Effects of Different Management Practices on the Increase in Phytolith-Occluded Carbon in Moso Bamboo Forests

Abstract

Phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC), a promising long-term biogeochemical carbon sequestration mode, plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle and the regulation of atmospheric CO2. Previous studies mostly focused on the estimation of the content and storage of PhytOC, while it remains unclear about how the management practices affect the PhytOC content and whether it varies with stand age. Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla var. pubescens) has a great potential in carbon sequestration and is rich in PhytOC. Here, we selected four management treatments, including control (CK), compound fertilization (CF), silicon (Si) fertilization (SiF) (monosilicic acid can form phytoliths through silicification), and cut to investigate the variation of phytoliths and PhytOC contents in soil, leaves, and litters, and their storage in Moso bamboo forests. In soil, the SiF fertilizer treatment significantly (P < 0.05) increased phytolith content, PhytOC content, and storage compared to CK, while there were no significant differences between the treatments of CF and cut. In leaf, compared with CK, phytolith content of the second-degree leaves under SiF and the first-degree leaves under cut treatment significantly increased, and the three treatments significantly increased PhytOC storage for leaves with three age classes. In litter, the phytolith and PhytOC contents under the three treatments were not significantly different from that under the CK treatment. The PhytOC storage increased by 19.33% under SiF treatment, but significantly decreased by 40.63% under the CF treatment. For the entire Moso bamboo forest ecosystems, PhytOC storage of all the three management treatments increased compared with CK, with the largest increase by 102% under the SiF treatment. The effects of management practices on the accumulation of PhytOC varied with age. Our study implied that Si fertilization has a greater potential to significantly promote the capacity of sequestration of carbon in Moso bamboo forests.

The Influence of Exogenous Nitrogen Input on the Characteristics of Phytolith-Occluded Carbon in the Kandelia obovata Soil System

“…A previous study reported that phytolith content in soil and litter of different vegetation types was significantly correlated with the PhytOC content, and the soil phytolith content was significantly correlated with the soil SOC content [30]. The differences between our current findings and those of previous studies could be explained by differences in the plant species, phytoliths in different plant organs, and differences in the PhytOC content [48][49][50].…”

Role of phytolith occluded carbon of cereales plants for climate change mitigation

“…Paar et al (2009) emphasised that a potential crop permitting long-lasting and durable carbon sequestration is sugar cane that is able to bind approximately 0.66 Mg e-CO 2 •ha −1 •y −1 . Lv et al (2020) pointed out the vast potential of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla var. pubescens) for carbon sequestration and its richness in PhytOC.…”

Tissue-cultured regeneration and ecological values in major bamboo species

“…The carbon assimilation of 24.7 mg/ha/year in aboveground parts and 69.2 mg/ha/year in below-ground parts and 42.2 mg/ha/year in above-ground parts and 59.0 mg/ ha/year in below-ground parts were sunk by the Phyllostachys maikinoi and Phyllostachys meyeri in Taiwan and China forest respectively (Sharma et al 2021). The carbon assimilation of 14.5 mg/ha/year in above-ground parts and 12.2 mg/ha/year in below-ground parts and 28.2 mg/ ha/year in above-ground parts and 15.1 mg/ha/year in below-ground parts were sunk by the Phyllostachys nidularia and Phyllostachys nigra in South Korea and China forest respectively (Lv et al 2020). The carbon assimilation of 6.8 mg/ha/year in above-ground parts and 3 mg/ha/year in below-ground parts and 68.1 mg/ha/year in above-ground parts and 117.1 mg/ha/year in below-ground parts were sunk by Phyllostachys praecox and Phyllostachys rutila respectively in China forest (Ren et al 2011).…”