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Soil organic carbon losses due to land use change in a semiarid grassland

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Abstract

Background and Aims

Knowledge about the effect of land use change on soil organic carbon (OC) in semiarid grassland is essential for understanding C cycles and for forecasting ecosystem C sequestration. Our objectives were (1) to study the effect of land use change on aggregate size distribution, aggregate-associated OC concentrations, and aggregate-associated stocks in a semiarid grassland area and (2) to relate changes in the aggregate fractions to changes in total soil OC.

Methods

Cropland and shrubland plots were established in a semiarid grassland area in 1982. We collected soil samples from adjacent grassland, cropland, and shrubland plots 27 years later and measured OC concentrations in the macroaggregate (>0.25 mm), microaggregate (0.25–0.053 mm) and silt+clay (<0.053 mm) fractions.

Results

Total soil OC concentrations and stocks decreased significantly after the grassland was converted to cropland or shrubland. Soil microbial biomass C, root biomass, and root C also declined. The proportion of soil in the macroaggregate fraction decreased after conversion to cropland or shrubland. Decreases in macroaggregate-associated OC stocks accounted for more than half of the OC losses that occurred when grassland was converted to cropland. The decreases in macroaggregate-associated OC stocks were due to declines in both macroaggregation and macroaggregate-associated OC concentrations after conversion to cropland. In contrast, decreases in microaggregate-associated OC stocks accounted for more than half of the OC losses when grassland was converted to shrubland. The declines in microaggregate-associated OC stocks were primarily due to a decrease in microaggregate-associated OC concentrations after conversion to shrubland.

Conclusions

Land use changed caused significant decreases in soil OC stocks. Conversion to cropland soil resulted in large decreases in macroaggregate-associated OC stocks whereas conversion to shrubland resulted in large decreases in microaggregate-associated OC stocks. Any changes in land use in semiarid grasslands could cause the grassland soil to become a source of atmospheric CO2; therefore extreme caution should be taken to avoid this hazard.

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Acknowledgment

We thank Pengyuan Li, Zizhuang Liu, Ji Chen, Yanjun Hu, Le Wang and Shuai Yuan for their help in field and laboratory experiments and the reviewers for their comments in improving the quality of this paper. This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (40901145, 40801111), Special Foundation for State Major Basic Research Program of China (SQ2012FY4910023), and the Program from Northwest A & F University (QN2011147).

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming in the Loess Plateau, Northwest A & F University, Xinong Road, #26, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, China, 712100

    Liping Qiu, Xiaorong Wei, Xingchang Zhang & Jimin Cheng

  2. College of Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, 712100, China

    William Gale, Chao Guo & Tao Long

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  1. Liping Qiu
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  2. Xiaorong Wei
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  6. Chao Guo
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  7. Tao Long
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Correspondence to Xiaorong Wei.

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Responsible Editor: Per Ambus.

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Qiu, L., Wei, X., Zhang, X. et al. Soil organic carbon losses due to land use change in a semiarid grassland. Plant Soil 355, 299–309 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-1099-x

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