Wind erosion enhanced by land use changes significantly reduces ecosystem carbon storage and carbon sequestration potentials in semiarid grasslands

Li, Ping; Liu, Lingli; Wang, Jing; Wang, Zhenhua; Wang, Xin; Bai, Yongfei; Chen, Shiping

doi:10.1002/ldr.3118

Cited by 39 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The C pool under the wind erosion scenario in CABLE model was calculated as

C_{pool} = C_{pool} \times {sand}_{c} % + max ((),, 0, C_{pool} \times ((), {silt}_{c} % + {clay}_{c} %) - C_{loss})

where sand c %, silt c %, and clay c % were contributions of organic C in sand, silt, and clay in soil surface to total SOC, respectively. Li et al () has indicated that contribution of organic C in fine fraction (<20 μm) to total SOC was 54.03%, and thus, silt c % plus clay c % was 54.03% and sand c % was 45.97% in this study.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 59%

“…Thus, the soil organic N pool (N pool ) and soil mineral N pool (Nm pool ) under wind erosion scenario were expressed as

N_{pool} = N_{pool} \times {sand}_{n} % + max ((),, 0, N_{pool} \times ((), {silt}_{n} % + {clay}_{n} %) - N_{loss})

{Nm}_{pool} = {Nm}_{pool} \times {sand}_{n} % + max ((),, 0, {Nm}_{pool} \times ((), {silt}_{n} % + {clay}_{n} %) - {Nm}_{loss})

where sand n %, silt n %, and clay n % were the contributions of N in sand, silt, and clay in soil surface to total soil N, respectively. silt n % plus clay n % was 58.41%, and sand n % was 41.59% (Li et al, ). Given the N but not phosphorus (P) limitation on plant growth in the study region (Niu et al, ; Xia et al, ), P loss associated with wind erosion was not considered in this study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plant Feedback Aggravates Soil Organic Carbon Loss Associated With Wind Erosion in Northwest China

Lei

Zhang

et al. 2019

JGR Biogeosciences

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Soil organic carbon (SOC) loss caused by wind erosion can profoundly impact carbon (C) balance in arid and semiarid regions. Nevertheless, previous researches mainly focused on the direct effect of wind erosion through removing surface soil only but ignored its indirect effects associated with soil nitrogen (N) loss and subsequent reductions of plant productivity. To better understand the wind erosion effect on SOC storage, we conducted a large-scale field experiment by manipulating wind erosion at 371 sites in arid and semiarid regions of northwest China from 2014 to 2016. We further integrated an observation-based empirical equation of wind erosion process into a terrestrial biogeochemical model to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of wind erosion on SOC storage in northwest China. The observed results showed that direct SOC losses increased linearly with the square of wind speed but decreased nonlinearly with soil water content. Over the 34 years , simulated cumulative SOC losses associated with wind erosion in northwest China were 27.47 Tg C, among which the indirect effects contributed to 2.68 Tg C (9.76%). The indirect effect of wind erosion initially enhanced SOC storage by decreasing heterotrophic respiration from 1984 to 1988 but decreased SOC pool by reducing net primary productivity due to soil N loss under the long-term wind erosion scenario. This work, for the first time, quantified the indirect impact of wind erosion on SOC storage via feedback of suppressed plant productivity, which is crucial for the convincing assessment on SOC storage in arid and semiarid regions.Plain Language Summary Understanding the magnitude of soil organic carbon (SOC) loss caused by wind erosion is beneficial to assess SOC storage in arid and semiarid regions. Through integrating an empirical relationship of direct SOC loss with environmental factors from a large-scale field experiment by manipulating wind erosion into a terrestrial biogeochemical model, we simulated wind erosion effect on SOC storage in northwest China from 1980 to 2013. Results showed that wind erosion not only directly removed SOC but also decreased soil nitrogen content, leading to a reduction of plant productivity, and thus indirectly decreased SOC storage. This study reveals that omitting plant feedback due to soil nitrogen loss could underestimate wind erosion effect on SOC storage.

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“…The C pool under the wind erosion scenario in CABLE model was calculated as

C_{pool} = C_{pool} \times {sand}_{c} % + max ((),, 0, C_{pool} \times ((), {silt}_{c} % + {clay}_{c} %) - C_{loss})

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 59%

“…Thus, the soil organic N pool (N pool ) and soil mineral N pool (Nm pool ) under wind erosion scenario were expressed as

N_{pool} = N_{pool} \times {sand}_{n} % + max ((),, 0, N_{pool} \times ((), {silt}_{n} % + {clay}_{n} %) - N_{loss})

{Nm}_{pool} = {Nm}_{pool} \times {sand}_{n} % + max ((),, 0, {Nm}_{pool} \times ((), {silt}_{n} % + {clay}_{n} %) - {Nm}_{loss})

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Feedback Aggravates Soil Organic Carbon Loss Associated With Wind Erosion in Northwest China

Lei

Zhang

et al. 2019

JGR Biogeosciences

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“…The frames were placed at least 2.5 m from the fence in deep‐snow treatment plots and in the corresponding direction and location in control plots. NEE was estimated from CO 2 flux rates under lighted conditions (see Li et al, 2018 for details). Ecosystem carbon (C) fluxes were measured three times a month throughout the growing season (May–September) from 2014 to 2018.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deepened winter snow cover enhances net ecosystem exchange and stabilizes plant community composition and productivity in a temperate grassland

Sayer

Zhou

et al. 2020

Global Change Biology

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Global warming has greatly altered winter snowfall patterns, and there is a trend towards increasing winter snow in semi-arid regions in China. Winter snowfall is an important source of water during early spring in these water-limited ecosystems, and it can also affect nutrient supply. However, we know little about how changes in winter snowfall will affect ecosystem productivity and plant community structure during the growing season. Here, we conducted a 5-year winter snow manipulation experiment in a temperate grassland in Inner Mongolia. We measured ecosystem carbon flux from 2014 to 2018 and plant biomass and species composition from 2015 to 2018. We found that soil moisture increased under deepened winter snow in early growing season, particularly in deeper soil layers. Deepened snow increased the net ecosystem exchange of CO 2 (NEE) and reduced intra-and inter-annual variation in NEE. Deepened snow did not affect aboveground plant biomass (AGB) but significantly increased root biomass. This suggested that the enhanced NEE was allocated to the belowground, which improved water acquisition and thus contributed to greater stability in NEE in deep-snow plots. Interestingly, the AGB of grasses in the control plots declined over time, resulting in a shift towards a forb-dominated system. Similar declines in grass AGB were also observed at three other locations in the region over the same time frame and are attributed to 4 years of below-average precipitation during the growing season. By contrast, grass AGB was stabilized under deepened winter snow and plant community composition remained unchanged.Hence, our study demonstrates that increased winter snowfall may stabilize arid grassland systems by reducing resource competition, promoting coexistence between plant functional groups, which ultimately mitigates the impacts of chronic drought during the growing season. K E Y W O R D S community composition, net ecosystem exchange, plant biomass, semiarid grassland, stability, winter snow cover S U PP O RTI N G I N FO R M ATI O N Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section. How to cite this article: Li P, Sayer EJ, Jia Z, et al. Deepened winter snow cover enhances net ecosystem exchange and stabilizes plant community composition and productivity in a temperate grassland. Glob Change Biol. 2020;26:3015-3027.

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“…Accelerated erosion affects critical biotic and abiotic processes governing the soil/ecosystem C cycle. The magnitude of the loss of SOC by wind erosion is related to that of the fine soil fraction [43]. The loss of C-enriched fine soil particles depletes its SOC and reduces its future potential to restore the SOC pool.…”

Section: Wind Erosionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Erosion and Gaseous Emissions

Lal

2020

Applied Sciences

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Accelerated soil erosion by water and wind involves preferential removal of the light soil organic carbon (SOC) fraction along with the finer clay and silt particles. Thus, the SOC enrichment ratio in sediments, compared with that of the soil surface, may range from 1 to 12 for water and 1 to 41 for wind-blown dust. The latter may contain a high SOC concentration of 15% to 20% by weight. The global magnitude of SOC erosion may be 1.3 Pg C/yr. by water and 1.0 Pg C/yr. by wind erosion. However, risks of SOC erosion have been exacerbated by the expansion and intensification of agroecosystems. Such a large magnitude of annual SOC erosion by water and wind has severe adverse impacts on soil quality and functionality, and emission of multiple greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as CO2, CH4, and N2O into the atmosphere. SOC erosion by water and wind also has a strong impact on the global C budget (GCB). Despite the large and growing magnitude of global SOC erosion, its fate is neither adequately known nor properly understood. Only a few studies conducted have quantified the partitioning of SOC erosion by water into three components: (1) redistribution over land, (2) deposition in channels, and (3) transportation/burial under the ocean. Of the total SOC erosion by water, 40%–50% may be redistributed over the land, 20%–30% deposited in channels, and 5%–15% carried into the oceans. Even fewer studies have monitored or modeled emissions of multiple GHGs from these three locations. The cumulative gaseous emissions may decrease at the eroding site because of the depletion of its SOC stock but increase at the depositional site because of enrichment of SOC amount and the labile fraction. The SOC erosion by water and wind exacerbates climate change, decreases net primary productivity (NPP) and use efficiency of inputs, and reduces soils C sink capacity to mitigate global warming. Yet research information on global emissions of CH4 and N2O at different landscape positions is not available. Further, the GCB is incomplete and uncertain because SOC erosion is not accounted for. Multi-disciplinary and watershed-scale research is needed globally to measure and model the magnitude of SOC erosion by water and wind, multiple gaseous emissions at different landscape positions, and the attendant changes in NPP.

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Wind erosion enhanced by land use changes significantly reduces ecosystem carbon storage and carbon sequestration potentials in semiarid grasslands

Cited by 39 publications

References 37 publications

Plant Feedback Aggravates Soil Organic Carbon Loss Associated With Wind Erosion in Northwest China

Plant Feedback Aggravates Soil Organic Carbon Loss Associated With Wind Erosion in Northwest China

Deepened winter snow cover enhances net ecosystem exchange and stabilizes plant community composition and productivity in a temperate grassland

Soil Erosion and Gaseous Emissions

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