Effects of shrub encroachment on soil aggregates and organic carbon vary in different grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China
Abstract Widespread shrub encroachment in grasslands can lead to changes in soil aggregates and soil organic carbon (SOC), especially in deep soils. Soil aggregates physicochemically protect SOC and thus affect soil carbon sequestration. Characterizing the changes in soil aggregates and their organi...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2021-02-01
|
Series: | Ecosphere |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3363 |
id |
doaj-71140748f81849e5ba7964299a515592 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-71140748f81849e5ba7964299a5155922021-02-25T04:16:44ZengWileyEcosphere2150-89252021-02-01122n/an/a10.1002/ecs2.3363Effects of shrub encroachment on soil aggregates and organic carbon vary in different grasslands in Inner Mongolia, ChinaYankun Zhu0Haihua Shen1Yinping Feng2He Li3Damilare Stephen Akinyemi4Huifeng Hu5Jingyun Fang6State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100093ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100093ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100093ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100093ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100093ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100093ChinaState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing100093ChinaAbstract Widespread shrub encroachment in grasslands can lead to changes in soil aggregates and soil organic carbon (SOC), especially in deep soils. Soil aggregates physicochemically protect SOC and thus affect soil carbon sequestration. Characterizing the changes in soil aggregates and their organic carbon associated with shrub encroachment is critical for evaluating the ecological consequences of shrub encroachment in different grasslands. In this study, we investigated soil aggregates of various sizes and their associated organic carbon at maximum soil depths of 5 m in shrub patches and neighboring grass matrix in two types (desert and typical) of grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China. The mean weight diameter (MWD) of the soil aggregates was similar between the shrub patches and grass matrix in both grasslands. However, the proportion of each aggregate size fraction to whole soil in the shrub patches was significantly lower than that in the grass matrix in the desert grasslands, while there was no significant difference between the shrub patches and grass matrix in the typical grasslands. In addition, the organic carbon content of aggregates in the shrub patches was greater than that in the grass matrix in deep soil layers (>50 cm) but was lower in the topsoil (0–10 cm depth) in the desert grasslands. However, the organic carbon content of aggregates at all soil depths was greater in shrub patches than in the grass matrix in typical grasslands. Our results suggest that the effects of shrub encroachment on the soil aggregate proportion and associated organic carbon vary at different soil depths and in different grassland types. The results of this study also suggest that it is necessary to determine the size structure and its relation to carbon content for soil aggregates to accurately predict SOC dynamics with shrub encroachment.https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3363deep soildesert grasslandshrub encroachmentsoil aggregatesoil organic carbontypical grassland |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Yankun Zhu Haihua Shen Yinping Feng He Li Damilare Stephen Akinyemi Huifeng Hu Jingyun Fang |
spellingShingle |
Yankun Zhu Haihua Shen Yinping Feng He Li Damilare Stephen Akinyemi Huifeng Hu Jingyun Fang Effects of shrub encroachment on soil aggregates and organic carbon vary in different grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China Ecosphere deep soil desert grassland shrub encroachment soil aggregate soil organic carbon typical grassland |
author_facet |
Yankun Zhu Haihua Shen Yinping Feng He Li Damilare Stephen Akinyemi Huifeng Hu Jingyun Fang |
author_sort |
Yankun Zhu |
title |
Effects of shrub encroachment on soil aggregates and organic carbon vary in different grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China |
title_short |
Effects of shrub encroachment on soil aggregates and organic carbon vary in different grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China |
title_full |
Effects of shrub encroachment on soil aggregates and organic carbon vary in different grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China |
title_fullStr |
Effects of shrub encroachment on soil aggregates and organic carbon vary in different grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of shrub encroachment on soil aggregates and organic carbon vary in different grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China |
title_sort |
effects of shrub encroachment on soil aggregates and organic carbon vary in different grasslands in inner mongolia, china |
publisher |
Wiley |
series |
Ecosphere |
issn |
2150-8925 |
publishDate |
2021-02-01 |
description |
Abstract Widespread shrub encroachment in grasslands can lead to changes in soil aggregates and soil organic carbon (SOC), especially in deep soils. Soil aggregates physicochemically protect SOC and thus affect soil carbon sequestration. Characterizing the changes in soil aggregates and their organic carbon associated with shrub encroachment is critical for evaluating the ecological consequences of shrub encroachment in different grasslands. In this study, we investigated soil aggregates of various sizes and their associated organic carbon at maximum soil depths of 5 m in shrub patches and neighboring grass matrix in two types (desert and typical) of grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China. The mean weight diameter (MWD) of the soil aggregates was similar between the shrub patches and grass matrix in both grasslands. However, the proportion of each aggregate size fraction to whole soil in the shrub patches was significantly lower than that in the grass matrix in the desert grasslands, while there was no significant difference between the shrub patches and grass matrix in the typical grasslands. In addition, the organic carbon content of aggregates in the shrub patches was greater than that in the grass matrix in deep soil layers (>50 cm) but was lower in the topsoil (0–10 cm depth) in the desert grasslands. However, the organic carbon content of aggregates at all soil depths was greater in shrub patches than in the grass matrix in typical grasslands. Our results suggest that the effects of shrub encroachment on the soil aggregate proportion and associated organic carbon vary at different soil depths and in different grassland types. The results of this study also suggest that it is necessary to determine the size structure and its relation to carbon content for soil aggregates to accurately predict SOC dynamics with shrub encroachment. |
topic |
deep soil desert grassland shrub encroachment soil aggregate soil organic carbon typical grassland |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3363 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT yankunzhu effectsofshrubencroachmentonsoilaggregatesandorganiccarbonvaryindifferentgrasslandsininnermongoliachina AT haihuashen effectsofshrubencroachmentonsoilaggregatesandorganiccarbonvaryindifferentgrasslandsininnermongoliachina AT yinpingfeng effectsofshrubencroachmentonsoilaggregatesandorganiccarbonvaryindifferentgrasslandsininnermongoliachina AT heli effectsofshrubencroachmentonsoilaggregatesandorganiccarbonvaryindifferentgrasslandsininnermongoliachina AT damilarestephenakinyemi effectsofshrubencroachmentonsoilaggregatesandorganiccarbonvaryindifferentgrasslandsininnermongoliachina AT huifenghu effectsofshrubencroachmentonsoilaggregatesandorganiccarbonvaryindifferentgrasslandsininnermongoliachina AT jingyunfang effectsofshrubencroachmentonsoilaggregatesandorganiccarbonvaryindifferentgrasslandsininnermongoliachina |
_version_ |
1724252192509001728 |