Variations in soil properties and their effect on subsurface biomass distribution in four alpine meadows of the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau of China

Abstract

To understand and predict the role of soils in changes in alpine meadow ecosystems during climate warming, soil monoliths, extending from the surface to the deepest roots, were collected from Carex moorcroftii, Kobresia humilis, mixed grass, and Kobresia pygmaea alpine meadows in the hinterland of the Tibetan Plateau, China. The monoliths were used to measure the distribution with depth of biomass, soil grain size, soil nutrient levels, and soil moisture. With the exception of the K. pygmaea meadow, the percentages of gravel and coarse sand in the soils were high, ranging from 37.7 to 57.8% for gravel, and from 18.7 to 27.9% for coarse sand. The texture was finest in the upper 10 cm soil layer, and generally became coarser with increasing depth. Soil nutrients were concentrated in the top 15 cm soil layer, especially in the top 10 cm. Soil water content was low, ranging from 3 to 28.4%. Most of the subsurface biomass was in the top 10 cm, with concentrations of 79.8% in the K. humilis meadow, 77.6% in the mixed grass meadow, and 62.3% in the C. moorcroftii meadow. Owing to deeper root penetration, the concentration of subsurface biomass in the upper 10 cm of K. pygmaea soil was only 41.7%. The subsurface biomass content decreased exponentially with depth; this is attributed to the increase in grain size and decrease in soil nutrient levels with depth. Soil water is not a primary factor influencing the vertical and spatial distribution of subsurface biomass in the study area. The lack of fine material and of soil nutrients resulted in low surficial and subsurface biomass everywhere.