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Deep soil organic carbon (SOC) plays an important role in carbon cycling. Precisely predicting deep SOC at the regional scale is crucial for the accurate assessment of carbon sequestration potential in soils but has been challenging for a century. Herein, we developed a depth distribution function-based empirical approach to predict SOC in deep soils at the regional scale. We validated this approach with a dataset from four regions of the world and examined the application of this approach in China's Loess Plateau. We found that among the reported depth distribution functions describing vertical patterns of SOC, the negative exponential function performed best in fitting SOC along the soil profile in various regions. Moreover, the parameters (i.e., Ce and k) of the negative exponential function were linearly correlated to surface SOC (0–20 cm) and the changing rates of SOC within the topsoil (0–40 cm). Based on the above relationships, the empirical equations for predicting the negative exponential parameters are established. The validation results from site-specific and regional dataset showed that combining the negative exponential function and such empirical equations can precisely predict SOC concentration in soils down to 500 cm depth. Our study provides a simple, rapid and accurate method for predicting deep soil SOC at the regional scale, which could simplify the assessment of deep soil SOC in various regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The creation of "fertile islands" beneath shrubs in dryland ecosystems has been widely reported worldwide and is the major factor influencing ecosystem structure and function. However, studies investigating whether and how shrubs affect soil biogeochemical cycles in deep soil layers are relatively limited. In this study, we examined the vertical distribution of the soil nutrient contents and enzymatic activities at the 0–100 cm soil profiles beneath three common xerophytic shrubs (Artemisia ordosica , Caragana korshinskii and Salix psammophila) and in interspace bare soils in a transition zone from desert to loess in the north of China. The soil metrics included the contents of organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrate and ammonium nitrogen, available phosphorus and potassium, and the activities of saccharase, urease, alkaline phosphatase and amylase. We found that the contents of organic carbon, total nitrogen and available potassium, and the activities of saccharase, urease and alkaline phosphatase were higher in the soils beneath shrubs than in the interspace bare areas, but these differences only occurred in the 0–10 cm soil profile but not in the soils below the depth of 10 cm. The soil quality index was consistently improved among the three shrub species in the topsoil. In addition, the soil nutrients were positively correlated with enzymatic activities, and the organic carbon content explained approximately 50% of the variations in the enzymatic activities. Collectively, our results demonstrated that the establishment of xerophytic shrubs improved the soil chemical and biological conditions in the desert-loess transition region, and the effect was restricted to the 0–10 cm soil layer. Highlights • Xerophytic shrubs significantly increased soil nutrient contents and enzymatic activities. • Effects of shrubs on soil nutrients and enzyme activities occurred at 0–10 cm depth. • Soil quality index was similar among A. ordosica , C. korshinskii and S. psammophila. • Soil nutrient contents were positively correlated with enzymatic activities. • Organic carbon explained ~50% of the variations in enzymatic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We investigated soil physical and hydraulic properties across a cultivation chronosequence. • A greater decrease in aggregate stability was found in cropland after long-term cultivation. • Long-term cultivation partially improved deep soil bulk density, porosity, field capacity and K s. • The parameters of soil water retention curve were unaffected by the cultivation time. Black soils (Mollisols) are inherently productive and fertile but are deteriorating due to long-term intensive cultivation. Understanding the changes in soil physical and hydraulic properties in topsoils and deep soils after converting forest to cropland would reveal the mechanism related to the black soil degradation. Herein, we investigated the variations in the soil water-stable aggregates, soil water content, bulk density, field capacity, total porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and parameters of soil water retention curve at the 0–100 cm depth in four sampling fields. These fields included a forest as control and three croplands that were converted from forest 41, 50 and 65 years ago in the black soil region of Northeast China. We showed that converting forest to cropland decreased >2 mm aggregates and aggregate stability especially at 0–15 and 70–100 cm depths, with a greater decrease in cropland after relatively longer time of cultivation. Conversion of forest to cropland significantly decreased the soil water content at the 0–15 cm depth but increased it at the 15–100 cm depth, and the increase in the 50–100 cm soil layer was strengthened with cultivation time. The decreases in field capacity, total porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity and increase in bulk density at the 0–50 cm depth following the conversion of forest to cropland were higher after 41 and 50 years of cultivation than those after 65 years of cultivation. However, changes in these metrics at the 50–100 cm depth increased with cultivation time. The parameters (i.e., θ r , θ s , α and n) of the soil water retention curve were not affected by the cultivation time after converting forest to cropland. These results highlighted that long-term cultivation after the conversion of forest to cropland resulted in the changes in soil physical and hydraulic properties in the 0–100 cm soil profiles, and thus, the response of deep soils should not be ignored in this black soil region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Up-slope runoff and sediment increased most nutrient contents on the wide slope. • Up-slope runoff and sediment decreased most nutrient contents on the narrow slope. • Up-slope runoff and sediment reduced random spatial heterogeneity of soil nutrients. Upslope runoff and sediment critically influence soil erosion, while their impact on the subsequent downslope nutrient distribution has not been examined, consequently hindering the exact assessment of the effects of erosion on soil biogeochemical cycles. Herein we selected two groups of wide and narrow slopes on the middle Loess Plateau, with each slope group including slopes with and without upslope runoff and sediment. For each slope, we collected soil samples from topsoil along the slope at different distances from the upper slope to the lower slope, and collected samples from depths of 0–60 cm at the upper, middle and lower positions of the slope. The contents of soil organic matter and nutrients were analysed. The purpose of this study was to disentangle the effects of upslope runoff and sediment on spatial distribution of soil nutrients on slopes of different widths. We showed that compared with slopes without upslope runoff and sediment, upslope runoff and sediment increased the content of most nutrients in topsoil on the wide slope, but had a contrasting effect on the narrow slope. Upslope runoff and sediment reduced the random spatial heterogeneity of soil nutrients on both the wide and narrow slopes, with greater effects observed on the narrow slope. The influence of upslope runoff and sediment on the profile distribution of soil nutrients varied with slope position and slope width, and was nutrient type-dependent. These results indicated that slope topographical conditions interact with upslope runoff and sediment in influencing vertical and horizontal patterns of soil nutrients on slopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]