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Effects of land-use change on soil organic carbon and nitrogen in density fractions and soil δ13C and δ15N in semiarid grasslands

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Abstract

Aims

The objectives of this study were to determine the response of soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) in different density fractions and the response of δ13C and δ15N signatures of soil to land-use change in a semiarid grassland.

Methods

We measured soil δ13C and δ15N and the concentrations of SOC and N in whole soil and in the light and heavy fractions in adjacent tracts of native grassland, cropland, and shrubland in a semiarid region of China. The cropland and shrubland were established on existing grassland 27 years ago.

Results

The conversion of grassland to cropland or to shrubland significantly decreased SOC and N concentrations and stocks in both whole soil and density fractions in the 0–80 cm soil layer. The decreases in SOC and N stocks associated with the heavy fraction accounted for >90 % of the total decrease in the 0–80 cm soil layer after grassland cultivation or afforestation. The conversion of grassland to cropland or to shrubland significantly enriched soil δ13C but depleted δ15N.

Conclusions

Our results suggested that the losses of SOC and N in whole soil after land-use changes in this semiarid grassland were primarily due to losses of SOC and N associated with the heavy fraction.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dongli She, Zizhuang Liu, Pengyuan Li, Xuezhang Li, and Xiaoxu Jia for their help with the field and laboratory experiments. We also thank the reviewers for their comments that improved the quality of this paper. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41471244, 41271315), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-13-0487), and the Program from Northwest A&F University (2014YQ007).

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Liping Qiu, Xiaorong Wei, Tiane Ma, Yanchun Wei, Xingchang Zhang & Jimin Cheng

  2. Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, USA

    Robert Horton

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  1. Liping Qiu
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  2. Xiaorong Wei
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  3. Tiane Ma
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  4. Yanchun Wei
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  6. Xingchang Zhang
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  7. Jimin Cheng
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Correspondence to Xiaorong Wei.

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Responsible Editor: Johan Six.

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Qiu, L., Wei, X., Ma, T. et al. Effects of land-use change on soil organic carbon and nitrogen in density fractions and soil δ13C and δ15N in semiarid grasslands. Plant Soil 390, 419–430 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2435-3

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