| Brief Communication |
|
|
|
|
| Species composition and diversity, and carbon stock in a dune ecosystem in the Horqin Sandy Land of northern China |
| FeiLong HU1,2, WenKai SHOU1,2, Bo LIU1, ZhiMin LIU1*, Carlos A BUSSO3 |
1 State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, China;
2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China;
3 Agronomy Department, National University of the South and CERZOS (CONICET), Bahía Blanca 8000, Argentina |
|
|
|
Abstract In this study, we determined carbon allocation and carbon stocks in the plant-soil system of different dune ecosystems in northeastern China. We quantified the species composition, above- and below-ground biomasses, and carbon stocks of three dune types (i.e. active dunes, semi-stabilized dunes and stabilized dunes) and their corresponding inter-dune lowlands (i.e. interdune lowlands of active dunes, interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes and interdune lowlands of stabilized dunes) in the Horqin Sandy Land. The results showed that the succession series on interdune lowlands of the Horqin Sandy Land confirmed differences in species composition of the various dune types. Aboveground carbon (AGC) on the interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes (33.04 g C/m2) was greater (P<0.05) than that on the interdune lowlands of active dunes (10.73 g C/m2). At the same time, the different dune types did not show any significant differences (P>0.05) in belowground plant carbon (BGC). However, the percentage of plant BGC in interdune lowlands of active dunes (81.5%) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that in the interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes (58.9%). The predominant carbon pool in the study dune ecosystem was in the soil. It accounted for 95% to 99% of total carbon storage. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was at least 55% greater (P<0.05) in the interdunes than in the dunes. Stabilized dunes showed at least a 37% greater (P<0.05) SOC content than active dunes up to a 1-m soil depth. Meanwhile, SOC content of interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes was greater (P<0.05) than that of interdune lowlands of active dunes only up to a 20-cm soil depth. The dune ecosystem showed a great potential to store carbon when interdune lowlands of active dunes were conversed to interdune lowlands of semi-stabilized dunes, which stored up to twice as much carbon per unit volume as interdune lowlands of active dunes.
|
|
Received: 02 January 2014
Published: 10 February 2015
|
| Fund: This research was financially supported by the National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program) (2013CB429905-01). The author, Carlos A BUSSO thanks (1) the sabbatical leave given by Agronomy Department, National University of the South and CERZOS (CONICET), (2) the associateship awarded by the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)-UNESCO, and (3) housing, facilities and financial support from the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. |
|
Corresponding Authors:
|
|
|
| Acharya B S, Rasmussen J, Eriksen J. 2012. Grassland carbon sequestration and emissions following cultivation in a mixed crop rotation. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 153(15): 33–39.Bessler H, Temperton V M, Roscher C, et al. 2009. Aboveground overyielding in grassland mixtures is associated with reduced biomass partitioning to belowground organs. Ecology, 90(6): 1520–1530.Bonan G B, Pollard D. 1992. Vegetation on global climate. Nature, 359: 716–718.Brown J F. 1997. Effects of experimental burial on survival, growth, and resource allocation of three species of dune plants. Journal of Ecology, 85(2): 151–158.Brown J H, Valone T J, Curtin C G. 1997. Reorganization of an arid ecosystem in response to recent climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 94(18): 9729–9733.Brown R W. 1995. Wildland plants: physiological ecology and developmental morphology. Denver: Society for Range Management, 291–413Cheesman A W, Winter K. 2013. Elevated night-time temperatures increase growth in seedlings of two tropical pioneer tree species. New Phytologist, 197(4): 1185–1192.Conti G, Díaz S. 2013. Plant functional diversity and carbon storage–an empirical test in semi-arid forest ecosystems. Journal of Ecology, 101(1): 18–28.Crutzen P J, Andreae M O. 1990. Biomass burning in the tropics: Impact on atmospheric chemistry and biogeochemical cycles. Science, 250(4988): 1669–1678.Duan Z H, Xiao H L, Li X R, et al. 2004. Evolution of soil properties on stabilized sands in the Tengger Desert, China. Geomorphology, 59(1–4): 237–246.Duarte C M, Merino M, Agawin N S R, et al. 1998. Root production and belowground seagrass biomass. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 171: 97–108.Elbert W, Weber B, Burrows S, et al. 2012. Contribution of cryptogamic covers to the global cycles of carbon and nitrogen. Nature Geoscience, 5: 459–462.Gilliam F S, Saunders N E. 2003. Making more sense of the order: A review of Canoco for Windows 4.5, PC-ORD version 4 and SYN-TAX 2000. Journal of Vegetation Science, 14: 297–304.Högberg P. 2012. What is the quantitative relation between nitrogen deposition and forest carbon sequestration? Global Change Biology, 18(1): 1–2.Huang G, Zhao X Y, Li Y Q, et al. 2012. Restoration of shrub communities elevates organic carbon in arid soils of northwestern China. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 47: 123–132.Huang Y X, Zhao X Y, Zhou D W, et al. 2012. Phenotipic plasticity of early and late successional forbs in response to shifts in resources. Plos One, 7(11): e50304. Isermann M. 2011. Patterns in species diversity during succession of coastal dunes. Journal of Coastal Research, 27(4): 661–671.Jactel H, Brockerhoff E, Duelli P. 2005. Effects of experimental burial on survival, growth, and resource allocation of three species of dune plants. Forest Diversity and Function, 85(2): 151–158.Jassey V E, Chiapusio G, Binet P, et al. 2013. Above- and belowground linkages in Sphagnum peatland: climate warming affects plant–microbial interactions. Global Change Biology, 19(3): 811–823.Jobbágy E G, Jackson R B. 2000. The vertical distribution of soil organic carbon and its relation to climate and vegetation. Ecological Applications, 10(2): 423–436.Kabuyah R N, Van Dongen B E, Bewsher A D, et al. 2012. Decomposition of lignin in wheat straw in a sand-dune grassland. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 45: 128–131.Karl T R, Trenberth K E. 2003. Modern global climate change. Science, 302(5651): 1719–1723.Katoh K, Takeuchi K, Jiang D, et al. 1998. Vegetation restoration by seasonal exclosure in the Kerqin Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia. Plant Ecology, 139(2): 133–144.Kellman M, Roulet N. 1990. Nutrient flux and retention in a tropical sand-dune succession. The Journal of Ecology, 78(3): 664–676.Kramer M G, Sanderman J, Chadwick O A, et al. 2012. Long-term carbon storage through retention of dissolved aromatic acids by reactive particles in soil. Global Change Biology, 18(8): 2594–2605.Li Y L, Johnson D A, Su Y Z, et al. 2005. Specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content of plants growing in sand dunes. Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica, 46: 127–134. Li X R, Zhang P, Su Y Z, et al. 2012. Carbon fixation by biological soil crusts following revegetation of sand dunes in arid desert regions of China: A four-year field study. Catena, 97: 119–126.Liu Z M, Li X L, Yan Q L, et al. 2007. Species richness and vegetation pattern in interdune lowlands of an active dune field in Inner Mongolia, China. Biological Conservation, 140(1–2): 29–39.Lu H Y, Zhou Y L, Liu W G, et al. 2012. Organic stable carbon isotopic composition reveals late Quaternary vegetation changes in the dune fields of northern China. Quaternary Research, 77(3): 433–444.Luo Y Q, Zhao X Y, Andrén O, et al. 2014. Artificial root exudates and soil organic carbon mineralization in a degraded sandy grassland in northern China. Journal of Arid Land, 6(4): 423–431.Melillo J M, Mcguire A D, Kicklighter D W, et al. 1993. Global climate change and terrestrial net primary production. Nature, 363: 234–240.Miyasaka T, Okuro T, Zhao H, et al. 2011. Impacts of the local land-use system in a semi-arid region of northeastern China on soil properties, crop growth, and weed communities. Journal of Arid Environments, 75(11): 1155–1163.Morrison R, Yarranton G. 1974. Vegetational heterogeneity during a primary sand dune succession. Canadian Journal of Botany, 52(2): 397–410.Nelson D W, Sommers L E, Sparks D, et al. 1996. Methods of Soil Analysis. New York: Soil Science Society of America, 961–1010.Ping X Y, Zhou G S, Zhuang Q L, et al. 2010. Effects of sample size and position from monolith and core methods on the estimation of total root biomass in a temperate grassland ecosystem in Inner Mongolia. Geoderma. 155, 262–268.Post W M, Kwon K C. 2000. Soil carbon sequestration and land-use change: processes and potential. Global Change Biology, 6(3): 317–327.Wang R Z, Earle A R, Zu Y G, et al. 2001. Demography of reproductive and biomass allocation of grassland and dune Leymus chinensis on the Songnen Plain, north-eastern China. Journal of Arid Environments, 49(2): 289–299.Santana V M, Baeza M J, Maestre F T. 2012. Seedling establishment along post-fire succession in Mediterranean shrublands dominated by obligate seeders. Acta Oecologica, 39: 51–60.Simpson E H. 1949. Measurement of diversity. Nature, 163: 688.Southgate R, Masters P, Seely M. 1996. Precipitation and biomass changes in the Namib Desert dune ecosystem. Journal of Arid Environments, 33(3): 267–280.Steel R G D, Torrie J H. 1960. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. (With Special Reference to the Biological Sciences.) Toronto: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Süβ K, Storm C, Zehm A, et al. 2004. Succession in inland sand ecosystems: Which factors determine the occurrence of the tall grass species Calamagrostis epigejos (L.) Roth and Stipa capillata L.? Plant Biology, 6(4): 465–476.Swaine M, Whitmore T. 1988. On the definition of ecological species groups in tropical rain forests. Vegetation, 75(1–2): 81–86.Ter Braak C J. 1989. CANOCO–an extension of DECORANA to analyze species-environment relationships. Hydrobiologia, 184(3): 169–170.Tian G, Granato T, Cox A, et al. 2009. Soil carbon sequestration resulting from long-term application of biosolids for land reclamation. Journal of Environmental Quality, 38(1): 61–74.Tropek R, Cerna I, Straka J, et al. 2013. Is coal combustion the last chance for vanishing insects of inland drift sand dunes in Europe? Biological Conservation, 162: 60–64.Wang X B, Oenema O, Hoogmoed W B, et al. 2006. Dust storm erosion and its impact on soil carbon and nitrogen losses in northern China. Catena, 66: 221–227.Xiao C W, Janssens I A, Liu P, et al. 2007. Irrigation and enhanced soil carbon input effects on below-ground carbon cycling in semiarid temperate grasslands. New Phytologist, 174 (4): 835–846.Xie G H, Steinberger Y. 2005. Nitrogen and carbon dynamics under the canopy of sand dune shrubs in a desert ecosystem. Arid Land Research and Management, 19(2): 147–160.Zhai S S, Liu Z M, Yan Q L. 2009. Effects of sand-barrier near interdune lowlands on the vegetation restoration of mobile sand dunes. Chinese Journal of Ecology, 28: 2403–2409. (in Chinese)Zhang G L, Dong J W, Xiao X M, et al. 2012. Effectiveness of ecological restoration projects in Horqin Sandy Land, China based on SPOT-VGT NDVI data. Ecological Engineering, 38(1): 20–29.Zhang J, Zhao H, Zhang T, et al. 2005. Community succession along a chronosequence of vegetation restoration on sand dunes in Horqin Sandy Land. Journal of Arid Environments, 62(4): 555–566.Zhang T H, Zhao H L, Li S G, et al. 2004. A comparison of different measures for stabilizing moving sand dunes in the Horqin Sandy Land of Inner Mongolia, China. Journal of Arid Environments, 58(2): 203–214.Zuo X A, Zhao H L, Zhao X Y, et al. 2008. Spatial pattern and heterogeneity of soil properties in sand dunes under grazing and restoration in Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China. Soil and Tillage Research, 99(2): 202–212. |
|
Viewed |
|
|
|
Full text
|
|
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
|
Cited |
|
|
|
|
| |
Shared |
|
|
|
|
| |
Discussed |
|
|
|
|
