scholarly journals The distribution of organic carbon fractions in a typical loess-paleosol profile and its paleoenvironmental significance

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingqing Zhang ◽  
Jinghua Huang ◽  
Feinan Hu ◽  
Na Huo ◽  
Yingni Shang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Total Organic Carbon ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Organic Carbon Fractions ◽  
Soil Clay ◽  
Soil Clay Content

Background The loess-paleosol sequence on the Loess Plateau has been considered an important paleoclimatic archive to study global climatic and environmental changes in the Quaternary. So far, little attention has been paid to the characteristics of soil organic carbon fractions in loess-paleosol sequences, which may provide valuable information for exploring the evolution of climate and environment in the Quaternary on the Loess Plateau. Methods In order to explore the significance of mineral-associated organic carbon to total organic carbon (MOC/TOC) ratios in the loess-paleosol sequence for reconstructing paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic evolution in the Quaternary on the Loess Plateau, we selected a typical loess-paleosol profile in Chunhua county, Xianyang city, Shaanxi province, as the research object. The content of total organic carbon (TOC) and MOC/TOC ratio in each loess and paleosol layers of the Chunhua loess-paleosol profile were analyzed, together with the paleoclimatic proxies, such as soil grain size, CaCO3 content and their correlations with organic carbon parameters. Results The main results were as follows: (1) the total content of soil organic carbon and MOC/TOC ratios were generally higher in paleosol layers than in the underlying loess layers of the Chunhua loess-paleosol profile. Compared to total organic carbon content, MOC/TOC ratios changed more obviously in soil layers below a paleosol layer S8; (2) soil clay content and median grain size (Md (ϕ)) were higher in paleosol than in the underlying loess, while CaCO3 content showed an opposite tendency. In the Chunhua profile, the distribution characteristics of the three paleoclimatic proxies showed good indications of paleoclimate changes in the Quaternary; (3) in the Chunhua loess-paleosol profile, MOC/TOC ratios were positively correlated with clay content and median grain size (ϕ), while negatively correlated with CaCO3 content, and the correlations were more significant in soil layers below S8. Discussion Our results indicated that MOC/TOC ratios in the Chunhua loess-paleosol profile correlated with the cold dry-warm wet paleoclimatic cycle in the Quaternary. The high MOC/TOC ratios in the loess-paleosol profile might reflect warm and humid climate, while lower ratios indicated relatively cold and dry climate. That is because when the climate changed from warm-humid to cold-dry, the vegetation coverage and pedogenesis intensity decreased, which increased soil CaCO3 content and decreased soil clay content and Md (ϕ), leading to decreased MOC/TOC ratios. Compared to TOC, MOC/TOC ratios had greater significance in indicating paleoenvironmental evolution in the Quaternary on the Loess Plateau. Therefore, investigating MOC/TOC ratios in loess-paleosol profile can offer new evidence to reconstructing paleoenvironmental changes, and also provide a basis for predicting responses of soil organic carbon pools to vegetation and climate changes in the future.

Using Landsat and soil clay content to map soil organic carbon of oxisols and Ultisols near São Paulo, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. e00253
Author(s):  
Manuela Corrêa de Castro Padilha ◽  
Luiz Eduardo Vicente ◽  
José A.M. Demattê ◽  
Daniel Gomes dos Santos Wendriner Loebmann ◽  
Andrea Koga Vicente ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Soil Clay ◽  
Soil Clay Content

scholarly journals Soil organic carbon dynamics following afforestation in the Loess Plateau of China

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 11181-11211 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Lu ◽  
J. Liski ◽  
R. Y. Chang ◽  
A. Akujärvi ◽  
X. Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Carbon Fixation ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Successional Stage

Abstract. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool and sensitive to land use and cover change; its dynamics is critical for carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. In this study, we combined a modeling approach and field measurements to examine the temporal dynamics of SOC following afforestation of former arable land at six sites under different climatic conditions in the Loess Plateau during 1980–2010. The results showed that the measured mean SOC increased to levels higher than before afforestation when taking the last measurements (i.e., at age 25 to 30 yr), although it decreased in the first few years at the wetter sites. The accumulation rates of SOC were 1.58 to 6.22% yr–1 in the upper 20 cm and 1.62 to 5.15% yr–1 in the upper 40 cm of soil. The simulations reproduced the basic characteristics of measured SOC dynamics, suggesting that litter input and climatic factors (temperature and precipitation) were the major causes for SOC dynamics and the differences among the sites. They explained 88–96, 48–86 and 57–74% of the variations in annual SOC changes at the soil depths of 0–20, 0–40, and 0–100 cm, respectively. Notably, the simulated SOC decreased during the first few years at all the sites, although the magnitudes of decreases were small at the drier sites. This suggested that the modeling may be advantageous in capturing SOC changes at finer time scale. The discrepancy between the simulation and measurement was a result of uncertainties in model structure, data input, and sampling design. Our findings indicated that afforestation promoted soil carbon sequestration at the study sites, which is favorable for further restoration of the vegetation and environment. Afforestation activities should decrease soil disturbances to reduce carbon release in the early stage. The long-term strategy for carbon fixation capability of the plantations should also consider the climate and site conditions, species adaptability, and successional stage of recovery.

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