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Effect of fire intensity on active organic and total soil carbon in a Larix gmelinii forest in the Daxing’anling Mountains, Northeastern China

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Abstract

Studying contents and seasonal dynamics of active organic carbon in the soil is an important method for revealing the turnover and regulation mechanism of soil carbon pool. Through 3 years of field sampling and lab analysis, we studied the seasonal variations, content differences, and interrelationships of total organic carbon (TOC), light fraction organic carbon (LFOC), and particulate organic carbon (POC) of the soil in the forest areas burned with different fire intensities in the Daxing’anling Mountains. The mean TOC content in the low-intensity burned area was greater than that in the unburned area, moderate-intensity, and high-intensity burned areas in June and November (P < 0.05). LFOC and POC in the low-intensity burned area were greater than that in either moderate-intensity or high-intensity burned areas, with significant differences in LFOC in September and November (P < 0.05). A significant difference in LFOC between the unburned and burned areas was only found in July (P < 0.05). However, the differences in POC between the unburned and burned areas were not significant in all the whole seasons (P > 0.05). Soil LFOC and POC varied significantly with the seasons (P < 0.05) in the Daxing’anling Mountains. Significant linear relationships were observed between soil TOC, LFOC, and POC, which were positively correlated with soil nitrogen and negatively correlated with soil temperature in the Daxing’anling Mountains.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forest, Northeast Forestry University, 26 He Xing Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150040, China

    Yunmin Wei, Haiqing Hu & Long Sun

  2. Forest PROTECTION Research Institute in Heilongjiang Province, 75Ha Ping Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150040, China

    Yunmin Wei & Jiabao Sun

  3. College of Life Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, 59 Wood Street, Gongbin Road, Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150030, China

    Qiang Yuan

  4. College of Agriculture and Forest in Da Xing An Ling Area in Heilongjiang Province, Jagedaqi, 165000, China

    Huifeng Liu

Authors
  1. Yunmin Wei
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  2. Haiqing Hu
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  3. Jiabao Sun
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  4. Qiang Yuan
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  5. Long Sun
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  6. Huifeng Liu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Haiqing Hu.

Additional information

Project funding: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology project 973 (2011CB403203) and Youth science foundations in Heilongjiang province (QC2012C003) and Youth science foundations in college of forest in Heilingjiang province (201415).

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Corresponding editor: Hu Yanbo

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Wei, Y., Hu, H., Sun, J. et al. Effect of fire intensity on active organic and total soil carbon in a Larix gmelinii forest in the Daxing’anling Mountains, Northeastern China. J. For. Res. 27, 1351–1359 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-016-0251-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-016-0251-0

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