Abstract
In order to evaluate the dynamics of carbon storage during forest succession and explore the significance of water relations and soil stability in forest environments, a study was conducted in 2011. This study investigated the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions and its protection through aggregation along the successional forests. An experiment in South China examined pine forest (PF), pine and broadleaved mixed forest (PBMF), and monsoon evergreen broadleaf forest (MEBF), which represent the early, middle, and advanced succession stages, respectively. Soil was sampled at 0–15, 15–30, 30–45, and 45–60 cm depths. We analyzed active, slow, and passive organic carbon, as well as particulate organic matter carbon (POM-C) and nitrogen (POM-N), and measured the weight and concentration of water-stable aggregates in four classes (>2000 μm, 250–2000 μm, 53–250 μm, and <53 μm). The results suggested that various carbon fractions and the percentage of active and passive carbon to total organic carbon (TOC) increased with forest succession. The percentage of water-stable aggregates in >2000 μm (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm) and <53 μm (45–60 cm) in MEBF was significantly higher than in PBMF and PF. The SOC content of all size classes of water-stable aggregates in 0–45 cm were significantly increased with forest succession. In conclusion, forest succession contributed to the accumulation of carbon storage, and the increasing percentage of silt- and clay-size (<53 μm) fraction improved the stability of soil organic matter (SOM).
Highlights
Soil organic carbon (SOC) can be divided into three conceptual fractions, namely the active SOC (the mean residence time (MRT) is about 1–5 years), slow SOC (MRT is about 20–40 years), and passiveSOC (MRT is about 200–1500 years) [1]
Most of the results suggested that forest can protect and enhance SOC content and soil aggregate stability [16,17,18,19,20]
We studied a Dinghushan monsoon evergreen broadleaved forest (MEBF) and two of its successional forests, i.e., pine and broadleaved mixed forest (PBMF) and pine forest (PF), and measured the content of various carbon fractions and water-stable aggregates in each successional stage of the lower subtropical forest
Summary
Soil organic carbon (SOC) can be divided into three conceptual fractions, namely the active SOC (the mean residence time (MRT) is about 1–5 years), slow SOC (MRT is about 20–40 years), and passiveSOC (MRT is about 200–1500 years) [1]. The active SOC with a short turnover time, such as particulate organic carbon (POC), is considered a biologically available source of carbon (C) and responds faster to environmental changes than total SOC [2]. Soil aggregates are the arrangement of soil particles of different sizes joined by organic and inorganic materials [4], and their stability can be used as an index of soil structure [5]. Water-stable aggregation is a method to evaluate soil aggregation. Water-stable aggregation provides useful information on soil aggregate stability. Water-stable aggregation is usually formed by macroaggregates (>250 μm) and microaggregates (
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