Open Access
Issue
Published:
14 January 2023
Forest management causes soil carbon loss by reducing particulate organic carbon in Guangxi, Southern China
)
Download citation
518
Views
19
Downloads
5
Crossref
6
WoS
7
Scopus
0
CSCD
The loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) following conversion of natural forests to managed plantations has been widely reported. However, how different SOC fractions and microbial necromass C (MNC) respond to forest management practices remains unclear.
We sampled 0–10 cm mineral soil from three different management plantations and one protected forest in Guangxi, Southern China, to explore how forest management practices affect SOC through changing mineral-associated C (MAOC) and particulate organic C (POC), as well as fungal and bacterial necromass C.
Compared with the protected forest, SOC and POC in the abandoned, mixed and Eucalyptus plantations significantly decreased, but MAOC showed no significant change, indicating that the loss of SOC was mainly from decreased POC under forest management. Forest management also significantly reduced root biomass, soil extractable organic C, MNC, and total microbial biomass (measured by phospholipid fatty acid), but increased fungi-to-bacteria ratio (F:B) and soil peroxidase activity. Moreover, POC was positively correlated with root biomass, total microbial biomass and MNC, and negatively with F:B and peroxidase activity. These results suggested that root input and microbial properties together regulated soil POC dynamics during forest management.
Overall, this study indicates that forest management intervention significantly decreases SOC by reducing POC in Guangxi, Southern China, and suggests that forest protection can help to sequester more soil C in forest ecosystems.
menu
Forest management causes soil carbon loss by reducing particulate organic carbon in Guangxi, Southern China
)
Abstract
The loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) following conversion of natural forests to managed plantations has been widely reported. However, how different SOC fractions and microbial necromass C (MNC) respond to forest management practices remains unclear.
We sampled 0–10 cm mineral soil from three different management plantations and one protected forest in Guangxi, Southern China, to explore how forest management practices affect SOC through changing mineral-associated C (MAOC) and particulate organic C (POC), as well as fungal and bacterial necromass C.
Compared with the protected forest, SOC and POC in the abandoned, mixed and Eucalyptus plantations significantly decreased, but MAOC showed no significant change, indicating that the loss of SOC was mainly from decreased POC under forest management. Forest management also significantly reduced root biomass, soil extractable organic C, MNC, and total microbial biomass (measured by phospholipid fatty acid), but increased fungi-to-bacteria ratio (F:B) and soil peroxidase activity. Moreover, POC was positively correlated with root biomass, total microbial biomass and MNC, and negatively with F:B and peroxidase activity. These results suggested that root input and microbial properties together regulated soil POC dynamics during forest management.
Overall, this study indicates that forest management intervention significantly decreases SOC by reducing POC in Guangxi, Southern China, and suggests that forest protection can help to sequester more soil C in forest ecosystems.
References(51)
Angst, G., Mueller, K.E., Nierop, K.G.J., Simpson, M., 2021. Plant- or microbial-derived? A review on the molecular composition of stabilized soil organic matter. Soil Biol. Biochem. 156, 108189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108189.
Appuhn, A., Joergensen, R., 2006. Microbial colonisation of roots as a function of plant species. Soil Biol. Biochem. 38, 1040–1051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2005.09.002.
Bossio, D.A., Scow, K.M., 1998. Impacts of carbon and flooding on soil microbial communities: phospholipid fatty acid profiles and substrate utilization patterns. Microb. Ecol. 35, 265–278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002489900082.
Bradley, J.A., Amend, J.P., LaRowe, D.E., 2018. Necromass as a limited source of energy for microorganisms in marine sediments. J. Geophys. Res. Biogeo. 123, 577–590. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JG004186.
Buckeridge, K.M., Creamer, C., Whitaker, J., 2022. Deconstructing the microbial necromass continuum to inform soil carbon sequestration. Funct. Ecol. 36, 1396–1410. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14014.
Chen, Q., Yang, F., Cheng, X.L., 2022. Effects of land use change type on soil microbial attributes and their controls: data synthesis. Ecol. Indicat. 138, 108852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108852.
Cotrufo, M.F., Wallenstein, M.D., Boot, C.M., Denef, K., Paul, E., 2013. The Microbial Efficiency-Matrix Stabilization (MEMS) framework integrates plant litter decomposition with soil organic matter stabilization: do labile plant inputs form stable soil organic matter? Global Change Biol. 19, 988–995. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12113.
Cotrufo, M.F., Ranalli, M.G., Haddix, M.L., Six, J., Lugato, E., 2019. Soil carbon storage informed by particulate and mineral-associated organic matter. Nat. Geosci. 12, 989–994. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0484-6.
Curti, L., Moore, O.W., Babakhani, P., Xiao, K.Q., Woulds, C., Bray, A.W., Fisher, B.J., Kazemian, M., Kaulich, B., Peacock, C.L., 2021. Carboxyl-richness controls organic carbon preservation during coprecipitation with iron (oxyhydr) oxides in the natural environment. Commun. Earth Environ. 2, 229. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00301-9.
DeGryze, S., Six, J., Paustian, K., Morris, S.J., Paul, E.A., Merckx, R., 2004. Soil organic carbon pool changes following land-use conversions. Global Change Biol. 10, 1120–1132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2003.00786.x.
Deng, F.B., Liang, C., 2022. Revisiting the quantitative contribution of microbial necromass to soil carbon pool: stoichiometric control by microbes and soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 165, 108486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108486.
Feng, J.G., He, K.Y., Zhang, Q.F., Han, M.G., Zhu, B., 2022. Changes in plant inputs alter soil carbon and microbial communities in forest ecosystems. Global Change Biol. 28, 3426–3440. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16107.
Frostegård, Å., Tunlid, A., Bååth, E., 2011. Use and misuse of PLFA measurements in soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 43, 1621–1625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.11.021.
Georgiou, K., Jackson, R.B., Vindušková, O., Abramoff, R.Z., Ahlström, A., Feng, W., Harden, J.W., Pellegrini, A.F.A., Polley, H.W., Soong, J.L., Riley, W.J., Torn, M.S., 2022. Global stocks and capacity of mineral-associated soil organic carbon. Nat. Commun. 13, 3797. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31540-9.
German, D.P., Weintraub, M.N., Grandy, A.S., Lauber, C.L., Rinkes, Z.L., Allison, S.D., 2011. Optimization of hydrolytic and oxidative enzyme methods for ecosystem studies. Soil Biol. Biochem. 43, 1387–1397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.03.017.
Hu, J.X., Huang, C.D., Zhou, S.X., Liu, X., Dijkstra, F.A., 2022. Nitrogen addition increases microbial necromass in croplands and bacterial necromass in forests: a global meta-analysis. Soil Biol. Biochem. 165, 108500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108500.
Hu, P.L., Zhang, W., Chen, H.S., Xu, L., Xiao, J., Luo, Y.Q., Wang, K.L., 2022. Lithologic control of microbial-derived carbon in forest soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 167, 108600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108600.
Hu, Y.T., Zheng, Q., Noll, L., Zhang, S.S., Wanek, W., 2020. Direct measurement of the in situ decomposition of microbial-derived soil organic matter. Soil Biol. Biochem. 141, 107660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.107660.
Hua, F.Y., Bruijnzeel, L.A., Meli, P., Martin, P.A., Zhang, J., Nakagawa, S., Miao, X.R., Wang, W.Y., McEvoy, C., Peña-Arancibia, J.L., Brancalion, P.H.S., Smith, P., Edwards, D.P., Balmford, A., 2022. The biodiversity and ecosystem service contributions and trade-offs of forest restoration approaches. Science 376, 839–844. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abl4649.
Huang, G.L., Huang, Z.J., Huang, L., Zheng, X., Zhou, H.W., 2015. The climate characteristics and study on weather index of Daming Mountain Scenic Region in Guangxi. J. Meteorol. Res. Appl. 36, 76–79 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Kieft, T.L., Ringelberg, D.B., White, D.C., 1994. Change in ester-linked phospholipid fatty acid profiles of subsurface bacteria during starvation and desiccation in a porous medium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60, 3292–3299. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.60.9.3292-3299.1994.
Lavallee, J.M., Soong, J.L., Cotrufo, M.F., 2020. Conceptualizing soil organic matter into particulate and mineral-associated forms to address global change in the 21st century. Global Change Biol. 26, 261–273. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14859.
Lehmann, J., Hansel, C.M., Kaiser, C., Kleber, M., Maher, K., Manzoni, S., Nunan, N., Reichstein, M., Schimel, J.P., Torn, M.S., Wieder, W.R., Kögel-Knabner, I., 2020. Persistence of soil organic carbon caused by functional complexity. Nat. Geosci. 13, 529–534. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-0612-3.
Li, T.T., Zhang, J.Z., Wang, X., Hartley, I.P., Zhang, J.L., Zhang, Y.L., 2022. Fungal necromass contributes more to soil organic carbon and more sensitive to land use intensity than bacterial necromass. Appl. Soil Ecol. 176, 104492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2022.104492.
Li, X.J., Xie, J.S., Zhang, Q.F., Lyu, M.K., Xiong, X.L., Liu, X.F., Lin, T.C., Yang, Y.S., 2020. Substrate availability and soil microbes drive temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon mineralization to warming along an elevation gradient in subtropical Asia. Geoderma 364, 114198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114198.
Liang, C., Amelung, W., Lehmann, J., Kästner, M., 2019. Quantitative assessment of microbial necromass contribution to soil organic matter. Global Change Biol. 25, 3578–3590. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14781.
Liao, C., Men, X.X., Wang, C., Chen, R., Cheng, X.L., 2022. Nitrogen availability and mineral particles contributed fungal necromass to the newly formed stable carbon pool in the alpine areas of Southwest China. Soil Biol. Biochem. 173, 108788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108788.
Luo, Z.K., Viscarra Rossel, R.A., Shi, Z., 2020. Distinct controls over the temporal dynamics of soil carbon fractions after land use change. Global Change Biol. 26, 4614–4625. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15157.
Ma, S.H., Zhu, B., Chen, G.P., Ni, X.F., Zhou, L.H., Su, H.J., Cai, Q., Chen, X., Zhu, J.L., Ji, C.J., Li, Y.D., Fang, J.Y., 2022. Loss of soil microbial residue carbon by converting a tropical forest to tea plantation. Sci. Total Environ. 818, 151742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151742.
Mou, Z.J., Kuang, L.H., Yan, B.Y., Zhang, X.Y., Wang, Y.Q., Liu, Z.F., 2020. Influences of sample storage and grinding on the extraction of soil amino sugars. Soil Ecol. Lett. 2, 157–163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832-020-0031-9.
Mori, T., Lu, X., Aoyagi, R., Mo, J., 2018. Reconsidering the phosphorus limitation of soil microbial activity in tropical forests. Funct. Ecol. 32, 1145–1154. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13043.
Ni, H.J., Su, W.H., Fan, S.H., Chu, H.Y., 2021. Effects of intensive management practices on rhizosphere soil properties, root growth, and nutrient uptake in Moso bamboo plantations in subtropical China. For. Ecol. Manag. 493, 119083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119083.
Pan, Y., Birdsey, R.A., Fang, J., Houghton, R., Kauppi, P.E., Kurz, W.A., Phillips, O.L., Shvidenko, A., Lewis, S.L., Canadell, J.G., Ciais, P., Jackson, R.B., Pacala, S.W., McGuire, A.D., Piao, S., Rautiainen, A., Sitch, S., Hayes, D., 2011. A large and persistent carbon sink in the world's forests. Science 333, 988–993. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1201609.
Payn, T., Carnus, J.-M., Freer-Smith, P., Kimberley, M., Kollert, W., Liu, S., Orazio, C., Rodriguez, L., Silva, L.N., Wingfield, M.J., 2015. Changes in planted forests and future global implications. For. Ecol. Manag. 352, 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.06.021.
Samson, M.E., Chantigny, M.H., Vanasse, A., Menasseri-Aubry, S., Royer, I., Angers, D.A., 2020. Management practices differently affect particulate and mineral-associated organic matter and their precursors in arable soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 148, 107867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107867.
Sanderman, J., Hengl, T., Fiske, G.J., 2017. Soil carbon debt of 12,000 years of human land use. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 114, 9575–9580. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1706103114.
Sokol, N.W., Kuebbing, S.E., Karlsen-Ayala, E., Bradford, M.A., 2019. Evidence for the primacy of living root inputs, not root or shoot litter, in forming soil organic carbon. New Phytol. 221, 233–246. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15361.
Veldkamp, E., Schmidt, M., Powers, J.S., Corre, M.D., 2020. Deforestation and reforestation impacts on soils in the tropics. Nat. Rev. Earth Environ. 1, 590–605. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0091-5.
Wang, B.R., An, S.S., Liang, C., Liu, Y., Kuzyakov, K., 2021. Microbial necromass as the source of soil organic carbon in global ecosystems. Soil Biol. Biochem. 162, 108422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108422.
Wang, C., Wang, X., Pei, G.T., Xia, Z.W., Peng, B., Sun, L.F., Wang, J., Gao, D.C., Chen, S.D., Liu, D.W., Dai, W.W., Jiang, P., Fang, Y.T., Liang, C., Wu, N.P., Bai, E., 2020. Stabilization of microbial residues in soil organic matter after two years of decomposition. Soil Biol. Biochem. 141, 107687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.107687.
Wang, Y., Chen, L., Xiang, W.H., Ouyang, S., Zhang, T.D., Zhang, X.L., Zeng, Y.L., Hu, Y.T., Luo, G.W., Kuzyakov, Y., 2021. Forest conversion to plantations: a meta-analysis of consequences for soil and microbial properties and functions. Global Change Biol. 27, 5643–5656. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15835.
Wen, Y.G., Huang, M., Nong, S.Y., 1998. Forest ecological environment of Guangxi Daming Mountain. J. Guangxi Agri. Univ. 17, 107–112 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Whalen, E.D., Grandy, A.S., Sokol, N.W., Keiluweit, M., Ernakovich, J., Smith, R.G., Frey, S.D., 2022. Clarifying the evidence for microbial- and plant-derived soil organic matter, and the path toward a more quantitative understanding. Global Change Biol. 2022, 7167–7185. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16413.
Zechmeister-Boltenstern, S., Keiblinger, K.M., Mooshammer, M., Penuelas, J., Richter, A., Sardans, J., Wanek, W., 2015. The application of ecological stoichiometry to plant-microbial-soil organic matter transformations. Ecol. Monogr. 85, 133–155. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0777.1.
Zhang, C.L., Li, X.W., Chen, Y.Q., Zhao, J., Wan, S.Z., Lin, Y.B., Fu, S.L., 2016. Effects of Eucalyptus litter and roots on the establishment of native tree species in Eucalyptus plantations in South China. For. Ecol. Manag. 375, 76–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.05.013.
Zhang, X.D., Amelung, W., 1996. Gas chromatographic determination of muramic acid, glucosamine, mannosamine, and galactosamine in soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 28, 1201–1206. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(96)00117-4.
Zhu, X.A., Liu, W.J., Yuan, X., Chen, C.F., Zhu, K., Zhang, W.J., 2022. Aggregate stability and size distribution regulate rainsplash erosion: evidence from a humid tropical soil under different land-use regimes. Geoderma 420, 115880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.115880.
Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements
We thank Wenkuan Qin and Hongyang Zhao for help in measuring samples, the staff at South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences for analytical support in the laboratory, and Dr. Fangyuan Hua for her valuable feedback on this manuscript. We are also grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions with improving the manuscript.
Rights and permissions
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
FEEDBACK 
TOP