Temporal dynamics of soil dissolved organic carbon in temperate forest managed by prescribed burning in Northeast China

Xu Dou; Tongxin Hu; Kajar Köster; Aobo Sun; Guangxin Li; Yang Yue; Long Sun; Yiyang Ding

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.117065

Temporal dynamics of soil dissolved organic carbon in temperate forest managed by prescribed burning in Northeast China

Environ Res. 2023 Nov 15;237(Pt 2):117065. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117065. Epub 2023 Sep 1.

Authors

Xu Dou¹, Tongxin Hu¹, Kajar Köster², Aobo Sun³, Guangxin Li¹, Yang Yue¹, Long Sun⁴, Yiyang Ding⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management-Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, 150040, Harbin, China.
² Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 80101, Joensuu, Finland.
³ Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 84 Dongling Road, 110161, Shenyang, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management-Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, 150040, Harbin, China. Electronic address: sunlong365@126.com.
⁵ Department of Forest Sciences/ Institute for Atmospheric Sciences and Earth System Research (INAR), Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.

PMID: 37660872
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117065

Abstract

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is an important function of soil organic carbon and sensitive to environmental disturbance. Few studies have explored the variations in soil DOC dynamics and effects on soil physicochemical properties following prescribed burnings. In this study, Pinus koraiensis plantation forests in Northeast China were selected and subjected to prescribed burning in early November 2018. Soil DOC and different soil physicochemical and biological properties in the 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm soil layers were sampled six times within two years after a prescribed burning. In this study, some soil physicochemical (SOC, TN, and ST) and microbial biomass properties (MBC) recovered within two years after a prescribed burning. Compared to the unburned control stands, the post-fire soil DOC concentrations in the upper and lower soil layers increased by 16% and 12%, respectively. Soil DOC concentrations varied with sampling time, and peaked one year after the prescribed burning. Our results showed that soil chemical properties (NH₄⁺-N and pH) rather than biological properties (microbial biomass) were the main driving factors for changes in post-fire soil DOC concentrations. Current study provides an important reference for post-fire and seasonal soil C cycling in plantation forests of Northeast China.

Keywords: Dissolved organic carbon; Pinus koraiensis; Plantation forest; Prescribed burning; Soil carbon cycle.