Soil Organic Carbon in Mangrove Ecosystems with Different Vegetation and Sedimentological Conditions

Abstract

A large number of studies have been conducted on organic carbon (OC) variation in mangrove ecosystems. However, few have examined its relationship with soil quality and stratigraphic condition. Mangrove OC characteristics would be explicitly understood if those two parameters were taken into account. The aim of this study was to examine mangrove OC characteristics qualitatively and quantitatively after distinguishing mangrove OC from other OC. Geological survey revealed that the underground of a mangrove ecosystem was composed of three layers: a top layer of mangrove origin and two underlying sublayers of geologic origin. The underlying sublayers were formed from different materials, as shown by X-ray fluorescence analysis. Despite a large thickness exceeding 700 cm in contrast to the 100 cm thickness of the mangrove mud layer, the sublayers had much lower OC stock. Mangrove mud layer formation started from the time of mangrove colonization, which dated back to between 1330 and 1820 14C years BP, and OC stock in the mangrove mud layer was more than half of the total OC stock in the underground layers, which had been accumulating since 7200 14C years BP. pH and redox potential (Eh) of the surface soils varied depending on vegetation type. In the surface soils, pH correlated to C% (r = −0.66, p < 0.01). C/N ratios varied widely from 3.9 to 34.3, indicating that mangrove OC had various sources. The pH and Eh gradients were important factors affecting the OC stock and the mobility/uptake of chemical elements in the mangrove mud layer. Humic acids extracted from the mangrove mud layer had relatively high aliphatic contents, in contrast with the carboxylic acid rich sublayers, indicating that humification has not yet progressed in mangrove soil.