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Soil Carbon Changes Following Afforestation with Olga Bay Larch (Larix olgensis Henry) in Northeastern China
- Source :
- Journal of Integrative Plant Biology. 48:503-512
- Publication Year :
- 2006
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2006.
-
Abstract
- After converting cropland to forest, carbon is sequestered in the aggrading biomass of the new forests, but the question remains, to what extent will the former arable soil contribute as a sink for CO2? Quantifying changes in soil carbon is an important consideration in the large-scale conversion of cropland to forest. Extensive field studies were undertaken to identify a number of suitable sites for comparison of soil properties under pasture and forest. The present paper describes results from a study of the effects of first rotation larch on soil carbon in seven stands in an afforestation chronosequence compared with adjacent Korean pine, pasture, and cropland. An adjacent 250-year-old natural forest was included to give information on the possible long-term changes in soil carbon in northeast China in 2004. Soil carbon initially decreased during the first 12 yr before a gradual recovery and accumulation of soil carbon occurred. The initial (0–12 yr) decrease in soil carbon was an average 1.2% per year among case studies, whereas the increase in soil carbon (12–33 yr) was 1.90% per year. Together with the carbon sequestration of forest floors, this led to total soil carbon stores of approximately 101.83 Mg/hm2 over the 33-year chronosequence. Within the relatively short time span, carbon sequestration occurred mainly in tree biomass, whereas soil carbon stores were clearly higher in the 250-year-old plantation (184 Mg/hm2). The ongoing redistribution of mineral soil carbon in the young stands and the higher soil carbon contents in the 250-year-old afforested stand suggest that nutrient-rich afforestation soils may become greater sinks for carbon (C) in the long term. (Managing editor: Ya-Qin Han)
Details
- ISSN :
- 17447909 and 16729072
- Volume :
- 48
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Integrative Plant Biology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........b5f8c3f835d9a3576cfc47c5e44878e6