Soil organic carbon storage capacity positively related to forest succession on the Loess Plateau, China

Spatial variability in soil organic carbon and its influencing factors in a hilly watershed of the Loess Plateau, China

“…The SOC of immature forestland is 32.25% lower than that in 30-year forests, which means that there is great carbon sequestration potential in immature forests in the future. By comparing SOC at different vegetation succession stages along a 150-year chronosequence in the Ziwuling forest region located in the central part of the Loess Plateau, Deng et al (2013) found that SOC increased rapidly and tended to be highest at roughly the 50-year mark. In particular, forestland will not only further increase topsoil SOC but will also significantly improve deep SOC in the future (Z.…”

“…For each typical plot, the topsoil (0-20 cm) was sampled using a soil drilling sampler. Soil samples were taken at five points, including four corners and the centre of the plot, and were mixed to effectively form one soil sample (Deng et al, 2013). Rocks and roots were removed from each soil sample, after which the soil was air-dried and passed through a 0.25-mm sieve.…”

Soil organic carbon fractions and sequestration across a 150-yr secondary forest chronosequence on the Loess Plateau, China

“…The sun-faced slopes present no vertical climatic variations. This area is covered by loess soils within the depth range of 50 to 130 m. The soil develops from primitive or secondary loess parent materials below which there is 80-100 m thick laterite consisting of calcareous cinnamon soil (Cheng et al, 2012;Deng et al, 2013). Plant roots are generally distributed in the top 10 m of soil (Zou et al, 2002).…”

“…Research on SOC dynamics in a long-term vegetation succession chronosequence is necessary to obtaining base-line data of SOC storage and estimating SOC sequestration potential in the future. Despite numerous reports on SOC dynamics during vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau (Deng et al, 2013;Jia et al, 2012), information is lacking on SOC fractions and sequestration potential in deeper soil profile (~100 cm) under long-term secondary forest succession.…”

Regional Scale Determinants of Nutrient Content of Soil in a Cold-Temperate Forest

“…From the viewpoint of succession, PL, MLB and PP were in the top stage of succession-the complexity of the tree species composition increased the possibilities of the accumulation of organic matter [36]-but PB and PQ were the secondary forests which were disturbed more frequently in recent years. So, the SOC content of PL, MLB and PP should be larger than that of PB or PQ [37]. However, the SOC content in PP was minimal, even lower than in PB.…”