NDLI: The Impact of Afforestation on Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration on the Qinghai Plateau, China

Content Provider	PubMed Central
Author	Shi, Sheng-wei Han, Peng-fei Zhang, Ping Ding, Fan Ma, Cheng-lin
Editor	Zhou, Xuhui
Copyright Year	2015
Abstract	Afforestation, the conversion of non-forested land into forest, is widespread in China. However, the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) after afforestation are not well understood, especially in plateau climate zones. For a total of 48 shrub- and/or tree-dominated afforestation sites on the Qinghai Plateau, Northwestern China, post-afforestation changes in SOC, total nitrogen (TN), the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C/N) and soil bulk density (BD) were investigated to a soil depth of 60 cm using the paired-plots method. SOC and TN accumulated at rates of 138.2 g C m-2 yr-1 and 4.6 g N m-2 yr-1, respectively, in shrub-dominated afforestation sites and at rates of 113.3 g C m-2 yr--1 and 6.7 g N m-2yr-1, respectively, in tree-dominated afforestation sites. Soil BD was slightly reduced in all layers in the shrub-dominated afforestation plots, and significantly reduced in soil layers from 0–40cm in the tree-dominated afforestation plots. The C/N ratio was higher in afforested sites relative to the reference sites. SOC accumulation was closely related to TN accumulation following afforestation, and the inclusion of N-fixing species in tree-dominated afforestation sites additionally increased the soil accumulation capacity for SOC (p < 0.05). Multiple regression models including the age of an afforestation plot and total number of plant species explained 75% of the variation in relative SOC content change at depth of 0–20 cm, in tree-dominated afforestation sites. We conclude that afforestation on the Qinghai Plateau is associated with great capability of SOC and TN sequestration. This study improves our understanding of the mechanisms underlying SOC and TN accumulation in a plateau climate, and provides evidence on the C sequestration potentials associated with forestry projects in China.
Related Links	http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0116591
Starting Page	116591
File Format	PDF
ISSN	19326203
e-ISSN	19326203
Journal	PLoS ONE
Issue Number	2
Volume Number	10
Language	English
Publisher	Public Library of Science
Publisher Date	2015-02-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights Holder	Public Library of Science
Subject Keyword	Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all) Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all) Medicine(all) Research in Higher Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Multidisciplinary

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Changes following Afforestation of Marginal Cropland across a Precipitation Gradient in Loess Plateau of China

Climate and Land Use Controls on Soil Organic Carbon in the Loess Plateau Region of China

Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilization on Soil Carbon Fractions in Alpine Meadows on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Characteristics of Soil and Organic Carbon Loss Induced by Water Erosion on the Loess Plateau in China

Soil Organic Carbon Pools and Stocks in Permafrost-Affected Soils on the Tibetan Plateau

Relationships between C3 Plant Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Element Contents of Grassland Species at High Altitudes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Changes in Soil Carbon and Nitrogen following Land Abandonment of Farmland on the Loess Plateau, China

Responses of Soil Microbial Communities to Experimental Warming in Alpine Grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Changes in Temperature Sensitivity and Activation Energy of Soil Organic Matter Decomposition in Different Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Grasslands

The Impact of Afforestation on Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration on the Qinghai Plateau, China

Similar Documents

Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Changes following Afforestation of Marginal Cropland across a Precipitation Gradient in Loess Plateau of China

Climate and Land Use Controls on Soil Organic Carbon in the Loess Plateau Region of China

Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilization on Soil Carbon Fractions in Alpine Meadows on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Characteristics of Soil and Organic Carbon Loss Induced by Water Erosion on the Loess Plateau in China

Soil Organic Carbon Pools and Stocks in Permafrost-Affected Soils on the Tibetan Plateau

Relationships between C3 Plant Foliar Carbon Isotope Composition and Element Contents of Grassland Species at High Altitudes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

Changes in Soil Carbon and Nitrogen following Land Abandonment of Farmland on the Loess Plateau, China

Responses of Soil Microbial Communities to Experimental Warming in Alpine Grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Changes in Temperature Sensitivity and Activation Energy of Soil Organic Matter Decomposition in Different Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Grasslands

The Impact of Afforestation on Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration on the Qinghai Plateau, China