Impact of Land-Use Change on Carbon Stocks in Meadow Steppe of Northeast China

Abstract:

An improved understanding of changes in carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems is very important for assessing the impacts of increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentration and climate change on the terrestrial biosphere. Accurately predicting terrestrial carbon (C) storage requires understanding the carbon stock, because it helps us understand how ecosystems would respond to natural and anthropogenic disturbances under different management strategies. We investigated organic C storage in aboveground biomass, litter, roots, and soil organic matter (SOM) in five land-use types (i.e. artificial pasture, AP; natural meadow, NM; corn plantation, CP; temperate savanna, TS; and bush wood, BW) in meadow steppe of Northeast China. The primary objective of this study was to ascertain the impact of different land-use types on the carbon stock. The total C storage (including C stored in aboveground biomass, litter, roots, and 0–100-cm soil layers) did not significantly differ between one and another type among the five pairs (P>0.05), with the exception of AP2-BW pair. The total C storage changes in value varying from 5958.09 g C m^-2 for plot NM2 to 11922.87 g C m^-2 for plot CP1. The C stored in the aboveground biomass was less than 1177.96 g C m^-2, accounting for negligible amounts (<1% of the total) of total C storage in the ecosystem except corn plantation. The amount of C stored in SOM accounted for less than 85% of the total C storage in TS, AP2, and NM3, and the C stored in litter was very low (<1.5%), compared to other pools in the ecosystem. The amount of C stored in the roots varied from 0 g C m^-2 for plot BW, CP1, and CP2 to 2032.32 g C m^-2 for plot NM3, and it accounted for less than 20% of C storage in the grassland.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 108)
• Pages: 262-268
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.108.262
• Online since: October 2011
• Authors: Pei Yong Lian, De Hui Zeng, Jin Ye Liu, Fan Ding, Zhi Wei Wu
• Keywords: Carbon, Carbon Stock, Land Use, Meadow Steppe, SoC

References

[1] P. L. Sims, J. A, Bradford Carbon dioxide fluxes in a southern plains prairie, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, vol. 109, p.117–134, (2001).

DOI: 10.1016/s0168-1923(01)00264-7

[2] L. B. Flanagan, L. A. Wever, P. J, Carlson, Seasonal and interannual variation in carbon dioxide exchange and carbon balance in a northern temperate grassland, Global Chang Biololgy, vol. 8, p.599–615, (2002).

DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00491.x

[3] L. K. Xu, D. D. Baldocchi, Seasonal variation in carbon dioxide exchange over a Mediterranean annual grassland in California, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, vol. 123, p.79–96, (2004).

DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2003.10.004

[4] Z. Nagy, K. Pinter, S. Czobel, The carbon budget of semi-arid grassland in a wet and dry year in Hungary, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, vol. 121, p.21–29, (2007).

DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2006.12.003

[5] J. M. Adams, H. Faure, L. Fauredenard, Increases in terrestrial carbon storage from the last glacial maximum to the present, Nature, vol. 348, p.711–714, (1990).

DOI: 10.1038/348711a0

[6] J. M. O. Scurlock, D. O. Hall, The global carbon sink: a grassland perspective, Global Change Biology, no. 4, p.229–233, (1998).

DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2486.1998.00151.x

[7] A. E. Suyker, S. B. Verma, Year-round observations of the net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in a native tallgrass prairie, Global Change Biology, no. 7, p.279–289, (2001).

DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2486.2001.00407.x

[8] A. K. Knapp, P. A. Fay, J. M. Blair, Rainfall variability, carbon cycling, and plant species diversity in a mesic grassland, Science, vol. 298, p.2202–2205, (2002).

DOI: 10.1126/science.1076347

[9] J. E. Hunt, F. M. Kelliher, T. M. McSeveny, Long-term carbon exchange in a sparse, seasonally dry tussock grassland, Global Change Biology, no. 10, p.1785–1800, (2004).

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00842.x

[10] K. A. Novick, P. C. Stoy, G. G. Katul, Carbon dioxide and water vapor exchange in a warm temperate grassland, Oecologia, vol. 138, p.259–274, (2004).

DOI: 10.1007/s00442-003-1388-z

[11] H. -L, Sun, Ecosystems of China, Beijing, China: Science Press, (2005).

[12] L. Krogh, A. Noergaard, M. Hermansen, Preliminary estimates of contemporary soil organic carbon stocks in Denmark using multiple datasets and four scaling-up methods, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, vol. 96, p.19–28, (2003).

DOI: 10.1016/s0167-8809(03)00016-1

[13] H. B. Wu, Z. T. Guo, C. H. Peng, Land use induced changes of organic carbon storage in soils of China, Global Change Biology, no. 9, p.305–315, (2003).

DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00590.x

[14] D. W. Nelson, L. E. Sommers, Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter. In: Page, A. L., Miller, R. H., Keeney, D. R. (Eds. ), Methods of Soil Analysis American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of American, Madison, WI, p.1–129, (1982).

DOI: 10.2134/agronmonogr9.2.2ed.c29

[15] Y. Osem, A. Perevolotyky, J. Kigel, Grazing effect on diversity of annual plant communities in a semi-arid rangeland: interactions with small-scale spatial and temporal variation in primary productivity, Journal of Ecology, vol. 90, p.936–946, (2002).

DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2745.2002.00730.x

[16] A. Kahmen, J. Perner, N. Buchmann, Diversity dependent productivity in semi-natural grasslands following climate perturbations, Functional Ecology, vol. 19, p.594–601, (2005).

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.01001.x

[17] R. A. Houghton, The annual net flux of carbon to the atmosphere from changes in land-use 1850–1990, Tellus B, vol. 51, 298–313, (1999).

DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0889.1999.00013.x