Cropland abandonment alleviates soil carbon emissions in the North China Plain.
Environ Monit Assess
; 195(6): 679, 2023 May 16.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37191764
ABSTRACT
Land use change could profoundly influence the terrestrial ecosystem carbon (C) cycle. However, the effects of agricultural expansion and cropland abandonment on soil microbial respiration remain controversial, and the underlying mechanisms of the land use change effect are lacking. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive survey in four land use types (grassland, cropland, orchard, and old-field grassland) of North China Plain with eight replicates to explore the responses of soil microbial respiration to agricultural expansion and cropland abandonment. We collected surface soil (0-10 cm in depth) in each land use type to measure soil physicochemical property and microbial analysis. Our results showed that soil microbial respiration was significantly increased by 15.10 mg CO2 kg-1 day-1 and 20.06 mg CO2 kg-1 day-1 due to the conversion of grassland to cropland and orchard, respectively. It confirmed that agricultural expansion might exacerbate soil C emissions. On the contrary, the returning of cropland and orchard to old-field grassland significantly decreased soil microbial respiration by 16.51 mg CO2 kg-1 day-1 and 21.47 mg CO2 kg-1 day-1, respectively. Effects of land use change on soil microbial respiration were predominately determined by soil organic and inorganic nitrogen contents, implying that nitrogen fertilizer plays an essential role in soil C loss. These findings highlight that cropland abandonment can effectively mitigate soil CO2 emissions, which should be implemented in agricultural lands with low grain production and high C emissions. Our results improve mechanistic understanding on the response of soil C emission to land use changes.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Suelo
/
Ecosistema
Tipo de estudio:
Qualitative_research
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Monit Assess
Asunto de la revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
China
Pais de publicación:
HOLANDA
/
HOLLAND
/
NETHERLANDS
/
NL
/
PAISES BAJOS
/
THE NETHERLANDS