Abstract
Farmland is one of the most important and active components of the soil carbon pool. Exploring the controlling factors of farmland soil organic carbon density (SOCD) and its sequestration rate (SOCDSR) is vital for improving carbon sequestration and addressing climate change. Present studies provide considerable attention to the impacts of natural factors and agricultural management on SOCD and SOCDSR. However, few of them focus on the interaction effects of environmental variables on SOCD and SOCDSR. Therefore, using 64 samples collected from 19 agricultural stations in China, this study explored the effects of natural factors, human activities, and their interactions on farmland SOCD and SOCDSR by using geographical detector methods. Results of geographical detectors showed that SOCD was associated with natural factors, including groundwater depth, soil type, clay content, mean annual temperature (MAT), and mean annual precipitation. SOCDSR was related to natural factors and agricultural management, including MAT, groundwater depth, fertilization, and their interactions. Interaction effects existed in all environmental variable pairs, and the explanatory power of interaction effects was often greater than that of the sum of two single variables. Specifically, the interaction effect of soil type and MAT explained 74.8% of the variation in SOCD, and further investigation revealed that SOCD was highest in Luvisols and was under a low MAT (<6 °C). The interaction effect of groundwater depth and fertilization explained 40.4% of the variation in SOCDSR, and fertilization was conducive to SOCD increase at a high groundwater depth (<3 m). These findings suggest that low soil temperature, high soil moisture, and fertilization are conducive to soil carbon accumulation. These findings also highlight the importance of agricultural management and interaction effects in explaining SOCD and SOCDSR, which promote our knowledge to better understand the variation of SOCD and its dynamics.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Farmland is the most important and active component of the soil carbon pool, which is strongly affected by human activities and has great potential for carbon sequestration [1,2,3].Canadell [4] determined that the adoption of the best agricultural management could yield0.4–0.8 Pg of carbon per year in farmland soil
This study explored the effects of natural factors, agricultural management, and their interactions on farmland soil organic carbon (SOC) density (SOCD) and SOCDSR using geographical detector methods
It was revealed that SOCD was associated with natural factors, while the SOCDSR was related to natural factors and agricultural management
Summary
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Farmland is the most important and active component of the soil carbon pool, which is strongly affected by human activities and has great potential for carbon sequestration [1,2,3].Canadell [4] determined that the adoption of the best agricultural management could yield0.4–0.8 Pg of carbon per year in farmland soil. Carbon sequestration in farmland soil improves soil fertility, increasing crop yield and ensuring food security [6,7,8,9]. It affects regional and global carbon cycles by reducing greenhouse gas concentration, achieving the target of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to less than 2 ◦ C [10,11,12]. Exploring the controlling factors of farmland SOCD and SOCDSR is vital for improving carbon sequestration rate, ensuring food security, and addressing climate change
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