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Journal of Arid Land  2016, Vol. 8 Issue (2): 221-231    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-015-0090-4     CSTR: 32276.14.s40333-015-0090-4
Research Articles     
Effects of land-use types on the vertical distribution of fractions of oxidizable organic carbon on the Loess Plateau, China
SUN Caili1, XUE Sha1,2, CHAI Zongzheng3, ZHANG Chao1,2, LIU Guobin1,2?
1 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China;
2 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China;
3 College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
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Abstract  The oxidizability of soil organic carbon (SOC) influences soil quality and carbon sequestration. Four fractions of oxidizable organic carbon (very labile (C1), labile (C2), less labile (C3) and non-labile (C4)) reflect the status and composition of SOC and have implications for the change and retention of SOC. Studies of the fractions of oxidizable organic carbon (OC) have been limited to shallow soil depths and agroecosystems. How these fractions respond at deep soil depths and in other types of land-use is not clear. In this study, we evaluated the vertical distributions of the fractions of oxidizable organic carbon to a soil depth of 5.0 m in 10 land-use types in the Zhifanggou Watershed on the Loess Plateau, China. Along the soil profile, C1 contents were highly variable in the natural grassland and shrubland I (Caragana microphylla), C2 and C4 contents were highly variable in the natural grassland and two terraced croplands, respectively, and C3 contents varied little. Among the land-use types, natural grassland had the highest C1 and C2 contents in the 0–0.4 m layers, followed by shrubland I in the 0–0.1 m layer. Natural grassland had the highest C4 contents in the 1.0–4.5 m layers. Natural grassland and shrubland I thus contributed to improve the oxidizability of SOC in shallow soil, and the deep soil of natural grassland has a large potential to sequester SOC on the Loess Plateau.

Key wordsland-use types      deep soil      oxidizable organic-carbon fractions      Loess Plateau     
Received: 01 May 2015      Published: 01 April 2016
Fund:  

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41371510), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (ZD2013021) and the Science and Technology Research and Development Program of Shaanxi Province (2011KJXX63).

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Cite this article:

SUN Caili, XUE Sha, CHAI Zongzheng, ZHANG Chao, LIU Guobin. Effects of land-use types on the vertical distribution of fractions of oxidizable organic carbon on the Loess Plateau, China. Journal of Arid Land, 2016, 8(2): 221-231.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-015-0090-4     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2016/V8/I2/221

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