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Journal of Integrative Agriculture
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Land use type shapes carbon pathways in Tibetan alpine ecosystems: Characterization of 13C abundance in aggregate and density fractions

Xin Wan1, 3, Dangjun Wang4, Junya Li1, 3, Shuaiwen Zhang1, 3, Linyang Li1, 3, Minghui He1,3, Zhiguo Li1, 2, Hao Jiang1, Peng Chen1, 2#, Yi Liu1, 2

1 Hubei Key Laboratory of Wetland Evolution & Ecological Restoration, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

2 Danjiangkou Wetland Ecosystem Field Scientific Observation and Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences & Hubei Province, Wuhan 430074, China

3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

4 College of Grassland Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China

 Highlights 

l Plantation on the Tibetan Plateau reduces PAD and slows carbon transfer.

l Aggregate differentiation of organic carbon exists in density fractions but not SOC.

l Aggregate differentiation in δ13C and Δ13C in density fractions of only plantation.

l The direction of δ13C enrichment from LF to PF to MF indicates carbon transfer in alpine plantation.

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摘要  

为降低青藏高原碳库估算的不确定性,深入探究土壤团聚体与密度组分中的碳周转至关重要。同时,这些变化在不同土地利用类型下的异质性仍需进一步明晰。本研究基于有机碳及其13C丰度,在青藏高原土壤团聚体与密度组分的微观尺度,量化了土地利用类型对碳储存及分馏的影响。结果表明土壤团聚破碎率呈现人工林(13.1%<灌丛(32.7%<草地(47.9%<农田(61.8%)的趋势,表明人工林有助于增强土壤结构稳定性。相较于农田(13.5,70.3%),人工林轻组分有机碳对碳储量的贡献提升至28.3%而矿物结合态有机碳的贡献降至40.6%。值得注意的是,植被覆盖促进了有机碳与13C在各密度组分中的团聚体分化效应,而此现象在土壤总有机碳中并未出现。碳同位素分析结果显示,人工林中碳转移表现为从大团聚体中的轻组组分(-24.9‰)向小团聚体中的矿物组分(-19.9‰)转移。与其他三种土地利用类型相比,人工林中团聚体和密度组分的碳转移率较低,从而为青藏高原构建了相对稳定的碳库。本研究在团聚体和密度组分的微观尺度下证实了人工林能减缓土壤中碳的转移并增加碳储存,对缓解全球气候变化发挥积极作用。



Abstract  

Insight into carbon turnover in soil aggregates and density fractions is essential to reduce uncertainty in estimating carbon pools on the Tibetan Plateau. Further, how these vary with land-use type is unclear. In this study, the effect of land use type on carbon storage and fractionation based on organic carbon and its 13C abundance was quantified at the microscale of soil aggregates and density fractions in Tibetan alpine. The sequence of soil aggregates destruction in plantation (13.1%)<shrubland (32.7%)<grassland (47.9%) farmland (61.8%) shows that plantation strengthen soil structure. Plantation increased light fraction organic carbon (28.3%) but reduced mineral associated organic carbon (40.6%) contribution to carbon stock compared to farmland (13.5%, 70.3%). Interestingly, plantation enhanced aggregational differentiation of organic carbon and 13C in each density fraction, whereas no such phenomenon exists in soil organic carbon. Carbon isotope analyses revealed that carbon transfer in the plantation occurred from light fraction in macroaggregate (-24.9‰) to the mineral associated fraction in microaggregate (-19.9‰). When compared to the other three land-use types, the low transferability of carbon in aggregates and density fractions in plantation provides a stable carbon pool for the Tibetan Plateau. This study shows that plantation can mitigate global climate change by slowing carbon transfer and increasing carbon storage at the micro-scale of aggregates and density fractions in alpine regions.

Keywords:  land-use type              soil aggregate              density fractions              carbon transfer              Tibetan Plateau  
Online: 31 December 2024  
Fund: 

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42477044, 32171648, U23A2017 and 42107048).

About author:  Xin Wan, E-mail: wanxin20@mails.ucas.ac.cn; Tel: +86-27-87700877; #Correspondence Peng Chen, E-mail: chenpeng@wbgcas.cn; Tel: +86-27-87700877

Cite this article: 

Xin Wan, Dangjun Wang, Junya Li, Shuaiwen Zhang, Linyang Li, Minghui He, Zhiguo Li, Hao Jiang, Peng Chen, Yi Liu. 2024. Land use type shapes carbon pathways in Tibetan alpine ecosystems: Characterization of 13C abundance in aggregate and density fractions. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, Doi:10.1016/j.jia.2024.12.035

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