Dissolved carbon fluxes in a vegetation restoration area of an eroding landscape

Jianye Li; Shuguang Liu; Bojie Fu; Jian Wang

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.068

Dissolved carbon fluxes in a vegetation restoration area of an eroding landscape

Water Res. 2019 Apr 1:152:106-116. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.068. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Authors

Jianye Li¹, Shuguang Liu², Bojie Fu³, Jian Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China.
² National Engineering Laboratory of Applied Technology of Forestry & Ecology in South China, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, 410004, PR China; College of Life Sciences and Technology, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha, 410004, PR China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China. Electronic address: bfu@rcees.ac.cn.

PMID: 30665157
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.12.068

Abstract

Dissolved carbon (DC) is a critical component of the global carbon (C) cycle. DC transport occurs through water-driven erosion and infiltration during rain storms. To explore the specific role of DC flux in topsoil C pool dynamics during rainfall events and predict the trend of ratios of lateral versus vertical DC efflux from topsoil in a vegetation restoration area, we measured the major DC fluxes at four runoff plots, during rainfall events in an eroding soil landscape on the Chinese Loess Plateau. The results show that topsoil vertical DC efflux into deep soil layers accounted for approximately 98.7 (±1.0) % of the total dissolved carbon efflux in plots with vegetation versus 95.3% in a plot without vegetation. The carbon sequestration capacity of the top soil would be underestimated by up to 38 (±5) % if the vertical DC efflux was omitted. The ratios of lateral versus vertical DC efflux tended to increase with rainfall intensity. The results of this study improve understanding of the carbon cycle processes during rainfall events in general and estimation of carbon sequestration rates in vegetation restoration regions such as the Chinese Loess Plateau in particular.

Keywords: Dissolved carbon flux; Rainfall events; Soil carbon loss; Soil carbon sequestration; Vegetation restoration; Water-driven erosion.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Carbon
Carbon Cycle*
China
Conservation of Natural Resources*
Rain
Soil

Substances

Soil
Carbon