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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2014, Vol. 13 Issue (3): 648-656    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(13)60723-6
Section 4: Soil Organic Carbon and Green- Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Carbon and Nitrogen Contents in Typical Plants and Soil Profiles in Yanqi Basin of Northwest China
 ZHANG Juan, WANG Xiu-jun, WANG Jia-ping,  WANG Wei-xia
1、State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi
830011, P.R.China
2、University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P.R.China
3、Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA
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摘要  Carbon and nitrogen are the most important elements in the terrestrial ecosystem. Studying carbon and nitrogen distributions in plant and soil is important for our understanding of the ecosystem dynamics and carbon cycle on arid lands. A study was conducted in a typical arid area, the Yanqi Basin, Northwest China. Carbon and nitrogen distributions in plant tissues and soil profiles were determined at 21 sites with typical native plants and crops. Our results indicated that carbon content was similar between crops and native plants, and the average carbon contents in aboveground (42.4%) and belowground (42.8%) tissues were almost the same. Average nitrogen contents in crops were nearly the same (~0.7%) in aboveground and belowground tissues whereas mean nitrogen content was approximately 100% higher in aboveground (2.2%) than in belowground (1.2%) tissues for native species. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in cropland (9.4 and 0.9 g kg-1) were significantly higher than those in native land (6.2 and 0.7 g kg-1). Multiple regression analyses indicated that carbon content in belowground tissue and nitrogen content in aboveground tissue were key factors connecting plant and soil in native land. However, there was no significant relationship for carbon or nitrogen between soil and crop, which might reflect human disturbance, such as plowing and applications of various organic materials.

Abstract  Carbon and nitrogen are the most important elements in the terrestrial ecosystem. Studying carbon and nitrogen distributions in plant and soil is important for our understanding of the ecosystem dynamics and carbon cycle on arid lands. A study was conducted in a typical arid area, the Yanqi Basin, Northwest China. Carbon and nitrogen distributions in plant tissues and soil profiles were determined at 21 sites with typical native plants and crops. Our results indicated that carbon content was similar between crops and native plants, and the average carbon contents in aboveground (42.4%) and belowground (42.8%) tissues were almost the same. Average nitrogen contents in crops were nearly the same (~0.7%) in aboveground and belowground tissues whereas mean nitrogen content was approximately 100% higher in aboveground (2.2%) than in belowground (1.2%) tissues for native species. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in cropland (9.4 and 0.9 g kg-1) were significantly higher than those in native land (6.2 and 0.7 g kg-1). Multiple regression analyses indicated that carbon content in belowground tissue and nitrogen content in aboveground tissue were key factors connecting plant and soil in native land. However, there was no significant relationship for carbon or nitrogen between soil and crop, which might reflect human disturbance, such as plowing and applications of various organic materials.
Keywords:  carbon       nitrogen       native land       cropland       arid land  
Received: 09 October 2013   Accepted:
Fund: 

This study is financially supported by the Hundred Talented Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (0972021001).Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for her technical work on the map creating.

Corresponding Authors:  WANG Xiu-jun, Tel: +1-301-4051532, Fax: +1-301-4058468, E-mail: wwang@essic.umd.edu   
About author:  ZHANG Juan, Mobile: 15765570257, E-mail: zhangjuan2080@163.com

Cite this article: 

ZHANG Juan, WANG Xiu-jun, WANG Jia-ping, WANG Wei-xia. 2014. Carbon and Nitrogen Contents in Typical Plants and Soil Profiles in Yanqi Basin of Northwest China. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 13(3): 648-656.

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