Pedosphere 21(5): 615--620, 2011
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2011 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Distribution of soil organic carbon fractions along the altitudinal gradient in Changbai Mountain, China |
ZHANG Min1,2,3, ZHANG Xiao-Ke1, LIANG Wen-Ju1, JIANG Yong1 , DAI Guan-Hua1, WANG Xu-Gao1 and HAN Shi-Jie1 |
1 State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164 (China)
2 Vegetable Research Institute, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang 110161< (China)
3 Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Understanding the responses of soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions to altitudinal gradient variation is important for understanding changes in the carbon balance of forest ecosystems. In our study the SOC and its fractions of readily oxidizable carbon (ROC), water-soluble carbon (WSC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) in the soil organic and mineral horizons were investigated for four typical forest types, including mixed coniferous broad-leaved forest (MCB), dark coniferous spruce-fir forest (DCSF), dark coniferous spruce forest (DCS), and Ermans birch forest (EB), along an altitudinal gradient in the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in Northeast China. The results showed that there was no obvious altitudinal pattern in the SOC. Similar variation trends of SOC with altitude were observed between the organic and mineral horizons. Significant differences in the contents of SOC, WSC, MBC and ROC were found among the four forest types and between horizons. The contents of ROC in the mineral horizon, WSC in the organic horizon and MBC in both horizons in the MCB and EB forests were significantly greater than those in either DCSF or DCS forest. The proportion of soil WSC to SOC was the lowest among the three main fractions. The contents of WSC, MBC and ROC were significantly correlated (P < 0.05) with SOC content. It can be concluded that vegetation types and climate were crucial factors in regulating the distribution of soil organic carbon fractions in Changbai Mountain. |
| Key Words: active carbon fractions, altitude, forest ecosystem, Northeast China, vegetation type |
| Citation: Zhang, M., Zhang, X. K., Liang, W. J., Jiang, Y., Dai, G. H., Wang, X. G. and Han, S. J. 2011. Distribution of soil organic carbon fractions along the altitudinal gradient in Changbai Mountain, China. Pedosphere. 21(5): 615-620. |
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