Effects of revegetation on soil organic carbon composition and stability in the southern edge of the Tengger Desert

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2024.00148

Journal of Desert Research ›› 2024, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (6): 307-317.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2024.00148

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Effects of revegetation on soil organic carbon composition and stability in the southern edge of the Tengger Desert

Haoyu He(), Wei Liu, Zongqiang Chang, Chunmei Hou, Liwei Sun, Xiuli Chi

Information Center / Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands，Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources，Chinese Academy of Sciences，Lanzhou 730000，China

Received:2024-10-15 Revised:2024-10-31 Online:2024-11-20 Published:2024-12-06

Abstract

Abstract:

Revegetation is an effective way to reverse desertification， promote soil organic carbon sequestration and address climate change in arid and semi-arid regions. However， the effectiveness of SOC in improving soil quality and mitigating climate change are largely dependent on the composition and stability of SOC. In this study， we investigated the contents of SOC， mineral-associated organic carbon （MAOC）， and particulate organic carbon （POC） in the 0-10 cm soil layer of sand-fixing vegetation areas in a chronosequence along the southern edge of the Tengger Desert， and the relationship between SOC and its fractions and biotic and abiotic factors were analyzed. The results showed that： the contents of SOC， MAOC， and POC， as well as the proportion of MAOC to total SOC were significantly higher in the sand-fixing vegetation areas compared to mobile sand dune （MSD）， and they notably increased with time during the revegetion process， while an opposite trend was found for the proportion of POC to SOC. After 41 years of revegetation， the contents of SOC， MAOC， POC increased dramatically from 0.27， 0.009， 0.26 g·kg?1 in MDS to 2.86， 1.03， 1.83 g·kg?1， respectively， representing increased by 9.59， 113.44， 6.04 times， respectively. The proportion of MAOC to SOC ranged from 3.35% to 36.47%， suggesting a gradual enhancement in SOC stability as vegetation restoration progressed. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis and structural equation modeling further indicated that variations in MAOC and POC contents and their proportions to SOC were intimately linked to changes in vegetation characteristics， soil physicochemical properties， microbial community composition， enzyme activity， and microbial biomass carbon derived from revegetation. Among these factors， soil physicochemical properties were the key driving factor， with standardized overall effects on MAOC and POC of 0.965 and 0.86， and -0.172 and 0.281， respectively. Our findings indicate that revegetation is an effective to enhance carbon sink potential and promote the long-term sequestration of SOC in arid sandy regions.

Key words: soil organic carbon, mineral-associated organic carbon, clay and silt, stability, revegetation, the Tengger Desert

CLC Number:

S153

Haoyu He, Wei Liu, Zongqiang Chang, Chunmei Hou, Liwei Sun, Xiuli Chi. Effects of revegetation on soil organic carbon composition and stability in the southern edge of the Tengger Desert[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2024, 44(6): 307-317.

Figures/Tables 6

References 46

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	植被恢复年限/a					方差分析结果
	0	12	20	32	41	F	P
植被盖度/%	4.77±0.64^a	36.21±3.05^b	35.47±2.26^b	30.48±2.11^c	30.47±2.24^c	34.697	0.001
AGB/(g·m^-2)	7.95±0.93^a	353.88±33.87^b	299.74±18.75^b	163.52±8.96^c	155.16±8.09^c	56.053	0.001
BGB/(g·m^-2)	1.11±0.14^a	9.33±0.75^b	9.20±1.18^b	9.65±0.39^b	10.12±0.41^c	31.374	0.001
凋落物/(g·m^-2)	0.00^a	7.76±0.82^b	8.74±0.77^b	11.95±0.74^c	16.22±1.66^c	39.338	0.001
黏粉粒含量/%	0.18±0.01^a	1.99±0.23^b	4.53±0.11^c	6.54±0.18^d	12.55±0.94^e	118.572	0.001
砂粒含量/%	99.82±0.01^a	98.01±0.23^b	95.47±0.11^c	93.46±0.18^d	87.45±0.93^e	118.572	0.001
pH	8.99±0.06^a	8.89±0.04^ab	8.84±0.03^b	8.58±0.17^c	8.50±0.09^c	4.984	0.018
EC/(μS·cm^-1)	25.06±0.77^a	58.97±2.89^b	90.33±2.50^c	109.7±19.42^cd	131.97±11.40^d	16.991	0.001
SOC/(g·kg^-1)	0.27±0.03^a	0.55±0.05^b	1.10±0.07^c	1.61±0.03^d	2.86±0.34^e	42.438	0.001
TN/ (g·kg^-1)	0.17±0.001^a	0.21±0.02^b	0.26±0.04^c	0.38±0.02^d	0.54±0.04^e	24.630	0.001
C∶N	1.55±0.17^a	2.77±0.48^b	4.50±0.76^c	4.26±0.33^c	5.27±0.23^d	11.054	0.001

	植被恢复年限/a					方差分析结果
	0	12	20	32	41	F	P
植被盖度/%	4.77±0.64^a	36.21±3.05^b	35.47±2.26^b	30.48±2.11^c	30.47±2.24^c	34.697	0.001
AGB/(g·m^-2)	7.95±0.93^a	353.88±33.87^b	299.74±18.75^b	163.52±8.96^c	155.16±8.09^c	56.053	0.001
BGB/(g·m^-2)	1.11±0.14^a	9.33±0.75^b	9.20±1.18^b	9.65±0.39^b	10.12±0.41^c	31.374	0.001
凋落物/(g·m^-2)	0.00^a	7.76±0.82^b	8.74±0.77^b	11.95±0.74^c	16.22±1.66^c	39.338	0.001
黏粉粒含量/%	0.18±0.01^a	1.99±0.23^b	4.53±0.11^c	6.54±0.18^d	12.55±0.94^e	118.572	0.001
砂粒含量/%	99.82±0.01^a	98.01±0.23^b	95.47±0.11^c	93.46±0.18^d	87.45±0.93^e	118.572	0.001
pH	8.99±0.06^a	8.89±0.04^ab	8.84±0.03^b	8.58±0.17^c	8.50±0.09^c	4.984	0.018
EC/(μS·cm^-1)	25.06±0.77^a	58.97±2.89^b	90.33±2.50^c	109.7±19.42^cd	131.97±11.40^d	16.991	0.001
SOC/(g·kg^-1)	0.27±0.03^a	0.55±0.05^b	1.10±0.07^c	1.61±0.03^d	2.86±0.34^e	42.438	0.001
TN/ (g·kg^-1)	0.17±0.001^a	0.21±0.02^b	0.26±0.04^c	0.38±0.02^d	0.54±0.04^e	24.630	0.001
C∶N	1.55±0.17^a	2.77±0.48^b	4.50±0.76^c	4.26±0.33^c	5.27±0.23^d	11.054	0.001

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Effects of revegetation on soil organic carbon composition and stability in the southern edge of the Tengger Desert

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