Changes In Carbon Content Research Articles

Study on Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Biogenic Elements of Sediment in Baiyangdian Lake

Baiyangdian Lake is the largest macrophyte-dominated shallow lake in North China and the most important ecological barrier area in the Xiong’an New Area. Since the 1980s, the surface water of Baiyangdian Lake has been in a state of eutrophication for a long time due to high nitrogen and phosphorus content. Under the background of the gradual implementation of the New Area Planning Outline, the load of nitrogen and phosphorus from exogenous sources into the lake has been gradually controlled, and the nitrogen and phosphorus enriched in the sediment has increasingly become the main factor affecting water quality. Therefore, this study focused on the vertical and lateral distribution differences of total organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus contents in Baiyangdian Lake sediments. Meanwhile, combined with sedimentary years, the enrichment characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus in different ages and their consistency with the change of total organic carbon content were analyzed. The study can provide some scientific reference for controlling the accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorus in Baiyangdian sediment and scientifically and orderly dredging.

Alteration of the chemical composition of fused silica surfaces via combined hydrogenous plasma treatment and UV laser irradiation

In this contribution, we report on the influence of nitrogen-hydrogen plasma treatment on the chemical composition of fused silica surfaces with and without additional argon fluoride laser irradiation. Therefore, the compositions of pristine and plasma treated fused silica samples were investigated by secondary ion mass spectrometry before and after laser irradiation. Transmission data were moreover obtained via UV-VIS spectroscopy. The plasma treatment most likely generates optically active defects such as non-bridging oxygen hole centers (NBOHCs), oxygen-deficiency-related defects (ODCs), and E' centers, which serve as precursor sites for hydrogen saturated defects. The resulting enhanced laser coupling leads to a loss of oxygen from the fused silica network and a further generation of defect centers. Possible explanatory approaches for the observed plasma- and laser-induced changes in carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen content are discussed. This includes the formation of silicon monoxide, hydrogen saturated defects, and nanocrystalline domains in the matrix containing silicon-carbon bonds.

Sediment carbon short-term response to water carbon content change in a large floodplain-lake system.

After carbon (C) enters a lake through surface runoff and atmospheric deposition, most of it, being influenced by the environmental conditions of the basin, is deposited into lake sediment, thus, becoming one of the most important C pools in the world. Therefore, it is critical to understand sediment response characteristics under the context of increasing C concentrations in lake water. Based on the changes of sediment C concentration at different depths in Poyang Lake, belonging to China's large floodplain-lake system, we revealed the sediment C short-term response characteristics to changes in lake water C concentrations as well as their associated impacting factors. We found that dissolved total carbon (DTC) concentrations increased by 25.78% in winter compared to spring, while total carbon (TC) sediment concentrations increased by only 4.37% during the corresponding period. Specifically, we found that there was a hysteresis effect in the response of sediment C to the increase of water C concentration in the short term. When DTC concentrations in water were below a threshold value (12.50 mg/L), sediment TC concentrations were generally maintained at approximately 5.79 mg/kg. We also believed that biological and environmental factors and sediment stratification characteristics collectively resulted in this sediment C hysteresis effect. Among these factors and characteristics, phytoplankton can affect sediment C response by changing C absorption and utilization in water or cause a synergistic effect along with environmental factors, which is the key link that causes this C sediment hysteresis effect to occur. Furthermore, we found that the combined effect of sediment C from different depths also resulted in a hysteresis effect in C deposition.

Effects of Carbon Content Change on Growth of Compound Layer in Surface of Nitrided Steel

When steel is nitrided, a compound layer mainly composed of iron nitrides, ε-Fe2~3N and the γ’-Fe4N phase, is formed on the steel surface. It is an extremely important industrial issue to clarify factors governing the formation of the compound layer during nitriding and to establish unified views on the mechanism of compound layer formation. Therefore, in order to clarify the effect of change in carbon concentration on the growth of the ε phase and the γ’ phase in the compound layer on nitrided steel, we evaluated the change over time in the concentration of the alloy elements in the surface layer, and the phases of the compound layer on nitrided steels containing various amount of carbon in the matrix. The results were that the change over time in the carbon concentration in the compound layer was mainly responsible for the change over time in the phases of the compound layer. Furthermore, it was discovered that the change over time in the carbon concentration distribution occurred because both increasing of carbon from the matrix to the compound layer, and decreasing of carbon from the surface of compound layer to the atmosphere. That caused the gradient change of chemical potential of carbon in the through-thickness direction of compound layer, and the phases of the compound layer were changed with the treatment time.

Effect of a slight change in carbon content near the upper/lower limit on the microstructure and mechanical properties of WC-10Co cemented carbides

To scientific understanding the effect of a slight change in carbon content near the upper/lower limit on alloys, five sets of WC-10Co cemented carbides were prepared with the carbon content of 5.34 wt%, 5.36 wt%, 5.44 wt%, 5.53 wt% and 5.56 wt% respectively. The properties of the alloys are analyzed by SEM, XRD, Hardness tester, universal testing machines, HSR-2 M tribometer, and surface characterisation. The results showed that the existent of multi-steps proved that the WC coarsening process was governed by 2-D nucleation in the alloy with low carbon content. On the contrary, the low W solubility in Co and the low melting point of Co binder accelerated the dissolution-precipitation process with increasing carbon content. At this time, the morphologies of WC grains tented to be the triangular shape without multi-steps due to the continuous grain growth. Additionally, the increasing of the value of carbon content brought about the coarser WC grain size, and the particle size distribution with “double peak” was also observed in the alloy with free carbon. Further analysis of XRD, the various dissolution of W in Co binder phase brought about a minor different intensity of the basal plane (0001) peaks. Moreover, a slight change in carbon content near the upper/lower limit also significantly affected the mechanical properties of alloys. The cemented carbides with 5.44 wt% carbon content in two phase range exhibited a combination of superior mechanical properties and wear resistance.

Changes in soil organic carbon content and their causes during the degradation of alpine meadows in Zoigê Wetland

Changes in soil organic carbon content and their causes during the degradation of alpine meadows in Zoigê Wetland

Study on soil physical and chemical properties and carbon and nitrogen sequestration of grassland under different utilization modes

This research investigated the effects of natural grassland and artificial grassland degradation on soil physical and chemical properties, in particular the change in carbon and nitrogen contents and carbon sequestration. Representative areas of natural grassland, grazed artificial grassland and mown artificial grassland in Ar Horqin Banner, Inner Mongolia, were selected for study. Parameters measured in the study area were soil moisture content, soil bulk density, soil microbial content and soil nutrient levels. Growth status of the study sites was also evaluated using the NDVI value and in general the ranking for growth status under the different utilization modes was: mown artificial grassland>grazed artificial grassland>natural grassland. Soil water content in the 0-20 cm depth ranked: grazed artificial grassland>mown artificial grassland>natural grassland, and the differences were significant (P mown artificial grassland>natural grassland. The soil microorganism nitrogen content of the grazed artificial grassland for the 0-10 cm depth was (28.45±8.30) mg•kg-1, which was significantly higher than values in the natural grassland and mown artificial grassland (P grazed artificial grassland>mown artificial grassland, and soil carbon and nitrogen storage of natural grassland and grazed artificial grassland for the 10-30 cm depth were significantly higher than that of mown artificial grassland (P<0.05). The performance characteristic of grazed artificial grassland was soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation, while that of mown artificial grassland was carbon and nitrogen loss. In addition, with increase in soil depth, the carbon and nitrogen storage of natural grassland and mown artificial grassland show a decreasing trend. Thus it can be seen that the establishment of artificial grassland and human intervention such as seeding and irrigation will effectively improve soil quality and grassland growth status, but to a certain extent there may be a negative effect on soil carbon and nitrogen sequestration potential.

Impact of Depression Areas and Land-Use Change in the Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen contents in a Semi-Arid Karst Ecosystem

Impact of Depression Areas and Land-Use Change in the Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen contents in a Semi-Arid Karst Ecosystem

Analysis of aerosol distribution variations over China for the period 2045–2050 under different Representative Concentration Pathway scenarios: 不同代表性浓度路径情景下 2045-2050 年中国气溶胶分布变化的分析

The regional air quality modeling system RAMS-CMAQ was applied to simulate the aerosol concentration for the period 2045–2050 over China based on the downscaled meteorological field of three RCP scenarios from CESM (NCAR's Community Earth System Model) in CMIP5. The downscaling simulation of the meteorological field of the three RCP scenarios showed that, compared with that under RCP2.6, the difference in near-surface temperature between North and South China is weakened and the wind speed increases over North and South China and decreases over central China under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Under RCP2.6, from 2045 to 2050, the modeled average PM2.5 concentration is highest, with a value of 40–50 µg m−3, over the North China Plain, part of the Yangtze River Delta, and the Sichuan Basin. Meanwhile, it is 30–40 µg m−3 over central China and part of the Pearl River Delta. Compared with RCP2.6, PM2.5 increases by 4–12 µg m−3 under both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, of which the SO42− and NH4+ concentration increases under both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5; the NO3− concentration decreases under RCP4.5 and increases under RCP8.5; and the black carbon concentration changes very slightly, and organic carbon concentration decreases, under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, with some increase over part of Southwest and Southeast China under RCP8.5. The difference between RCP4.5 and RCP2.6 and the difference between RCP8.5 and RCP2.6 have similar annual variation for different aerosol species, indicating that the impact of climate change on different species tends to be consistent.摘要基于来自于 CMIP5 中 CESM 模式的三种 RCP 情景下的气象场的降尺度模拟, 应用区域空气质量模式系统 RAMS-CMAQ 模拟 2045-2050 年中国地区气溶胶浓度.三种 RCP 情景下气象场的降尺度模拟表明, 与 RCP2.6 相比, 在 RCP4.5 和 RCP8.5 下, 华北和华南的近地表温度差减小, 风速在华北和华南地区增加, 在中部地区下降. RCP2.6 情景下, 模拟的 2045 年到 2050 年平均的 PM 2.5浓度在华北平原, 长三角的部分地区和四川盆地最高, 约为 40-50 µg m–3, 在中国中部和珠三角的部分地区约为 30-40 µg m–3. 与 RCP2.6 相比, 在 RCP4.5 和 RCP8.5 下, PM2.5增加了 4-12 µg m–3, 其中在 RCP4.5 和 RCP8.5 下, SO42–和 NH4+的浓度增加, 在 RCP4.5 下, NO3–浓度降低, 在 RCP8.5 下, NO3–浓度升高, 在 RCP4.5 和 RCP8.5 下, BC 浓度变化很小, 而 OC 浓度下降, 其中在 RCP8.5 下, 西南和东南部分地区的 OC 有所增加.不同的气溶胶物种浓度在 RCP4.5 和 RCP2.6 之间的差异以及 RCP8.5 和 RCP2.6 之间的差异具有相似的年度变化, 这表明气候变化对不同物种的影响趋于一致.

Investigations of the effect of the amount of biochar on soil porosity and aggregation and crop yields on fertilized black soil in northern China.

The combination of chemical fertilizer and biochar is regarded as a useful soil supplement for improving the properties of soil and crop yields, and this study describes how the biochar of maize straw can be used to improve the quality of the degraded black soil. This has been achieved by examining the effects of combining different amounts of biochar with chemical fertilizer on the porosities and aggregate formation of soil and exploring how these changes positively impact on crop yields. A field trial design combining different amounts of maize straw biochar [0 (NPK), 15.75 (BC1), 31.5 (BC2), and 47.25 t ha−1 (BC3)] with a chemical fertilizer (NPK) has been used to investigate changes in the formation of soil aggregate, clay content, soil organic carbon (SOC), and crop yields in Chinese black soil over a three year period from 2013 to 2015. The results of this study show that the addition of fertilizer and biochar in 2013 to black soil results in an increased soybean and maize yields from 2013 to 2015 for all the treatments, with BC1/BC2 affording improved crop yields in 2015, while BC3 gave a lower soybean yield in 2015. Total porosities and pore volumes were increased for BC1 and BC2 treatments but relatively decreased for BC3, which could be attributed to increased soil capillary caused by the presence of higher numbers of fine soil particles. The addition of biochar had a positive influence on the numbers and mean weight diameters (MWD) of soil macroaggregates (>0.25 mm) that were present, with the ratio of SOC to TN in soil macroaggregates found to be greater than in the microaggregates. The most significant amount of carbon present in macroaggregates (>2 mm and 0.25–2 mm) was observed when BC2 was applied as a soil additive. Increasing the levels of maze straw biochar to 47.25 t ha−1 led to an increase in the total organic carbon of soil, however, the overall amount of macroaggregates and MWD were decreased, which is possibly due to localized changes in microbial habitat. The supplementation of biochar increased in the amount of aromatic C present (most significant effect observed for BC2), with the ratio of aliphatic C to aromatic C found to be enhanced due to a relative reduction in the aliphatic C content with >2 mm particle fraction. These changes in organic carbon content and soil stability were analyzed using univariate quadratic equations to explain the relationship between the type of functional groups (polysaccharide C, aliphatic C, aromatic C, aliphatic C/aromatic C) present in the soil aggregates and their MWDs, which were found to vary significantly. Overall, the results of this study indicate that the use of controlled amounts of maize-straw biochar in black soil is beneficial for improving crop yields and levels of soil aggregation, however, the use of excessive amounts of biochar results in unfavorable aggregate formation which negatively impacts the yields of crop growth. The data produced suggest that aromatic C content can be used as a single independent variable to characterize the stability of soil aggregate when biochar/fertilizer mixtures are used as soil additives to boost growth yields. Analysis of soil and crop performance in black soil revealed that the application of maize-straw biochar at a rate of 15.75 and 31.5 t ha−1 had positive effects on crop yields, soil aggregation and accumulation of aromatic C in the aggregate fractions when a soybean-maize rotation system was followed over three years.

Soil Carbon Sequestration Due to Salt-Affected Soil Amelioration with Coal Bio-Briquette Ash: A Case Study in Northeast China

Increasing soil carbon storage and biomass utilization is an effective process for mitigating global warming. Coal bio-briquettes (CBB) are made using two low-ranked coals with high sulfur content, corn stalks, and calcium hydroxide, and the combustion ash can ameliorate the physicochemical properties in salt-affected soil. CBB ash contains mainly calcium compounds, such as calcium sulfate, calcium hydroxide, and calcium carbonate, and coal fly ash and biomass ash. In this paper, changes in soil carbon and nitrogen content through salt-affected soil amelioration during 5 months using two CBB ashes and pig manure were examined in Northeast China. Application rates of CBB ash were 0 tha−1 (control), 11.6 tha−1, 23.2 tha−1, 46.4 tha−1, and 69.6 tha−1. Consequently, total carbon content in topsoil (0–0.15 m) after harvest of maize in all test fields indicated a range between 27.7 tCha−1 and 50.2 tCha−1, and showed increased levels compared to untreated salt-affected soil. In a 3.0% (69.6 tha−1) application plot of only CBB ash with higher carbon and higher exchangeable Ca2+, the carbon content increased by 51.5% compared to control plot, and changes in carbon sequestration compared to untreated soil was roughly twice that of the control plot. CBB ash contributed to carbon application and pig manure supply as a form of N fertilization in the case of all test plots. Changes in carbon content due to soil amelioration have a significant relationship with changes in corn production and soil chemical properties, such as pH, Na+, Cl−, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP). Therefore, CBB production from low-ranked coal and waste biomass, and the use of CBB ash in agriculture is advocated as an effective means for sequestering carbon.

Identifying and addressing knowledge gaps for improving greenhouse gas emissions estimates from tropical peat forest fires

Tropical peatlands are areas of high carbon density that are important in biosphere-atmosphere interactions. Drainage and burning of tropical peatlands releases about 5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet there is great uncertainty in these estimates. Our comprehensive literature review of parameters required to calculate GHG emissions from burnt peat forests, following the international guidelines, revealed many gaps in knowledge of carbon pools and few recent supporting studies. To improve future estimates of the total ecosystem carbon balance and peatfire emissions this study aimed to account for all carbon pools: aboveground, deadwood, pyrogenic carbon (PyC) and peat of single and repeatedly burnt peat forests. A further aim was to identify the minimum sampling intensity required to detect with 80% power significant differences in these carbon pools among long unburnt, recently burnt and repeatedly burnt peat swamp forests.About 90 Mg C ha−1 remains aboveground as deadwood after a single fire and half of this remains after a second fire. One fire produces 4.5 ± 0.6 Mg C ha−1 of PyC, with a second fire increasing this to 7.1 ± 0.8 Mg C ha−1. For peat swamp forests these aboveground carbon pools are rarely accounted in estimates of emissions following multiple fires, while PyC has not been included in the total peat carbon mass balance. Peat bulk density and peat carbon content change with fire frequency, yet these parameters often remain constant in the published emission estimates following a single and multiple fires. Our power analysis indicated that as few as 12 plots are required to detect meaningful differences between fire treatments for the major carbon pools. Further field studies directed at improving the parameters for calculating carbon balance of disturbed peat forest ecosystems are required to better constrain peatfire GHG emission estimates.

Changes in soil carbon content and reserves under long-term field experiments in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals

The identification of factors determining the stability of soil organic carbon is an important step in managing the volumes of greenhouse gases and crops entering the atmosphere. The greatest influence on the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in the soils of agroecosystems is exerted by oxidation processes under intensive agrotechnical action, decomposition, mineralization and humification by soil microorganisms, and also transformation under the influence of enzymatic activity of soils. The studies were conducted on the sites of a long-term field hospital and virgin soil located in the zone of distribution of steppe chernozems of the Southern Urals. During field and laboratory studies, the intensity of soil emission of CO2 (adsorption method), the activity of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase (colorimetric method), and the soil organic matter content (dichromateoxidationtechnique) were determined. The indicators of the content and reserves of soil organic matter in different experimental variants showed a high dependence on the intensity of mineralization processes as a result of active mechanical treatment, aeration and increased activity of microorganisms, as well as the activity of soil enzymes involved in the carbon cycle (C).

Combining organic and mineral fertilizers as a climate-smart integrated soil fertility management practice in sub-Saharan Africa: A meta-analysis

Low productivity and climate change require climate-smart agriculture (CSA) for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), through (i) sustainably increasing crop productivity, (ii) enhancing the resilience of agricultural systems, and (iii) offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. We conducted a meta-analysis on experimental data to evaluate the contributions of combining organic and mineral nitrogen (N) applications to the three pillars of CSA for maize (Zea mays). Linear mixed effect modeling was carried out for; (i) grain productivity and agronomic efficiency of N (AE) inputs, (ii) inter-seasonal yield variability, and (iii) changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) content, while accounting for the quality of organic amendments and total N rates. Results showed that combined application of mineral and organic fertilizers leads to greater responses in productivity and AE as compared to sole applications when more than 100 kg N ha-1 is used with high-quality organic matter. For yield variability and SOC, no significant interactions were found when combining mineral and organic fertilizers. The variability of maize yields in soils amended with high-quality organic matter, except manure, was equal or smaller than for sole mineral fertilizer. Increases of SOC were only significant for organic inputs, and more pronounced for high-quality resources. For example, at a total N rate of 150 kg N ha-1 season-1, combining mineral fertilizer with the highest quality organic resources (50:50) increased AE by 20% and reduced SOC losses by 18% over 7 growing seasons as compared to sole mineral fertilizer. We conclude that combining organic and mineral N fertilizers can have significant positive effects on productivity and AE, but only improves the other two CSA pillars yield variability and SOC depending on organic resource input and quality. The findings of our meta-analysis help to tailor a climate smart integrated soil fertility management in SSA.

High‐Temperature Tensile Properties and Deformation Behavior of Three As‐Cast High‐Manganese Steels

Herein, the high‐temperature tensile properties and deformation behavior of three as‐cast high‐manganese steels with various carbon contents (0.028, 0.28, and 0.64 wt%) are investigated using a combination of hot tensile tests and isothermal hot compression on a Gleeble‐3500 thermomechanical simulator with different temperatures and strain rates. The results indicate that the carbon content increase makes a greater number of Mn–C dipoles available for a short‐range ordering and increases in the peak stress and the maximum flow stress at a constant test temperature and strain rate. In contrast, the stress decreases with increasing test temperatures. The change in carbon content affects the phase transformation at high temperatures, leading to differences in hot ductility. Steels with a carbon content of 0.028 and 0.28 wt% have similar hot brittle temperature ranges, whereas the ductility of the steel improves with increasing temperatures when the carbon content increases to 0.64 wt%. For the hot compression test, the influence of strain rates in increasing the maximum stress grows with increasing carbon content. The hot deformation activation energies of different steels are confirmed, with which the peak stresses could be predicted by the Z parameter in the hyperbolic sine equation. A good correlation is obtained between model predictions and experimental observations in the peak stress.

Soil Carbon Storage Characteristics of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Artificial Grasslands in the Semi-Arid Hilly Gully Region of the Loess Plateau, China

Seven artificial alfalfa grasslands (aged 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 a) and an abandoned land plot were selected to examine the changes in soil organic carbon content, active organic carbon content, soil organic carbon storage and active organic carbon storage in the 0–200 cm soil layer and their correlation with soil nutrients, soil water content, soil bulk density, alfalfa cover, density, height and aboveground biomass. The results show that the soil organic carbon content was between 2.02 and 4.54 g kg–1 within depths of 0–200 cm, which was higher than that in the abandoned land. The soil organic carbon storage in the 0–40 cm layers accounted for, on average, 29.50 ± 7.13% of the total storage in the 0–200 cm soil layers in the 7-year-old alfalfa grasslands and the abandoned land, and the 0–40 cm layer was the main layer of soil organic carbon storage. The soil organic carbon storage in 12 a grassland was the highest, and the abandoned land had the smallest reserve, with values of 10.22 and 5.06 kg m–2, respectively. In addition, carbon storage was, on average, 1.84 kg m–2 higher in 7-year alfalfa artificial grassland than in abandoned farmland. The proportion of soil AOC storage to SOC storage ranged from 30.24 to 58.11%; the proportion in 5-year grassland was the lowest, while it was the highest in the abandoned land. SOC storage had significant positive correlations with TN and soil active organic carbon storage, and it had negative correlations with soil bulk density at the 0.01 level (p < 0.01).

Ureide metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana is modulated by C:N balance.

Plants can respond and adapt to changes in the internal content of carbon and nitrogen by using organic compounds that widely differ in their carbon/nitrogen ratio. Among them, the amides asparagine and glutamine are believed to be preferred by most plants, including Arabidopsis. However, increases in the ureides allantoin and/or allantoate concentrations have been observed in different plant species under several environmental conditions. In this work, changes in the ratio between carbon skeletons and reduced nitrogen were investigated by varying the concentrations of nitrogen and sucrose in the growth media. Allantoin accumulation was observed when plants were grown in media with high ammonia concentrations. This increase was reverted by adding sucrose as additional carbon source. Moreover, mutant plants with a decreased capability to degrade allantoin showed a compromised growth compared to WT in ammonia supplemented media. Together, our results indicate that allantoin accumulation is induced by low carbon/nitrogen ratio and suggest that its degradation is critical for proper plant growth and development.

Development of an analytical method to exclude the effect of decomposition on carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios using muscle samples collected from stranded narrow-ridged finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis).

The muscles from 53 fresh (bycatch and live-stranded individuals) and 213 dead-stranded individuals were analyzed by isotope ratio mass spectrometry combined with an elemental analyzer. The carbon and nitrogen content was compared between fresh and dead-stranded samples to investigate any decrease in the content with decomposition. In dead-stranded samples, the effect of changes in the carbon and nitrogen content and the C:N ratio (carbon/nitrogen) on δ13 C and δ15 N values was predicted by the generalized additive model (GAM). The carbon and nitrogen content (mean ± SE) in the muscles of fresh samples was 0.462 ± 0.0019 mg/mg and 0.147 ± 0.0005 mg/mg, respectively, while the content of dead-stranded samples was lower: carbon: 0.441 ± 0.0033 mg/mg and nitrogen: 0.135 ± 0.0012 mg/mg. When using the GAM, knowledge of the carbon and nitrogen content and the C:N ratio improved the prediction precision. Prediction by the GAM showed changes in δ13 C and δ15 N values with a change in carbon and nitrogen content. The effect of decomposition can be excluded in statistical analysis of stranded samples by using samples with carbon and nitrogen content and C:N ratio equivalent to those of fresh samples or by using the carbon and nitrogen content and C:N ratio as an explanatory variable in the GAM.

Effects of different organic amendments on soil organic carbon and its labile fractions in the paddy soil of a double rice cropping system

Application of organic amendments is an effective approach for improving soil organic carbon and soil fertility. To investigate the effects of different organic amendments on soil organic carbon and its labile fraction content, a batch of incubation experiments was conducted on the fluvo-aquic soil in Dongting Lake region, Hunan Province. There were six treatments, including soil amended with rice straw, soil amended with Chinese milk vetch, soil amended with bio-organic fertilizer, soil amended with pig manure, and soil amended with rice straw-derived biochar, with unamended soil as control. Each treatment had the same amount of carbon input. After 180 days of incubation, application of organic amendments increased soil labile organic carbon content. Application of bio-organic fertilizer, pig manure and rice straw-derived biochar significantly increased soil organic carbon content by 26.1%, 9.7% and 30.7%, respectively. There was no significant change in soil organic carbon content in rice straw and Chinese milk vetch treatments which were more favourable to the accumulation of soil dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon. Pig manure was more favourable to the accumulation of soil dissolved organic carbon. Bio-organic fertili-zer could benefit the accumulation of soil microbial biomass carbon and readily oxidizable organic carbon. Rice straw-derived biochar could promote the accumulation of soil microbial biomass carbon and light fraction organic carbon. Compared with rice straw, soil carbon pool management index was increased by 31.8%, 111.6%, 62.2% and 50.7% in Chinese milk vetch, bio-organic fertilizer, pig manure and rice straw-derived biochar treatments, respectively. The performance of bio-organic fertilizer, pig manure, and rice straw biochar was better than rice straw and Chinese milk vetch from the perspective of soil carbon sequestration and soil carbon pool management index.

Dam Construction as an Important Anthropogenic Activity Disturbing Soil Organic Carbon in Affected Watersheds.

To explore whether and how anthropogenic activities related to surface water regulation (i.e., dam construction) disturb soil ecosystems in the surrounding uplands, a long-term monitoring program was conducted from 1998 to 2017 in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China. The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is the largest hydraulic engineering project in the world. We present a direct, ecosystem-scale demonstration of changes in the soil organic carbon (SOC) content in the TGD watershed before and after the surface water was reshaped. The average SOC content decreased from 12.9 to 9.5 g/kg between 2004 and 2012 and then recovered to 13.8 g/kg in 2017. Dynamics of SOC were partly attributed to shifts in the composition of soil microbial communities responsible for carbon biogeochemistry. The shifts in microbial taxa were associated with the changed microclimate affected by the TGD as well as global and regional climate variability. The microclimate, soil microorganisms, and plant organic carbon input explained 40.2% of the variation in the SOC content. This study revealed that dam construction was an important and indirect driver for the SOC turnover, and the subsequent effects on the upland soil ecosystem must be considered when large-scale disturbance activities (such as dam construction) are conducted in the future.