Converting evergreen broad-leaved forests into tea and Moso bamboo plantations affects labile carbon pools and the chemical composition of soil organic carbon

Haibo Wang; Jin Jin; Peiyao Yu; Weijun Fu; Liam Morrison; Haiping Lin; Miaojing Meng; Xiufeng Zhou; Yulong Lv; Jiasen Wu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135225

Converting evergreen broad-leaved forests into tea and Moso bamboo plantations affects labile carbon pools and the chemical composition of soil organic carbon

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Apr 1:711:135225. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135225. Epub 2019 Nov 23.

Authors

Haibo Wang¹, Jin Jin¹, Peiyao Yu², Weijun Fu³, Liam Morrison⁴, Haiping Lin², Miaojing Meng⁵, Xiufeng Zhou², Yulong Lv⁶, Jiasen Wu⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China; School of Environmental and Resources Science, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 311300, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China; School of Environmental and Resources Science, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 311300, China. Electronic address: fuweijun@zafu.edu.cn.
⁴ Earth and Ocean Sciences, School of Natural Sciences & Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, H91TK33, Ireland.
⁵ Co-Innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
⁶ Forest Enterprise of Anji County, Anji 313300, Zhejiang, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China. Electronic address: jswu@zafu.edu.cn.

PMID: 31818594
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135225

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the effects of conversion from evergreen broad-leaved forests (EBFs) to tea plantations (TPs) and Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla var. pubescens) plantations (MBPs) and the subsequent long-term intensive management on the soil carbon pool and the chemical composition of soil organic carbon (SOC). Soil samples from three layers (0-10, 10-30 and 30-60 cm, respectively) were collected from adjacent EBFs, TPs and MBPs in An'ji County, Zhejiang Province, China. The physico-chemical properties of soils, including bulk density, SOC and its different fractions were determined. The chemical composition of SOC was also measured using ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The results showed that conversion from EBFs to TPs and MBPs decreased the concentrations of water soluble organic carbon (WSOC), light and heavy fraction organic carbon (LFOC, HFOC) and humus carbon (HC) (P < 0.05), reduced the O-alkyl C and carbonl C content, but increased the alkyl C, Aromatic C, aromaticity and the ratio of alkyl C/O-alkyl C (A/O-A) (P < 0.05). These results suggested that intensive management markedly altered the chemical structure of SOC and labile carbon pools. Our results demonstrated that converting EBFs to TPs and MBPs had a negative effect on SOC content and a positive effect on SOC stability. Therefore, management practices such as rational fertilization and sod cultivation are recommended after land-use conversion.

Keywords: (13)C NMR; Labile C pools; Land use conversion; Moso bamboo plantations; Tea plantations.

MeSH terms

Carbon
China
Forests
Soil*
Tea

Substances

Soil
Tea
Carbon