Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Changes in soil organic carbon and aggregate stability following a chronosequence of Liriodendron chinense plantations

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Forestry Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The objectives for this study were to determine changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) components and water-stable aggregates for soil profiles from different ages of plantations of Liriodendron chinense and to clarify which organic carbon component is more closely associated with the formation and stability of soil aggregates. Three layers of soil (depths 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, 40–60 cm) were collected from young, half-mature and mature stages of L. chinense. SOC, readily oxidizable organic carbon, chemically stable organic carbon and aggregate composition were determined. Intermediate stable organic carbon, the microbial quotient and aggregate stability (mean weight diameter) were calculated. SOC and aggregate stability in the L. chinense plantation did not increase linearly with an increase in L. chinense age; rather, they first decreased, then increased with increasing age of L. chinense. The microbial quotient had a negative effect on the level of organic carbon and the stability of aggregates, while chemically stable organic carbon had a positive effect, which explained 55.0% and 19.3% of the total variation, respectively (P < 0.01). Therefore, more attention should be paid of these two indicators in the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Boca A, Van Miegroet H, Gruselle MC (2014) Forest overstory effect on soil organic carbon storage: a Meta-analysis. Soil Sci Soc Am J 78:S35–S47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen GS, Yang ZJ, Gao R, Xie JS, Guo JF, Huang ZQ, Yang YS (2013) Carbon storage in a chronosequence of Chinese fir plantations in southern China. For Ecol Manag 300:68–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen ZM, Wang HY, Liu XW, Zhao XL, Lu DJ, Zhou JM, Li CZ (2017) Changes in soil microbial community and organic carbon fractions under short-term straw return in a rice-wheat cropping system. Soil Till Res 165:121–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai HC, Chen YQ, Liu KC, Li ZX, Qian X, Zang HD, Yang XL, Zhao YX, Shen YW, Li ZJ, Sui P (2019) Water-stable aggregates and carbon accumulation in barren sandy soil depend on organic amendment method: a three-year field study. J Clean Prod 212:393–400

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Das B, Chakraborty D, Singh VK, Aggarwal P, Singh R, Dwivedi BS, Mishra RP (2014) Effect of integrated nutrient management practice on soil aggregate properties, its stability and aggregate-associated carbon content in an intensive rice-wheat system. Soil Till Res 136:9–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demenois J, Carriconde F, Rey F, Stokes A (2017) Tropical plant communities modify soil aggregate stability along a successional vegetation gradient on a Ferralsol. Ecol Eng 109:161–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott ET (1986) Aggregate structure and carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in native and cultivated soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 50:627–633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eusterhues K, Rumpel C, Kleber M, Kogel-Knabner I (2003) Stabilisation of soil organic matter by interactions with minerals as revealed by mineral dissolution and oxidative degradation. Org Geochem 34:1591–1600

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes RJ (1999) Size and activity of the soil microbial biomass under grass and arable management. Biol Fert Soils 30:210–216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heimann M, Reichstein M (2008) Terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics and climate feedbacks. Nature 451:289–292

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • IUSS Working Group WRB (2015) World reference base for soil resources 2014, update 2015 International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. World Soil Resources Reports No 106 FAO:156-157

  • Karami A, Homaee M, Afzalinia S, Ruhipour H, Basirat S (2012) Organic resource management: impacts on soil aggregate stability and other soil physico-chemical properties. Agric Ecosyst Environ 148:22–28

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaschuk G, Alberton O, Hungria M (2010) Three decades of soil microbial biomass studies in Brazilian ecosystems: lessons learned about soil quality and indications for improving sustainability. Soil Biol Biochem 42:1–13

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kuzyakov Y, Horwath WR, Dorodnikov M, Blagodatskaya E (2019) Review and synthesis of the effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on soil processes: no changes in pools, but increased fluxes and accelerated cycles. Soil Biol Biochem 128:66–78

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lemenih M, Olsson M, Karltun E (2004) Comparison of soil attributes under Cupressus lusitanica and Eucalyptus saligna established on abandoned farmlands with continuously cropped farmlands and natural forest in Ethiopia. For Ecol Manag 195:57–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li YF, Zhang JJ, Chang SX, Jiang PK, Zhou GM, Fu SL, Yan ER, Wu JS, Lin L (2013) Long-term intensive management effects on soil organic carbon pools and chemical composition in Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) forests in subtropical China. For Ecol Manag 303:121–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li W, Zheng ZC, Li TX, Zhang XZ, Wang YD, Yu HY, He SQ, Liu T (2015) Effect of tea plantation age on the distribution of soil organic carbon fractions within water-stable aggregates in the hilly region of Western Sichuan, China. CATENA 133:198–205

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li B, Li YD, Cai QF, Lin FR, Meng QY, Zheng YQ (2016) The complete chloroplast genome of a Tertiary relict species Liriodendron chinense (Magnoliaceae). Conserv Genet Resour 8:279–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li CL, Cao ZY, Chang JJ, Zhang Y, Zhu GL, Zong N, He YT, Zhang JJ, He NP (2017) Elevational gradient affect functional fractions of soil organic carbon and aggregates stability in a Tibetan alpine meadow. CATENA 156:139–148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liang C, Balser TC (2008) Preferential sequestration of microbial carbon in subsoils of a glacial-landscape toposequence, Dane County, WI, USA. Geoderma 148:113–119

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu RK (2000) Methods of soil agricultural chemical analysis. China Agricultural Science and Technology Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo ZK, Feng WT, Luo YQ, Baldock J, Wang EL (2017) Soil organic carbon dynamics jointly controlled by climate, carbon inputs, soil properties and soil carbon fractions. Glob Change Biol 23:4430–4439

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma L, Xu RK (2010) Physico-chemical characteristics of paddy soils derived from quaternary red clay under different cultivated years (in Chinese). Soils 42:560–563

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mao R, Zhang XH, Meng HN (2014) Effect of Suaeda salsa on soil aggregate-associated organic carbon and nitrogen in Tidal Salt Marshes in the Liaohe Delta, China. Wetlands 34:189–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mi WH, Wu LH, Brookes PC, Liu YL, Zhang X, Yang X (2016) Changes in soil organic carbon fractions under integrated management systems in a low-productivity paddy soil given different organic amendments and chemical fertilizers. Soil Till Res 163:64–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mi WH, Sun Y, Xia SQ, Zhao HT, Mi WT, Brookes PC, Liu YL, Wu LH (2018) Effect of inorganic fertilizers with organic amendments on soil chemical properties and rice yield in a low-productivity paddy soil. Geoderma 320:23–29

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller L, Shepherd G, Schindler U, Ball BC, Munkholm LJ, Hennings V, Smolentseva E, Rukhovic O, Lukin S, Hu CS (2013) Evaluation of soil structure in the framework of an overall soil quality rating. Soil Till Res 127:74–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pei YM, Lei PF, Xiang WH, Ouyang S, Xu YY (2018) Effect of stand age on fine root biomass, production and morphology in Chinese fir plantations in subtropical China. Sustain Basel 10:2280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pollakova N, Simansky V, Kravka M (2018) The influence of soil organic matter fractions on aggregates stabilization in agricultural and forest soils of selected Slovak and Czech hilly lands. J Soil Sediment 18:2790–2800

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qian J, Liu JJ, Wang PF, Wang C, Hu J, Li K, Lu BH, Tian X, Guan WY (2018) Effects of riparian land use changes on soil aggregates and organic carbon. Ecol Eng 112:82–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Six J, Paustian K, Elliott ET, Combrink C (2000) Soil structure and organic matter: I. Distribution of aggregate-size classes and aggregate-associated carbon. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:681–689

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Six J, Bossuyt H, Degryze S, Denef K (2004) A history of research on the link between (micro)aggregates, soil biota, and soil organic matter dynamics. Soil Till Res 79:7–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamura M, Suseela V, Simpson M, Powell B, Tharayil N (2017) Plant litter chemistry alters the content and composition of organic carbon associated with soil mineral and aggregate fractions in invaded ecosystems. Glob Change Biol 23:4002–4018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tan ZX, Lal R, Smeck NE, Calhoun FG, Slater BK, Parkinson B, Gehring RM (2004) Taxonomic and geographic distribution of soil organic carbon pools in Ohio. Soil Sci Soc Am J 68:1896–1904

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tuckmantel T, Leuschner C, Preusser S, Kandeler E, Angst G, Mueller CW, Meier IC (2017) Root exudation patterns in a beech forest: dependence on soil depth, root morphology, and environment. Soil Biol Biochem 107:188–197

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass-C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walkley A, Black IA (1934) An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci 37:29–38

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang SQ, Li TX, Zheng ZC (2018) Tea plantation age effects on soil aggregate-associated carbon and nitrogen in the hilly region of western Sichuan, China. Soil Till Res 180:91–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, Brewer PE, Shugart HH, Lerdau MT, Allison SD (2019) Soil aggregates as biogeochemical reactors and implications for soil-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases-A concept. Glob Change Biol 25:373–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei XR, Huang LQ, Xiang YF, Shao MG, Zhang XC, Gale W (2014) The dynamics of soil OC and N after conversion of forest to cropland. Agric For Meteorol 194:188–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winstone BC, Heck RJ, Munkholm LJ, Deen B (2019) Characterization of soil aggregate structure by virtual erosion of X-ray CT imagery. Soil Till Res 185:70–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu QC, Zhang CZ, Yu ZH, Zhang JB, Zhu CW, Zhao ZH, Xiong JAR, Chen JL (2018a) Effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen addition on organic carbon and aggregates in soil planted with different rice cultivars. Plant Soil 432:245–258

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu YN, Ma WM, Liu JK, Zhu LJ, Cong L, Zhai JX, Wang Y, Zhang ZM (2018b) Sabina chinensis and Liriodendron chinense improve air quality in Beijing, China. PLoS ONE 13(1):1–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang Y, Xu M, Luo QF, Wang J, Li HG (2014) De novo transcriptome analysis of Liriodendron chinense petals and leaves by Illumina sequencing. Gene 534:155–162

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yang C, Liu N, Zhang YJ (2019) Soil aggregates regulate the impact of soil bacterial and fungal communities, on soil respiration. Geoderma 337:444–452

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yao XH, Zhang JJ, Ye QG, Huang HW (2008) Characterization of 14 novel microsatellite loci in the endangered Liriodendron chinense (Magnoliaceae) and cross-species amplification in closely related taxa. Conserv Genet 9:483–485

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu HY, Ding WX, Luo JF, Geng RL, Cai ZC (2012a) Long-term application of organic manure and mineral fertilizers on aggregation and aggregate-associated carbon in a sandy loam soil. Soil Till Res 124:170–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu HY, Ding WX, Luo JF, Geng RL, Ghani A, Cai ZC (2012b) Effects of long-term compost and fertilizer application on stability of aggregate-associated organic carbon in an intensively cultivated sandy loam soil. Biol Fert Soils 48:325–336

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu SB, Wang D, Dai W, Li P (2014) Soil carbon budget in different-aged Chinese fir plantations in south China. J For Res 25:621–626

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang DQ, Zhang HY, Guo LL, Peng K (2011) Analysis of biomedical prospect of leaves from Liriodendron chinense (Hemsl.) Sarg by GC/MS. Mater Eng Adv Technol Pts 1 and 2 480–481:1341–1345

  • Zhang P, Wei T, Jia ZK, Han QF, Ren XL (2014) Soil aggregate and crop yield changes with different rates of straw incorporation in semiarid areas of northwest China. Geoderma 230:41–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang XF, Zhu AN, Yang WL, Zhang JB (2017) Accumulation of organic components and its association with macroaggregation in a sandy loam soil following conservation tillage. Plant Soil 416:1–15

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the staff of Yangkou forest farm for their sampling assistance and providing necessary facilities.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, People’s Republic of China

    Qicong Wu, Xianghe Jiang, Qianwen Lu, Jinbiao Li & Jinlin Chen

Authors
  1. Qicong Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xianghe Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qianwen Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jinbiao Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jinlin Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jinlin Chen.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Project funding: This study was financially supported by a project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Zhu Hong.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wu, Q., Jiang, X., Lu, Q. et al. Changes in soil organic carbon and aggregate stability following a chronosequence of Liriodendron chinense plantations. J. For. Res. 32, 355–362 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-020-01110-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-020-01110-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation