Effects of Ecological Restoration on the Distribution of Soil Particles and Organic Carbon in Alpine Regions

Abstract

This study discusses the impact of two different ecological restoration approaches on the distribution of soil particle size and organic carbon, expecting to provide references for research on the effects of ecological restoration on the soil carbon pool in alpine regions. By replacing the method of time sampling with spatial sampling, grasslands enclosed only in the growing season and woodlands enclosed all year round were respectively selected as the research objects. Through centrifugation, the soil samples were classified by grain size into sand (50–2000 μm), silt (2–50 μm), and clay (<2 μm) to analyze the distribution of organic carbon in soil particles of different sizes. The major findings were as follows. First, sand accounted for the largest proportion of all the soil components in the grasslands and woodlands that had been restored for different years, followed by silt and clay. Second, most of the organic carbon in the grasslands and woodlands was from sand and silt. As the restoration years increased, the proportion of organic carbon in clay grew in fluctuation. In short, both ecological restoration approaches have improved the soil structure and raised the content of soil organic carbon (SOC). Specifically, the restoration scheme of the woodlands exerted a more significant influence on the soil components and the distribution of organic carbon than that of the grasslands.