Abstract
Soil carbon (C) reservoirs held in forests play a significant role in the global C cycle. However, harvesting natural forests tend to lead to soil C loss, which can be countered by the establishment of plantations after clear cutting. Therefore, there is a need to determine how forest management can affect soil C sequestration. The management of stand density could provide an effective tool to control soil C sequestration, yet how stand density influences soil C remains an open question. To address this question, we investigated soil C storage in 8-year pure hybrid larch (Larix spp.) plantations with three densities (2000 trees ha−1, 3300 trees ha−1 and 4400 trees ha−1), established following the harvesting of secondary mixed natural forest. We found that soil C storage increased with higher tree density, which mainly correlated with increases of dissolved organic C as well as litter and root C input. In addition, soil respiration decreased with higher tree density during the most productive periods of warm and moist conditions. The reduced SOM decomposition suggested by lowered respiration was also corroborated with reduced levels of plant litter decomposition. The stimulated inputs and reduced exports of C from the forest floor resulted in a 40% higher soil C stock in high- compared to low-density forests within 8 years after plantation, providing effective advice for forest management to promote soil C sequestration in ecosystems.
Highlights
Forests play a key role in governing global carbon (C) cycling
Assuming negligible levels of intersystem exports and imports via, e.g., dissolved organic C (Sanderman and Amundson 2008; Kindler et al 2011), the soil C pool is determined by the balance between C input by plants via litter and root deposits and the release of C during decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) (Ajami et al 2016)
Total soil C storage at 0–60 cm and C storage at different depths tended to increase with stand density in larch plantations
Summary
Forests play a key role in governing global carbon (C) cycling. Forest soils are important reservoirs of C, equivalent to double that existing in the atmosphere (Lal 2004). Assuming negligible levels of intersystem exports and imports via, e.g., dissolved organic C (Sanderman and Amundson 2008; Kindler et al 2011), the soil C pool is determined by the balance between C input by plants via litter and root deposits and the release of C during decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) (Ajami et al 2016). Anthropogenic forest management activities can shift this balance (Laganière et al 2010; Fernández-Romero et al 2014; Ajami et al 2016), which could result in changing soil C storage
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