and nitrogen changes in China. Land Degrad Dev 28:151–165
Deng L, Shangguan ZP, Sweeney S (2013) Changes in soil carbon and nitrogen following land abandonment of farmland on the Loess Plateau, China. Plos One 8:e71923
Deng L, Wang GL, Liu GB, Shangguan ZP (2016) Effects of age and land-use changes on soil carbon and nitrogen sequestrations following cropland abandonment on the Loess Plateau, China. Ecol Eng 90:105–112
Don A, Schumacher J, Freibauer A (2011) Impact of tropical land-use change on soil organic carbon stocks–a meta-analysis. Global Change Biol 17:1658–1670
Durán J, Morse JL, Rodríguez A, Campbell JL, Christenson LM, Driscoll CT, Fahey TJ, Fisk MC, Mitchell MJ, Templer PH, Groffman PM (2017) Differential sensitivity to climate change of C and N cycling processes across soil horizons in a northern hardwood forest. Soil Biol Biochem 107:77–84
Fang J, Yu G, Liu L, Hu S, Chapin FS 3rd (2018) Climate change, human impacts, and carbon sequestration in China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115:4015–4020
Feng X, Fu B, Piao S, Wang S, Ciais P, Zeng Z, Lü Y, Zeng Y, Li Y, Jiang X, Wu B (2016) Revegetation in China’s Loess Plateau is approaching sustainable water resource limits. Nat Clim Change 6:1019–1022
Fu X, Shao M, Wei X, Horton R (2010) Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen as affected by vegetation types in Northern Loess Plateau of China. Geoderma 155:31–35
Gao X, Meng T, Zhao X (2017) Variations of soil organic carbon following land use change on deep-loess hillsopes in China. Land Degrad Dev 28:1902–1912
Ge J, Xu W, Liu Q, Tang Z, Xie Z (2020) Patterns and environmental controls of soil organic carbon density in Chinese shrublands. Geoderma 363:114161
Gong C, Tan Q, Liu G, Xu M (2020) Mixed-species plantations enhance soil carbon stocks on the loess plateau of China. Plant Soil. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04559-4
Gregorich E, Rochette P, McGuire S, Liang B, Lessard R (1998) Soluble organic carbon and carbon dioxide fluxes in maize fields receiving spring-applied manure. J Environ Qual 27:209–214
Gross CD, Harrison RB (2019) The case for digging deeper: soil organic carbon storage, dynamics, and controls in our changing world. Soil Systems 3:28
Han X, Gao G, Li Z, Chang R, Jiao L, Fu B (2019) Effects of plantation age and precipitation gradient on soil carbon and nitrogen changes following afforestation in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Land Degrad Dev 30:2298–2310
Hu Y, Wei X, Hao M, Fu W, Zhao J, Wang Z (2018) Partial least squares regression for determining factors controlling winter wheat yield. Agron J 110:281–292
Huang X, Shi ZH, Zhu HD, Zhang HY, Ai L, Yin W (2016) Soil moisture dynamics within soil profiles and associated environmental controls. Catena 136:189–196
Hungate BA, Dukes JS, Shaw MR, Luo Y, Field CB (2003) Atmospheric science. nitrogen and climate change. Science 302:1512–1513
James J, Knight E, Gamba V, Harrison R (2015) Deep soil: quantification, modeling, and significance of subsurface nitrogen. Forest Ecol Manag 336:194–202
Jia X, Wu H, Shao MA, Huang L, Wei X, Wang Y, Zhu Y (2020) Re-evaluation of organic carbon pool from land surface down to bedrock on China’s Loess Plateau. Agr Ecosyst Environ 293:106842
Jia XX, Yang Y, Zhang CC, Shao MA, Huang LM (2017) A state-space analysis of soil organic carbon in China’s Loess Plateau. Land Degrad Dev 28:983–993
Jia X, Zhu Y, Huang L, Wei X, Fang Y, Wu L, Binley A, Shao M (2018) Mineral N stock and nitrate accumulation in the 50 to 200 m profile on the Loess Plateau. Sci Total Environ 633:999–1006
Jobbágy EG, Jackson RB (2000) The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecol Appl 10:423–436
Kelliher FM, Ross DJ, Law BE, Baldocchi DD, Rodda NJ (2004) Limitations to carbon mineralization in litter and mineral soil of young and old ponderosa pine forests. Forest Ecol Manag 191:201–213
Klute A, Dirksen C (1986) Hydraulic conductivity of saturated soils. In: Klute A (ed) Methods of soil analysis. ASA and SSSA, Madison, pp 694–700
Kukal S, Rehanarasool, Benbi D (2009) Soil organic carbon sequestration in relation to organic and inorganic fertilization in rice-wheat and maize-wheat systems. Soil Till Res 102:87–92
Lal R (2004a) Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science 304:1623–1627
Lal R (2004b) Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. Geoderma 123:1–22
Lal R (2006) Enhancing crop yields in the developing countries through restoration of the soil organic carbon pool in agricultural lands. Land Degrad Dev 17:197–209
Lal R (2015) Sequestering carbon and increasing productivity by conservation agriculture. J Soil Water Conserv 70:55A–62A
Li Z, Nie X, Chang X, Liu L, Sun L (2016) Characteristics of soil and organic carbon Loss induced by water erosion on the Loess Plateau in China. Plos One 11:e0154591
Li H, Si B, Ma X, Wu P (2019) Deep soil water extraction by apple sequesters organic carbon via root biomass rather than altering soil organic carbon content. Sci Total Environ 670:662–671
Liu L, Li ZW, Nie XD, He JJ, Huang B, Chang XF, Liu C, Xiao HB, Wang DY (2017) Hydraulic-based empirical model for sediment and soil organic carbon loss on steep slopes for extreme rainstorms on the Chinese loess Plateau. J Hydrol 554:600–612
Liu Z, Shao MA, Wang Y (2011) Effect of environmental factors on regional soil organic carbon stocks across the Loess Plateau region, China. Agr Ecosyst Environ 142:184–194
Liu ZP, Shao MA, Wang YQ (2013) Spatial patterns of soil total nitrogen and soil total phosphorus across the entire Loess Plateau region of China. Geoderma 197–198:67–78
Luo Z, Feng W, Luo Y, Baldock J, Wang E (2017) Soil organic carbon dynamics jointly controlled by climate, carbon inputs, soil properties and soil carbon fractions. Glob Chang Biol 23:4430–4439
Nelson DW, Sommers LE (1982) Total carbon. organic carbon and organic matter. In: Page, A.L., Miller, R.H., Keeney, D.R. (Eds.), Methods of soil analysis, part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties, second ed. Agronomy 9:539–579
Onderka M, Wrede S, Rodný M, Pfister L, Hoffmann L, Krein A (2012) Hydrogeologic and landscape controls of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved silica (DSi) fluxes in heterogeneous catchments. J Hydrol 450–451:36–47
Page A, Miller R, Keeney D (1982) Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Chemical and microbial properties. American Society of Agronomy, Madison
Pausch J, Kuzyakov Y (2018) Carbon input by roots into the soil: quantification of rhizodeposition from root to ecosystem scale. Glob Chang Biol 24:1–12
Pellegrini AFA, Ahlstrom A, Hobbie SE, Reich PB, Nieradzik LP, Staver AC, Scharenbroch BC, Jumpponen A, Anderegg WRL, Randerson JT, Jackson RB (2018) Fire frequency drives decadal changes in soil carbon and nitrogen and ecosystem productivity. Nature 553:194–198
Polyakov VO, Lal R (2004) Soil erosion and carbon dynamics under simulated rainfall. Soil Sci 169:590–599
Ratliff LF, Ritchie JT, Cassel DK (1983) Field-measured limits of soil water availability as related to laboratory-measured properties. Soil Sci Soc Am J 47:770–775
Rumpel C, Kögel-Knabner I (2010) Deep soil organic matter—a key but poorly understood component of terrestrial C cycle. Plant Soil 338:143–158
Suo L, Huang M, Zhang Y, Duan L, Shan Y (2018) Soil moisture dynamics and dominant controls at different spatial scales over semiarid and semi-humid areas. J Hydrol 562:635–647
Tautges NE, Chiartas JL, Gaudin ACM, O’Geen AT, Herrera I, Scow KM (2019) Deep soil inventories reveal that impacts of cover crops and compost on soil carbon sequestration differ in surface and subsurface soils. Glob Chang Biol 25:3753–3766
Tian D, Wang H, Sun J, Niu S (2016) Global evidence on nitrogen saturation of terrestrial ecosystem net primary productivity. Environ Res Lett 11:024012
Trap J, Hättenschwiler S, Gattin I, Aubert M (2013) Forest ageing: an unexpected driver of beech leaf litter quality variability in European forests with strong consequences on soil processes. Forest Ecol Manag 302:338–345
Tuo D, Gao G, Chang R, Li Z, Ma Y, Wang S, Wang C, Fu B (2018) Effects of revegetation and precipitation gradient on soil carbon and nitrogen variations in deep profiles on the Loess Plateau of China. Sci Total Environ 626:399–411
Wade AM, Richter DD, Medjibe VP, Bacon AR, Heine PR, White LJT, Poulsen JR (2019) Estimates and determinants of stocks of deep soil carbon in Gabon, Central Africa. Geoderma 341:236–248
Wang Y, Brandt M, Zhao M, Tong X, Xing K, Xue F, Kang M, Wang L, Jiang Y, Fensholt R (2018) Major forest increase on the Loess Plateau, China (2001–2016). Land Degrad Dev 29:4080–4091
Wang S, Huang Y (2020) Determinants of soil organic carbon sequestration and its contribution to ecosystem carbon sinks of planted forests. Glob Chang Biol 26:3163–3173
Wang T, Kang F, Cheng X, Han H, Ji W (2016) Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks under different land uses in a hilly ecological restoration area of North China. Soil Till Res 163:176–184
Wang Y, Shao MA, Liu Z, Warrington DN (2012) Regional spatial pattern of deep soil water content and its influencing factors. Hydrol Sci J 57:265–281
Wang Y, Shao MA, Liu Z, Zhang C (2013) Prediction of bulk density of soils in the Loess Plateau Region of China. Surv Geophys 35:395–413
Wang Y, Shao MA, Zhang C, Liu Z, Zou J, Xiao J (2015) Soil organic carbon in deep profiles under Chinese continental monsoon climate and its relations with land uses. Ecol Eng 82:361–367
Wei X, Shao M, Fu X, Ågren GI, Yin X (2011) The effects of land use on soil N mineralization during the growing season on the northern Loess Plateau of China. Geoderma 160:590–598
Wei X, Shao M, Gale W, Li L (2014) Global pattern of soil carbon losses due to the conversion of forests to agricultural land. Sci Rep 4:4062
Xiao H, Li Z, Chang X, Huang B, Nie X, Liu C, Liu L, Wang D, Jiang J (2018) The mineralization and sequestration of organic carbon in relation to agricultural soil erosion. Geoderma 329:73–81
Xu X, Shi Z, Li D, Rey A, Ruan H, Craine JM, Liang J, Zhou J, Luo Y (2016) Soil properties control decomposition of soil organic carbon: Results from data-assimilation analysis. Geoderma 262:235–242
Xu Y, Zhan M, Cao C, Ge J, Ye R, Tian S, Cai M (2017) Effects of irrigation management during the rice growing season on soil organic carbon pools. Plant Soil 421:337–351
Yang QY, Zhang BP, Zheng D (1988) On the boundary of the Loess Plateau. J Nat Resour 3:9–15 (in Chinese)
Yaroshchyk P, Death DL, Spencer SJ (2012) Comparison of principal components regression, partial least squares regression, multi-block partial least squares regression, and serial partial least squares regression algorithms for the analysis of Fe in iron ore using LIBS. J Anal At Spectrom 27:92–98
Yu H, Zha T, Zhang X, Ma L (2019) Vertical distribution and influencing factors of soil organic carbon in the Loess Plateau, China. Sci Total Environ 693:133632
Zhang H, Goll DS, Wang YP, Ciais P, Wieder WR, Abramoff R, Huang Y, Guenet B, Prescher AK, Viscarra Rossel RA, Barre P, Chenu C, Zhou G, Tang X (2020) Microbial dynamics and soil physicochemical properties explain large-scale variations in soil organic carbon. Glob Chang Biol 26:2668–2685
Zhang C, Liu GB, Xue S, Sun CL (2013) Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen storage as affected by land use in a small watershed of the Loess Plateau, China. Eur J Soil Biol 54:16–24
Zhang C, Shao MA, Jia X (2017) Spatial continuity and local conditions determine spatial pattern of dried soil layers on the Chinese Loess Plateau. J Soil Sediment 17:2030–2039
Zhang C, Wang Y, Jia X, Shao MA, An Z (2020) Variations in capacity and storage of plant-available water in deep profiles along a revegetation and precipitation gradient. J Hydrol 581:124401
Zhu Y, Jia X, Shao M (2018) Loess thickness variations across the Loess Plateau of China. Surv Geophys 39:715–727
Acknowledgments
We are indebted to the editors and reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions during the review phase of this paper.
Funding
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41530854, 41722106, 41807020), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS, and the Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology (QDJF1803).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible editor: Zucong Cai
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
ESM 1
(DOCX 278 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, C., Wang, Y., Jia, X. et al. Estimates and determinants of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks up to 5 m depth across a long transect on the Loess Plateau of China. J Soils Sediments 21, 748–765 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02861-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02861-3