Effects of biotic and abiotic factors on soil organic carbon in semi-arid grassland
Carbon sequestration in grassland soil has been paid considerable attention in recent decades. However, the changes of soil organic carbon (SOC) still need clarification under the effect of environmental factors in semi-arid area. Here, twenty sampling sites were selected to study the effects of plant community (plant cover, biomass, litter, composition and diversity) and environmental factors (i.e. mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature) on SOC sequestration in the semi-arid grasslands. The results showed that SOC was significant positively related to mean annual precipitation, soil water content and soil pH. The higher above- and below-ground biomass, species evenness and diversity presented the higher SOC. Specially, the species richness and proportion of gramineous species functional group significantly increased SOC. Below-ground biomass affected SOC mainly in the top 30 cm soil. Our results suggest that higher plant species richness and gramineous species proportion play a positive role in increasing the potential of soil carbon sequestration in semi-arid grassland.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Chilean Society of Soil Science / Sociedad Chilena de la Ciencia del Suelo
2016
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0718-95162016000400019 |
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