Soil organic carbon dynamics and controlling factors in typical ecosystems of the Qinghai-Tibet Platea critical zone

Author(s):  
Hongyun Yao ◽  
Pei Wang ◽  
Chao Yang ◽  
Xuebao Xu ◽  
Junqi Wei ◽  
...  

<p>The interface of the Earth’s critical zone is the place where organic carbon is dramatically decomposed and transformed.The dynamics and fate of organic carbon serve as an important foundation to reveal the material transportation in the Qinghai-Tibet Platea critical zones. This research analyzed temperature, soil moisture and stable carbon isotope values (δ<sup>13</sup>C) of CO<sub>2</sub> in different soil layers, measure soil surface respiration using soil respiration measurement system (LI-8100) , and analyzed carbon storage , carbon dynamics and its controlling factors in critical zones in seven typical ecosystems of the Qinghai-Tibet Platea. The results found that the underground carbon content and its controlling factors were very different in different ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The main controlling factor of carbon changes was water in alpine steppe and desert ecosystem while it was temperature in alpine meadow. In the meanwhile, this research also measured the maximum carboxylation rate (V<sub>cmax</sub>) of dominant plants in each ecosystem, trying to explore the different carbon inputs in different ecosystems. Understanding the impacts of environmental changes on the geochemical cycling of critical zone’s organic carbon in the Qinghai-Tibet Platea would benefit the optimization of carbon cycling model and climate change predictions.</p>

Author(s):  
Kimber Candice Moreland ◽  
Zhiyuan Tian ◽  
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe ◽  
Karis J. Mcfarlane ◽  
Peter Hartsough ◽  
...  

Abstract Large uncertainty remains in the spatial distribution of deep soil organic carbon (OC) storage and how climate controls belowground OC. This research aims to quantify OC stocks, characterize soil OC age and chemical composition, and evaluate climatic impacts on OC storage from the soil surface through the deep critical zone to bedrock. These objectives were carried out at four sites along a bio-climosequence in the Sierra Nevada, California. On average, 74% of OC was stored below the A horizon, and up to 30% of OC was stored in saprock (friable weakly weathered bedrock). Radiocarbon, spectroscopic, and isotopic analyses revealed the coexistence of very old organic matter (OM) (mean radiocarbon age = 20,300 y BP) with relatively recent OM (mean radiocarbon age = 4,800 y BP) and highly decomposed organic compounds with relatively less decomposed material in deep soil and saprock. This co-mingling of OM suggests OC is prone to both active cycling and long-term protection from degradation. In addition to having direct effects on OC cycling, climate indirectly controls deep OC storage through its impact on the degree of regolith weathering (e.g. thickening). Although deep OC concentrations are low relative to soil, thick saprock represents a large, previously unrealized OC pool.


Radiocarbon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 989-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Wang ◽  
Andrew J. Stumpf ◽  
Praveen Kumar

ABSTRACTWe applied the high temperature pyrolysis-combustion technique to partition the total soil organic carbon (SOC) into labile and inert carbon pools for accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating and stable carbon isotope (δ13C), SOC, and carbonate carbon (CC) content analyses to examine SOC variability at a Critical Zone Observatory site in Illinois, USA. The AMS 14C dates of labile and inert carbon in the top 1.55 m overlap except in the Bt horizon. Below 1.55 m the labile carbon is younger by 8000–14,800 years. The SOC content decreases from 3.61% to 0.12% and CC content increases from 0% to 19.16% at this depth. Results indicate that SOC production exceeds its loss in the weathering zone causing a continuous turnover of both SOC pools. A small amount of modern SOC infiltrates into deeper sediment below 1.55 m, making the labile carbon pool much younger. Their difference of AMS 14C contents, ΔF14C, reveals 3−5% more modern carbon in the labile SOC pools except in the Bt horizon, further quantifying that <3−5% modern carbon with potential pollutants is translocated into the unweathered sediments. The δ13C reveals the sources for SOC cycling dynamics in both carbon pools at this site.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 4711-4726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwa Tifafi ◽  
Marta Camino-Serrano ◽  
Christine Hatté ◽  
Hector Morras ◽  
Lucas Moretti ◽  
...  

Abstract. Despite the importance of soil as a large component of the terrestrial ecosystem, the soil compartments are not well represented in land surface models (LSMs). Indeed, soils in current LSMs are generally represented based on a very simplified schema that can induce a misrepresentation of the deep dynamics of soil carbon. Here, we present a new version of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL) LSM called ORCHIDEE-SOM (ORganizing Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic EcosystEms-Soil Organic Matter), incorporating the 14C dynamics into the soil. ORCHIDEE-SOM first simulates soil carbon dynamics for different layers, down to 2 m depth. Second, concentration of dissolved organic carbon and its transport are modelled. Finally, soil organic carbon decomposition is considered taking into account the priming effect. After implementing 14C in the soil module of the model, we evaluated model outputs against observations of soil organic carbon and modern 14C fraction (F14C) for different sites with different characteristics. The model managed to reproduce the soil organic carbon stocks and the F14C along the vertical profiles for the sites examined. However, an overestimation of the total carbon stock was noted, primarily on the surface layer. Due to 14C, it is possible to probe carbon age in the soil, which was found to be underestimated. Thereafter, two different tests on this new version have been established. The first was to increase carbon residence time of the passive pool and decrease the flux from the slow pool to the passive pool. The second was to establish an equation of diffusion, initially constant throughout the profile, making it vary exponentially as a function of depth. The first modifications did not improve the capacity of the model to reproduce observations, whereas the second test improved both estimation of surface soil carbon stock as well as soil carbon age. This demonstrates that we should focus more on vertical variation in soil parameters as a function of depth, in order to upgrade the representation of the global carbon cycle in LSMs, thereby helping to improve predictions of the of soil organic carbon to environmental changes.


Author(s):  
Deyan Ge ◽  
Anderson Feijó ◽  
Zhixin Wen ◽  
Alexei V Abramov ◽  
Liang Lu ◽  
...  

Abstract For organisms to survive and prosper in a harsh environment, particularly under rapid climate change, poses tremendous challenges. Recent studies have highlighted the continued loss of megafauna in terrestrial ecosystems and the subsequent surge of small mammals, such as rodents, bats, lagomorphs, and insectivores. However, the ecological partitioning of these animals will likely lead to large variation in their responses to environmental change. In the present study, we investigated the evolutionary history and genetic adaptations of white-bellied rats (Niviventer Marshall, 1976), which are widespread in the natural terrestrial ecosystems in Asia but also known as important zoonotic pathogen vectors and transmitters. The southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QHTP) was inferred as the origin center of this genus, with parallel diversification in temperate and tropical niches. Demographic history analyses from mitochondrial and nuclear sequences of Niviventer demonstrated population size increases and range expansion for species in Southeast Asia, and habitat generalists elsewhere. Unexpectedly, population increases were seen in N. eha, which inhabits the highest elevation among Niviventer species. Genome scans of nuclear exons revealed that among the congeneric species, N. eha has the largest number of positively selected genes. Protein functions of these genes are mainly related to olfaction, taste and tumor suppression. Extensive genetic modification presents a major strategy in response to global changes in these alpine species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. 105143
Author(s):  
Jorge Álvaro-Fuentes ◽  
Samuel Franco-Luesma ◽  
Victoria Lafuente ◽  
Pablo Sen ◽  
Asun Usón ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Razum ◽  
Petra Bajo ◽  
Dea Brunović ◽  
Nikolina Ilijanić ◽  
Ozren Hasan ◽  
...  

AbstractThe drivers of organic carbon (OC) burial efficiency are still poorly understood despite their key role in reliable projections of future climate trends. Here, we provide insights on this issue by presenting a paleoclimate time series of sediments, including the OC contents, from Lake Veliko jezero, Croatia. The Sr/Ca ratios of the bulk sediment are mainly derived from the strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) concentrations of needle-like aragonite in Core M1-A and used as paleotemperature and paleohydrology indicators. Four major and six minor cold and dry events were detected in the interval from 8.3 to 2.6 calibrated kilo anno before present (cal ka BP). The combined assessment of Sr/Ca ratios, OC content, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios, stable carbon isotope (δ13C) ratios, and modeled geochemical proxies for paleoredox conditions and aeolian input revealed that cold and dry climate states promoted anoxic conditions in the lake, thereby enhancing organic matter preservation and increasing the OC burial efficiency. Our study shows that the projected future increase in temperature might play an important role in the OC burial efficiency of meromictic lakes.


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