Deforestation for Agriculture Temporarily Improved Soil Quality and Soil Organic Carbon Stocks

Sai Tay Zar Myo,Zeyang Lin,Cheng Xu,Guibin Wang,Yong Li,Luozhong Tang,Zhuangzhuang Qian,Bo Wang

doi:10.3390/f13020228

Abstract

Deforestation for agricultural development or extension is a common land-use problem that may cause a series of changes in the ecological environment and soil carbon stock in planting systems. However, the response of soil physical, chemical properties and carbon stocks in agricultural systems in the initial period after deforestation have not been thoroughly examined, especially in the subsoil. We investigated the variations in the soil physicochemical properties and organic carbon stocks to a depth of 100 cm in a poplar (Populus deltoides cv. 35) plantation, a summer maize (Zea mays L.) followed by winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) field after 1 year of deforestation of a poplar plantation, and a wheat–maize rotation field used for decades. The soil bulk density and pH decreased, and the soil total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus, and total potassium contents increased considerably. The soil organic carbon (SOC) content and stocks (to 100 cm) increased by 32.8% and 20.1%, respectively. The soil TN content was significantly (p < 0.001) positively correlated with the SOC content, and the C:N ratio increased for the field following deforestation. Furthermore, the nitrogen in the poplar plantation and the field following deforestation was limited. We recommend increasing the amount of nitrogen fertilizer following deforestation to improve fertility and this will be beneficial to SOC storage.

Highlights

Forest ecosystems are the most important carbon reservoirs on Earth, accounting for 46% of the total terrestrial carbon reserves [1]
In this study, compared with the poplar plantation, the soil Bulk Density (BD) and pH in the system decreased in the whole soil profile 1 year after deforestation
The vertical distribution of the soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks changed after deforestation, and the proportion of SOC stocks in deep soil increased

Summary

Introduction

Forest ecosystems are the most important carbon reservoirs on Earth, accounting for 46% of the total terrestrial carbon reserves [1]. Soil stores most of the carbon in forest ecosystems, and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in forests account for more than 40% of the SOC stocks in terrestrial ecosystems [2]. Compared with the vegetation and atmospheric carbon pools, the soil organic carbon pool is 4.5 and 3 times as large [3]. SOC plays a role in improving soil physicochemical properties and soil fertility [5] and affects soil characteristics related to ecosystem functions [6]. SOC can be considered one of the critical factors for maintaining soil quality and health [7]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion