Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2021, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (5): 507-515.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2020.0231

Special Issue: 青藏高原植物生态学:植物-土壤-微生物 土壤呼吸 碳储量

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Changes in soil organic carbon content and their causes during the degradation of alpine meadows in Zoigê Wetland

DONG Li-Jun1, LI Jin-Hua1,*(), CHEN Shan1, ZHANG Rui1, SUN Jian2, MA Miao-Jun1   

  1. 1State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
    2Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
  • Received:2020-07-13 Accepted:2020-10-23 Online:2021-05-20 Published:2020-12-09
  • Contact: LI Jin-Hua

Abstract:

Aims The balance between soil organic carbon (SOC) input and output processes determines SOC content. However, it is not clear which of the two processes dominantly affect SOC content during the degradation of alpine meadows in Zoigê Wetland. In this study, the changes in SOC contents of alpine meadows and their causes at different degradation stages (alpine meadow (AM), slightly degraded alpine meadow (SD), and heavily degraded alpine meadow (HD)) in the Zoigê Wetland were investigated using the method of spatial sequence instead of temporal successional sequence.
Methods First, the changes in C input to soil and their causes along the degradation gradient were analyzed by investigating main soil physicochemical properties, microbial biomass, plant biomass and community composition of plant functional groups at different degradation stages. Secondly, the changes in the C output from soil were estimated based on lab incubation experiments of soil C mineralization and the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q10) and monthly average air temperature of the Zoigê Wetland. Finally, the main causes and processes leading to changes in SOC content along the degradation gradient were analyzed.
Important findings The results showed that soil water content (SWC), SOC content, total nitrogen (TN) content, microbial biomass C and N content decreased with the increase of degradation. Plant community composition gradually changed from sedges and grasses dominated community to forbs dominated community. Plant biomass and SOC mineralization rate decreased during the degradation of alpine meadows. The potential accumulation of organic C reduced during the degradation (compared with AM, the potential input, output and accumulation of organic C in SD and HD decreased by 16%, 18%, 15% and 59%, 63%, 41%, respectively). The decrease in SWC changed soil physical and chemical properties, including bulk density, SOC content, TN content, total phosphorus content, and C:N, which led to the shifts in the distribution pattern of plant functional groups and in soil microorganisms, consequently reducing the inputs and outputs of SOC. The decrease in potential plant-derived C input to soil caused by decreased SWC was the main reason for the decline in SOC content along the degradation gradient of alpine meadows in Zoigê Wetland.

Key words: alpine meadow, soil organic carbon, carbon input, soil accumulative carbon mineralization