Litter quality modifies soil organic carbon mineralization in an ecological restoration area

Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization impacts the loss and accumulation of carbon (C) in crucial ways. However, it is still unclear how exactly litter quality regulates the SOC mineralization process and SOC stock. We conducted a laboratory incubation experiment under different temperatures, that is 10°C, 20°C, 30°C, and 40°C, and moisture, that is 5%, 10%, and 20% regimes, as well as a control (CK), and different litter qualities, that is, Artemisia ordosica, Caragana korshinskii, and Eragrostis minor. This was conducted in soil from a revegetated area in the Tengger Desert, northern China. We investigated the impacts of litter addition on SOC mineralization by considering the chemical properties of litter, temperature, and soil moisture, as well as the cumulative CO2‐C emissions (CCE), maximum rate (MR), potential mineralizable C (C0), priming effect (PE), temperature sensitivity (Q10), moisture sensitivity (MS), and SOC stock. Litter addition increased the CCE, MR, C0, and MS but decreased the Q10, and the effects of different litter qualities on CCE, MR, C0, MS, and Q10 differed significantly. The SOC mineralization rate increased with increasing temperature and moisture and was also accelerated by the interactions between temperature and moisture. The total C and lignin contents of litter were the key factors that governed SOC mineralization. Litter addition had a positive PE on SOC mineralization, and high‐quality litter with low C:N ratio (A. ordosica and C. korshinskii) increased the PE compared with low‐quality litter with high C:N ratio (E. minor). The PE also decreased with increasing temperature and moisture. Litter addition resulted in an acceleration of the loss of SOC mineralization, and an increase in the SOC mineralization response toward moisture but reduced the SOC mineralization response toward temperature, whereas litter quality was inversely correlated with the SOC stock. Therefore, the input of low‐quality litter will decrease the loss of mineralized SOC caused by PE and diminish the accumulation of SOC in the revegetated regions. These findings may provide a reasonable litter management model to promote the stability of soil C pool in arid revegetated areas.

Environmental effects of a management method used after fire on development of temperate Scots pine ecosystem: a 15-year study from Poland

“…The concentration can be additionally supported by the fact that young trees delivering litterfall are planted in rows, and their branches with needles occur primarily over the rows, which is relevant especially for several initial years after the planting. On the other hand, the soil material in interrows, primarily due to the initially lower shadowing by young trees and consequently higher insolation, is more exposed to organic matter mineralization, which implies the loss of organic carbon and nutrients (Zhang et al 2021 ; Li et al 2023 ). This is especially crucial for the functioning of woodlands with sandy soils, in which organic matter constitutes the main available source of nutrients to plants (Elgersma 1998 ; Rahmonov et al 2021 ).…”

Construction and Application of Ecological Remediation Technology for Sandy Soils in Northwest China

“…Input of low-quality apoplastic litter reduced the loss of SOC mineralization caused by stimulation effects and decreased SOC accumulation in the replanted area. The above study provides a rational model for apoplastic litter management to stabilize soil carbon pools in arid regions [13].…”

Simulation of Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics in Postfire Boreal Forests of China by Incorporating High-Resolution Remote Sensing Data and Field Measurement

“…Combining these results, the SOC stocks gradually decreased as the severity of the fire increased. During the 300-year postfire recovery process, the forest stands gradually recovered from young to mature forests, and the biomass of litter gradually increased, contributing to SOC accumulation [69,70]; therefore, SOC also increases with stand age [71]. As a result, SOC stocks are gradually recovering to prefire levels [72].…”