Effects of cultivation and agricultural abandonment on soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in a meadow steppe in eastern Inner Mongolia

Wang, Chu; Li, Linghao; Yu, Yan Zhen; Cai, Yurong; Xu, Donghui; Wang, Xu; Chen, Jinqiang; Xin, Xiaoping

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2020.107284

Cited by 25 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Our results showed that a number of soil characteristics are typically thought to be positive outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystem functions across the chronosequence. For example, consistent with many other studies (Li et al, 2018; Wang et al, 2021; Wu et al, 2016), we found that soil hydrological conditions improved along the chronosequence, with increased soil water content and decreased bulk density. One reason for this is that long‐term tillage operations compact the soil surface soil (Cotching et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Understanding the patterns of how communities recover following cropland abandonment, as well as the potential processes leading to those patterns, has been an area of active investigation (Deng et al, 2014; Knops & Tilman, 2000; van der Putten et al, 2000). For example, many studies have investigated plant community succession following land abandonment, and its consequent effects on ecosystem functions such as production and soil nutrient cycling (Isbell et al, 2019; Tian et al, 2018; Wang et al, 2021; Zhang, Cheng, et al, 2013). These studies not only provide important information on successional patterns and processes but also contribute to the development of appropriate management practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Secondary succession of soil, plants, and bacteria following the recovery of abandoned croplands in two semi‐arid steppes

Zhang,

Wang

et al. 2023

Land Degrad Dev

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In many parts of the world, former agricultural sites have been abandoned particularly when productivity is marginal or policies are implemented to develop ecosystem recovery. Understanding the recovery trajectory of soil, plants, and microbes is critical for developing restoration plans and the most effective policies. Here, we evaluated the changes in soil properties, plants, and the bacterial community along a chronosequence of agricultural abandonment (5, 15, and 20 years) in two different types of steppes (desert and typical steppes), respectively, in Inner Mongolia, China. Active farmland and natural grassland were selected as reference sites. In both study sites, soil water content and soil organic carbon content increased, while bulk density and nitrogen decreased across the chronosequence, all becoming comparable to that of natural grassland. Plant diversity, above‐ and below‐ground biomass increased, while perennial graminoids and forbs replaced annuals as the dominant functional groups with the elongation of abandonment. Bacterial diversity increased along the chronosequence in the drier desert steppe, but not in the wetter typical steppe. Over the chronosequence, Acidobacteria, a phyla tending to live in lower carbon conditions, were replaced by Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, which favor abundant carbon environments. Redundancy analysis shows that soil organic carbon, below‐ground plant biomass, and nitrate were the main factors that driving bacterial community composition. Our results demonstrated that spontaneous recovery without any human disturbance was an effective way for the restoration of arid and semi‐arid grassland ecosystems in Inner Mongolia, and emphasized the importance of soil and plant restoration for the recovery of bacterial community.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary succession of soil, plants, and bacteria following the recovery of abandoned croplands in two semi‐arid steppes

Zhang,

Wang

et al. 2023

Land Degrad Dev

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“…Moreover, the northern grasslands provide a range of ecosystem services that have regional to national significance, including water conservation, climate stabilization, carbon sequestration, dust mitigation, etc. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. However, grasslands in China have experienced extensive degradation during the past few decades, mostly due to overexploitation [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enclosure in Combination with Mowing Simultaneously Promoted Grassland Biodiversity and Biomass Productivity

Nie

et al. 2022

Plants

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Grassland is the primary land use in China, which has experienced extensive degradation in recent decades due to overexploitation. Here, we conducted field experiments to quantify the degraded grassland’s recovery rate in Northeast Inner Mongolia in response to restoration measures, including fallow + enclosure (FE) and mowing + enclosure (ME) in comparison to livestock grazing (LG), since 2005. Plant community properties were surveyed and aboveground biomass (AGB) sampled in summer 2013. Our results showed that the regional dominant species Leymus chinensis retained its dominance under FE, whereas a range of forb species gained dominance under LG. Vegetative cover was maximal under FE and minimal under LG. The least amount of vegetation development and AGB were observed under LG. However, plant diversity showed an opposite pattern, with maximal diversity under LG and minimal under FE. Statistical analysis revealed that AGB was negatively associated with plant diversity for all treatments except ME. For ME, a positive AGB-diversity relationship was characterized, suggesting that mowing intensity was a controlling factor for the AGB-diversity relationship. Overall, these results demonstrated that enclosure plus mowing represented an effective conservation measure that provided fair support to forage production and a progressive pathway to a more resilient grassland system.

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“…As mountainous croplands are often abandoned due to a variety of reasons and conditions, this land may provide valuable environmental benefits to society. For example, when considering the international literature, an extensive body of research has investigated the carbon storage potential from this kind of cropland abandonment across China [109][110][111]. However, our study highlights the importance of incorporating time series data for accurate estimations of abandoned croplands, because without accurate annual land use maps we may miss out the process of recultivation leading to a considerable over-estimation of the associated total soil organic carbon (TOC) sequestration potential [89].…”

Section: Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Mapping the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Cropland Abandonment and Recultivation across the Yangtze River Basin

Long,

Sun,

Wellens

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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Whether China can achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) largely depends on the ability of main food-producing areas to cope with multiple land use change challenges. Despite the fact that the Yangtze River basin is one of the key regions for China’s food security, the spatiotemporal dynamics of cropland abandonment and recultivation remain largely unexplored in this region. The present study assesses the evolution of the agricultural system within the Yangtze River basin between 2000 and 2020 by mapping cropland abandonment and recultivation using MODIS time series and multiple land cover products. The results highlight a widespread cropland abandonment process (i.e., 10.5% of the total study area between 2000 and 2020), predominantly in Western Sichuan, Eastern Yunnan, and Central Jiangxi. Although 70% of abandoned cropland is situated in areas with slopes less than 5°, the highest rates of abandonment are in mountainous regions. However, by 2020, 74% of this abandoned cropland had been recultivated at least once, whereas half of the abandoned croplands got recultivated within three years of their initial abandonment. Hence, as this is one of the first studies that unravels the complex interaction between cropland abandonment and recultivation in a spatiotemporal explicit context, it offers (i) scientists a novel methodological framework to assess agricultural land use issues across large geographical entities, and (ii) policy-makers new insights to support the sustainable transition of the agricultural sector.

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Effects of cultivation and agricultural abandonment on soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in a meadow steppe in eastern Inner Mongolia

Cited by 25 publications

References 57 publications

Secondary succession of soil, plants, and bacteria following the recovery of abandoned croplands in two semi‐arid steppes

Secondary succession of soil, plants, and bacteria following the recovery of abandoned croplands in two semi‐arid steppes

Enclosure in Combination with Mowing Simultaneously Promoted Grassland Biodiversity and Biomass Productivity

Mapping the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Cropland Abandonment and Recultivation across the Yangtze River Basin

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