Factors controlling soil organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks following afforestation with Robinia pseudoacacia on cropland across China

Abstract

Afforestation made great contributions to ecological benefits across China. Robinia pseudoacacia is widely used in the Grain-for-Green Program. The responses of soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (STN) to afforestation with R. pseudoacacia on cropland depend on plantation attributes, climatic factors, topographic features, and edaphic variables, thus making a synthesis of these studies necessary for understanding the magnitude and direction of SOC and STN to afforestation and the associated regulating factors. A meta-analysis was employed by compiling data of 1202 paired observations from 94 peer-reviewed publications to depict potential mechanisms of change in SOC and STN stocks following afforestation with R. pseudoacacia on cropland. Afforestation with R. pseudoacacia on cropland, on average, significantly and positively increased SOC and STN stocks. The changes in SOC and STN stocks increased with plantation age and altitude, but decreased with mean annual temperature, slope gradients, soil depth, soil clay content, initial SOC content and initial STN content. Greater accumulation rates of SOC and STN stocks after afforestation were detected in middle canopy density (0.6–0.8) and middle mean annual precipitation (450–550 mm). Among four kinds of biotic and abiotic factors, plantation attributes made greatest contributes to the variance in the response size of SOC and STN stocks. In particular, plantation age was the most essential variable on the response size of SOC and STN stocks. These results indicated that SOC and STN stocks following afforestation with R. pseudoacacia on cropland could be enhanced through plantation management practices.