Liqiong Yang

Dynamics of soil organic carbon and nitrogen following agricultural abandonment in a karst region

Agricultural abandonment is regarded as a major driver of soil organic carbon (C) dynamics, but the mechanisms underlying the direction and magnitude of soil C dynamics following agricultural abandonment are poorly understood. Here dynamics of soil C and N contents during postagricultural succession were investigated in areas underlain by dolomite or limestone by using a space-for-time substitution approach in a karst region, southwest China. One hundred twenty-five sites from cropland, grassland, shrubland, and secondary forest were selected to represent different succession stages. Overall, soil C and N contents were greater (P < 0.05) over limestone than over dolomite mainly due to significantly greater contents of soil C and N in the cropland and grassland underlain by limestone. Both soil C and N contents were lowest in the cropland while highest in the forest. Further analysis indicated that the patterns of soil C and N dynamics differed between the two lithology types. Soil C and N contents increased significantly from cropland to forest over dolomite, while varied insignificantly among succession stages over limestone. Exchangeable calcium explained most of soil C and N variance. We proposed that higher dissolution rate of limestone could replenish the lost calcium so that the calcium levels, and in turn soil C and N contents, were stable from the cropland to the forest. Nevertheless, due to relatively low dissolution rate for dolomite, the calcium level was depleted in the cropland. Following agricultural abandonment, calcium level recovered due to decreased loss, which in turn resulted in recovery of soil C and N.

Soil organic carbon accumulation during post-agricultural succession in a karst area, southwest China

This study was aimed to investigate the direction and magnitude of soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and the underlying mechanisms following agricultural abandonment in a subtropical karst area, southwest China. Two post-agriculture succession sequences including grassland (~10 years), shrubland (~29 years), secondary forest (~59 years) and primary forest with cropland as reference were selected. SOC and other soil physicochemical variables in the soil depth of 0–15 cm (representing the average soil depth of the slope in the studied area) were measured. SOC content in the grassland was not significantly elevated relative to the cropland (42.0 ± 7.3 Mg C ha−1). SOC content in the shrubland reached the level of the primary forest. On average, SOC content for the forest was 92.6 ± 4.2 Mg C ha−1, representing an increase of 120.4 ± 10.0% or 50.6 ± 4.2 Mg ha−1 relative to the cropland. Following agricultural abandonment, SOC recovered to the primary forest level in about 40 years with a rate of 1.38 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. Exchangeable Ca and Mg were found to be the strongest predictors of SOC dynamics. Our results suggest that SOC content may recover rapidly following agricultural abandonment in the karst region of southwest China.

Effects of nitrogen deposition on soil sulfur cycling

Increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has been found to alter processes and functions of terrestrial ecosystems including the biogeochemical cycling of N and other elements, e.g., phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca) and potassium (K). Nevertheless, how N deposition changes sulfur (S) cycling is largely unknown. Based on a meta-analysis and a lab N addition experiment, here we show that N addition significantly suppresses the activity of soil arylsulfatase, which is a major enzyme involved in the mineralization of organic S. The evidence suggests that N-induced decrease in soil pH is responsible for the decrease of arylsulfatase activity. Soil buffering capacity plays a critical role in mediating the extent of arylsulfatase activity response to N inputs via its regulation on soil pH. Our results suggest that N deposition may slow down S cycling by suppressing soil organic S mineralization.