Abstract
The revegetation of abandoned farmland significantly influences soil organic C (SOC) and total N (TN). However, the dynamics of both soil OC and N storage following the abandonment of farmland are not well understood. To learn more about soil C and N storages dynamics 30 years after the conversion of farmland to grassland, we measured SOC and TN content in paired grassland and farmland sites in the Zhifanggou watershed on the Loess Plateau, China. The grassland sites were established on farmland abandoned for 1, 7, 13, 20, and 30 years. Top soil OC and TN were higher in older grassland, especially in the 0–5 cm soil depths; deeper soil OC and TN was lower in younger grasslands (<20 yr), and higher in older grasslands (30 yr). Soil OC and N storage (0–100 cm) was significantly lower in the younger grasslands (<20 yr), had increased in the older grasslands (30 yr), and at 30 years SOC had increased to pre-abandonment levels. For a thirty year period following abandonment the soil C/N value remained at 10. Our results indicate that soil C and TN were significantly and positively correlated, indicating that studies on the storage of soil OC and TN needs to focus on deeper soil and not be restricted to the uppermost (0–30 cm) soil levels.
Highlights
Changes in land use have important effects on regional ecological processes and global climate change [1,2]
Dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) SOC in 0–5 cm soil was higher in older grassland following abandonment (Table 2, Figure 3a)
The 20–70 cm SOC was significantly lower in the younger grasslands (,20 yr) and higher in the older grasslands (30 yr) (Figure 3a)
Summary
Changes in land use have important effects on regional ecological processes and global climate change [1,2]. During the past two decades, many studies have focused on the effects of landuse change on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in terrestrial ecosystems [3,4,5]. The large differences in climatic conditions [6], soil properties [7], and type of land use change [8] are three factors whose effects are not yet well understood. Revegetation greatly influences soil quality, C and N cycling, land management, as well as regional socioeconomic development [10,11]. Studying the dynamics of organic carbon (OC) and N in soils along a restoration succession gradient and analyzing the relationships between C and N storage dynamics following restoration may be of importance in improving our knowledge of the sustainable management of land resources and predictions of future global C and N cycling
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