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Soil Organic Carbon and its Fractions in Relation to Degradation and Restoration of Wetlands on the Zoigê Plateau, China

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Abstract

Through restoration, degraded wetlands are thought to recover their carbon storage function over time. However, little is known about the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions after restoration of degraded wetlands. In this study, we selected four wetlands, two degraded (one grazed and one graze-released site), one restored for 6 years and one natural site from the Zoigê wetlands on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China to investigate the dynamics of SOC following restoration. The concentrations of SOC, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), light fraction organic carbon (LFOC), and heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC) in the degraded sites were significantly lower than those in the natural wetland. In contrast, soil δ13C (i.e. 13C/12C ratio) in the degraded sites was significantly higher than that in the natural site. After 8 years of restoration, the restored and the natural wetland sites did not differ significantly in SOC, DOC, LFOC, HFOC or δ13C. Therefore, restored wetlands regained some of their role in carbon storage over time. SOC turnover was slower in the natural wetland than in the degraded and restored sites.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank two anonymous reviewers for their critical and constructive comments. We also thank Dr. Fei-Hai Yu and Dr. Fang-Li Luo for their help on improving the manuscript. This research is supported by the Forestry Commonweal Program (200804005) and NSFC (41071329, 30700108).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, P.O. Box 159, Qinghuadonglu 35, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China

    Junqin Gao, Xuewen Zhang & Guangchun Lei

  2. Department of Geography and Environmental Resources, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Faner Hall, 1000 Faner Dr., Carbondale, 62901, USA

    Guangxing Wang

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  1. Junqin Gao
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  2. Xuewen Zhang
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  3. Guangchun Lei
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  4. Guangxing Wang
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Correspondence to Junqin Gao or Guangchun Lei.

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Gao, J., Zhang, X., Lei, G. et al. Soil Organic Carbon and its Fractions in Relation to Degradation and Restoration of Wetlands on the Zoigê Plateau, China. Wetlands 34, 235–241 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-013-0487-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-013-0487-9

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