Full Length Research Paper
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Responses of surface soil
carbon and nutrients to re-vegetation of an eroded hillslope
in southwest China
Y. Li1,2*, N. Zhou2, H. Q. Yu2,
D. C. Reicosky3, G. R Hancock4 and L.
F. Sun2
1Henan
Normal University,
College of Life Sciences, Xinxiang
453007, China.
2Institute
of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture,
Chinese Academy
of Agricultural
Sciences (CAAS), No.12 Zhongguancun South Street,
Beijing 100081, China.
3North
Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS,
Morris, Minnesota, USA.
4School
of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of
Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, Australia.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
[email protected].
Tel/ Fax: 0086-10-82106016.
Abbreviations: SOC,
Soil organic carbon; AN, soil available nitrogen;
AP, available phosphorus; BD, soil bulk density;
VC, vegetation cover.
Accepted 30 January, 2012 |
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Abstract |
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Chinese national re-vegetation on the eroded hilly
landscapes may have potential to modify the surface soil
carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pools. However,
few studies have investigated this relationship. We
quantified differences in soil organic carbon (SOC), soil
available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and soil
bulk density (BD) of the surface soil (0 to 10 cm) among
different types of vegetation cover (VC) and slope positions
on a re-vegetated hillslope that was previously used as
farmland at Xichang, Southwestern China. The four different
VC types examined in this study were: a) tree, b) shrub, c)
grass and d) bare soil. SOC, AN and AP under vegetation
cover, whether tree, shrub, or grass, were higher than that
in the bare soil. SOC, AN and AP were highest under shrub
and grass followed by tree cover. SOC
stock under tree, shrub and grass cover were respectively
1.76, 3.50 and 3.71 times the stock in bare soil, whereas AN
concentration was 1.02, 2.60, and 1.39 times the
concentration in bare soil. Moreover, AP concentration
in soils under tree, shrub and grass cover was 3.91, 5.48
and 6.69 times the concentration in bare soil, respectively.
Soil bulk density under shrub and tree cover was slightly
lower (11 and 6%, respectively) than that in the bare soil,
but not for the soil under grass cover. The relationship
between surface SOC, AN, BD and vegetation cover types is
irrespective of hillslope positions (excepting a significant
higher AP concentration at the lower slope than the top of
the hillslope), suggesting a link to re-vegetation. Our
results therefore indicate that re-vegetation, specifically
with shrubs and grasses, could contribute to ecological
restoration of eroded hillslope through modifying surface
SOC and nutrients, and hence improving soil quality in
southwest China.
Key words:
Re-vegetation, soil organic carbon, soil nutrients, soil
bulk density, eroded hillslope. |
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