Abstract
This study investigated the effects of two types of grasslands conversion to croplands on soil organic carbon (SOC) in Bashang area where it is a typical agro-pastoral ecotone of Northern China using a pare-site method. The results showed that the SOC contents and densities decreased with increasing soil depth. The soil bulk density and SOC content significantly decreased in the upper horizon after the grasslands was converted into croplands. The SOC densities were approximately 2.3 - 2.7 and 4.2 - 9.1 kg C m-2 in the upper horizons of site 1 and site 2, respectively, with significant differences between grasslands and croplands. The SOC densities up to 60 cm depth were much higher in site 2 (intrazonal grassland-cropland) than in site 1 (zonal grassland-cropland), reaching approximately 13.24 - 22.49 and 5.36 - 6.49 kg C m-2, respectively. The conversion of grasslands to croplands induced a moderate loss of SOC, with a range of - 4 to 55% for the 0 - 60 cm depth over about 20-year period. To conserve the present status, potential conversion should be banned in both zonal and intrazonal grassland, the zonal grassland should be enforced “turning cropland to grassland” policy, and the intrazonal grassland be reasonably used. Key words: Agro-pastoral ecotone, conversion, land use, soil organic carbon, zonal and intrazonal grasslands.
Highlights
The anthropogenic CO2 emission into the atmosphere plays an important role in driving global climate change, and the atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased by 31% since 1970 according to the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) (Falkowski et al, 2000)
This study investigated the effects of two types of grasslands conversion to croplands on soil organic carbon (SOC) in Bashang area where it is a typical agro-pastoral ecotone of Northern China using a pare-site method
Limited attention has been paid to the effect of land use conversion on soil carbon sequestration in Bashang area of Northern China, where it is an agro-pastoral ecotone of Northern China
Summary
The anthropogenic CO2 emission into the atmosphere plays an important role in driving global climate change, and the atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased by 31% since 1970 according to the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) (Falkowski et al, 2000). An important strategy for combating the rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations is to enhance carbon sequestration in the terrestrial ecosystems, which is cost-effective and environmentally beneficial (Wang et al 2008). Soil plays an essential role in the global carbon cycle, and it may act as a source or sink of CO2 in exchange with the atmosphere; because the soil carbon pool has been estimated at approximately. Some studies have estimated the contribution of forestation to the global carbon cycle at both regional and global scales (Zhang and Xu, 2003; Evrendilek et al, 2004). Limited attention has been paid to the effect of land use conversion on soil carbon sequestration in Bashang area of Northern China, where it is an agro-pastoral ecotone of Northern China
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