impact of land-use change on carbon stocks in meadow steppe of northeast china
TRANSCRIPT
Impact of Land-Use Change on Carbon Stocks in Meadow Steppe of
Northeast China*
Peiyong Lian1,5, Dehui Zeng (*Corresponding author)2, Jinye Liu3, Fan Ding4,5 Zhiwei Wu4,5
1Institute of Applied Ecology，Chinese Academy of Sciences，Shenyang, 110016, PR China
2Institute of Applied Ecology，Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang, 110016, PR China
3Daxing’anling Academy of Forestry Science of Inner Mongolia Yakeshi, 022150, PR China
4Institute of Applied Ecology，Chinese Academy of Sciences，Shenyang, 110016, PR China
5Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences，Beijing, 100049, PR China
Keywords:Carbon; meadow steppe; carbon stock; land-use; SOC
Abstract.An improved understanding of changes in carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems is very
important for assessing the impacts of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration and climate
change on the terrestrial biosphere. Accurately predicting terrestrial carbon (C) storage requires
understanding the carbon stock, because it helps us understand how ecosystems would respond to
natural and anthropogenic disturbances under different management strategies. We investigated
organic C storage in aboveground biomass, litter, roots, and soil organic matter (SOM) in five land-
use types (i.e. artificial pasture, AP; natural meadow, NM; corn plantation, CP; temperate savanna,
TS; and bush wood, BW) in meadow steppe of Northeast China. The primary objective of this study
was to ascertain the impact of different land-use types on the carbon stock. The total C storage
(including C stored in aboveground biomass, litter, roots, and 0–100-cm soil layers) did not
significantly differ between one and another type among the five pairs (P>0.05), with the exception
of AP2-BW pair. The total C storage changes in value varying from 5958.09 g C m-2
for plot NM2
to 11922.87 g C m-2
for plot CP1. The C stored in the aboveground biomass was less than 1177.96 g
C m-2
, accounting for negligible amounts (<1% of the total) of total C storage in the ecosystem
except corn plantation. The amount of C stored in SOM accounted for less than 85% of the total C
storage in TS, AP2, and NM3, and the C stored in litter was very low (<1.5%), compared to other
pools in the ecosystem. The amount of C stored in the roots varied from 0 g C m-2
for plot BW,
CP1, and CP2 to 2032.32 g C m-2
for plot NM3, and it accounted for less than 20% of C storage in
the grassland.
Introduction
Most studies on ecosystem carbon (C) cycle have focused on various temperate, tropical, and boreal
forests. Less attention has been paid to grasslands [1] [2] [3] [4], although grassland is the largest
among the four major natural biomes [5]. Grasslands have significant sink–source capacities and
play a major role in the global carbon balance [6] [7] [8] [9] [10], depending on the factors of
climatic and land-use. Land-use change is often associated with changes in land cover and C stocks.
Land-use and land cover strongly influence C storage and distribution within the grassland
ecosystems.
Grasslands are the dominant landscape in China and account for 40% of the national land area.
Geographically, about 78% of the grasslands in China occur in the northern temperate zone [11].
The grassland ecosystems in China are classified into four major types [11]: meadow steppes,
typical steppes, desert steppes and alpine steppes. Meadow steppes occur on the most moist and
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fertile sites among the four grassland ecosystem types, typically in areas with annual precipitation
around 450 mm and soils of high organic content. The ecosystem of the meadow steppe of
Northeast China stores a large amount of organic carbon, but the magnitude, spatial patterns and
environmental controls of the storage are less investigated.
Land-use change is often associated with changes in land cover and C stocks. In the last two
centuries, land-use has been a significant source of the atmospheric CO2 through the conversion of
natural vegetation to farming [12]. Wherever the change in land-use increased SOC, the reverse
process usually decreased SOC, and vice versa [13].
In this study, we investigated the carbon store under five different land-use types, namely
artificial pasture (AP), natural meadow (NM), corn plantation (CP), temperate savanna (TS), and
bushwood (BW). The objectives of our study were to: (1) quantify the influence of different land-
uses on carbon stock; and (2) identify the suitable land-use and management options for carbon
sequestration and socio-economic activities in the meadow steppe ecosystems of northeast China.
MATERIALS And Methods
A. Study site
Our study was conducted in Dumeng County of Heilongjiang Province (latitude 45°53′–47°08′
N, longitude 123°45′–124°42′ E, average elevation 152 m; Fig.1), Northeast China. The long-term
mean annual air temperature for the area is 3.6–4.4℃. Mean annual precipitation is 365 mm. The
soil type includes chernozem, meadow soil, and aeolian sandy soil. Vegetation of the region consists
predominantly of grassland plants such as Leymus chinensis, Artemisia princeps, Cleistogenes
squarrosa, Delphinium grandiflorum, and Puccinellia tenuiflora.
Five study sites were selected based on major land-use types in the region, which included
artificial pasture (AP), natural meadow (NM), corn plantation (CP), temperate savanna (TS), and
bushwood (BW).
B.Experimental design
Adopted pairwise experimental design, we selected natural meadow (NM1)—corn plantation
(CP1), artificial pasture (AP1)—corn plantation (CP2), natural meadow (NM2)—temperate savanna
(TS), artificial pasture (AP2)—bushwood (BW), and natural meadow (NM3)—artificial pasture
(AP3) in Dumeng County. We selected six sampling point on each kind of pairs, the distance is at
least 1 km between sampling points in the same pair.
On each sampling point, two kinds of treatment were ascertained three one-to-one
correspondence quadrats (1 m × 1 m) in the same pair; corresponding quadrats were located in the
same aspect and elevation, the distance was less than 30 m between corresponding quadrats, the
distance was at least 50 m among three quadrats in the same treatments.
C.Field sampling and laboratory analysis
In order to measure the aboveground and belowground biomass and the C content in plants,
litter and roots, a field sampling was conducted in mid-August 2009, the time of peak aboveground
biomass. We selected representative plots on each representative site of land-uses for measurements
of above- and belowground biomass, and carbon concentrations in plant tissues and soils.
The aboveground biomass in these quadrats was clipped at the ground level, and this quantity
was considered approximately equal to the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of the
current year. Litter was collected subsequently. The clipped plant tissues were oven-dried at 70℃ to
constant weight (approx. 48 h). Root biomass was determined using a soil corer (6 cm in diameter).
The samples were separately collected from five layers of 0–10, 10–20, 20–40, 40–60, and 60–100
cm in each quadrat. Similarly, soil sampling was conducted using a soil sampler (6 cm in diameter),
and the samples were separately collected from five layers of 0–10, 10–20, 20–40, 40–60 and 60–
100 cm in each quadrat. Soil bulk density was measured using the soil cores (volume, 100 cm3)
obtained from the five layers, with three replicates for each quadrat; this allowed us to estimate the
mass of SOC at each quadrat.
Applied Mechanics and Materials Vol. 108 263
The organic C content (%) in the samples of plant, litter, root, and soil was measured using a
modified Mebius method [14]. Briefly, 0.5-g soil samples were digested with 5 ml of 1 N K2Cr2O7
and 10 ml of concentrated H2SO4 at 180℃ for 5 min, followed by titration of the digests with
standardized FeSO4. We calculated the total SOC density (TSOC; g C m-2
) on a ground area basis
up to a 100-cm depth as follows:
TSOC=∑Di×Pi×OMi×1000
where Di, Pi, and OMi represent respectively the soil thickness (cm), bulk density (g cm-3
), and
organic C concentration (%) of the ith layer; i=1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
D. Statistical analysis
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the effect of land-use change on C storage.
Means of the main effects were compared by Duncan’s multi-range test at P ≤0.05. The data for the
0–100-cm soil layer was used to analyse the C potentials of the grassland. All statistical analyses
were performed using SPSS 13.0 program.
Results and Discussion
ANPP values differed significantly between one and another type among the five pairs (P< 0.05),
with the exception of NM2-TS and NM3-AP3 pairs. ANPP changes in value varying from 13.19 g
m-2
for plot BW to 2617.69 g m-2
for plot CP1 (Fig. 2). The total C storage (including C stored in
aboveground biomass, litter, roots, and 0–100-cm soil layers) did not significantly differ between
one and another type among the five pairs (P>0.05), with the exception of AP2-BW pair. The total
C storage changes in value varying from 5958.09 g C m-2
for plot NM2 to 11922.87 g C m-2
for plot
CP1 (Fig. 3).
The C storage varied remarkably among the different pools (Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7). The C stored
in the aboveground biomass were less than 1177.96 g C m-2
, accounting for negligible amounts
(<1% of the total) of total C storage in the ecosystem except corn plantation. The amount of C
stored in SOM accounted for less than 85% of the total C storage in TS, AP2, and NM3, and the C
stored in litter was very low (<1.5%), compared to other pools in the ecosystem. The amount of C
stored in the roots varied from 0 g C m-2
for plot BW, CP1, and CP2 to 2032.32 g C m-2
for plot
NM3, and it accounted for less than 20% of C storage in the grassland.
Fig. 1 Location of study area in Northeast China
264 Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Land-use types
NM1-CP1 AP1-CP2 NM2-TS AP2-BW NM3-AP3
AN
PP
(g m
-2)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
a
b
a
b
a a a b a a
Fig. 2 Change in ANPP based on different land-use types in Dumeng County of Northeast China.
Land-use types
NM1-CP1 AP1-CP2 NM2-TS AP2-BW NM3-AP3
To
tal
C S
tora
ge
(g C
m-2
)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
a a
a
a
a a
a
b
a
a
Fig. 3 Change in total C storage based on different land-use types in Dumeng County of Northeast China. Total C storage includes that in
ANPP, litter, roots, and SOM (0–100-cm soil layer).
Land-use types
NM1-CP1 AP1-CP2 NM2-TS AP2-BW NM3-AP3
C S
tora
ge
(g C
m-2
)
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
a
b
a
b
a aa
ba a
Fig. 4 Carbon storage in aboveground biomass based on different land-use types in Dumeng County of Northeast China.
Applied Mechanics and Materials Vol. 108 265
Land-use types
NM1-CP1 AP1-CP2 NM2-TS AP2-BW NM3-AP3
C S
tora
ge
(g C
m-2
)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
a a
aa
a a
aa a a
Fig. 5 Carbon storage in soil (0–100-cm soil layer) based on different land-use types in Dumeng County of Northeast China
Land-use types
NM1-CP1 AP1-CP2 NM2-TS AP2-BW NM3-AP3
C Storage (g C m-2)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
a
b
ab
Fig. 6 Carbon storage in ground litter based on different land-use types in Dumeng County of Northeast China.
Land-use types
NM1-CP1 AP1-CP2 NM2-TS AP2-BW NM3-AP3
C S
tora
ge
(g C
m-2
)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
a
b
a
b
Fig. 7 Carbon storage in roots based on different land-use types in Dumeng County of Northeast China.
A previous study by Osem et al [15] indicates that increase in species richness is related to
increasing availability of soil resources in the low productivity range, and that primary productivity
can reflect spatial and temporal variation in resource availability across plant communities in semi-
arid Mediterranean grassland ecosystems. In a climate perturbation experiment, Kahmen [16] found
that increasing diversity enhanced below-ground productivity during drought, but above-ground
productivity was reduced. Previous research by Houghton [17] estimated a SOC loss (from 1 m
depth) of 51 Mg C ha-1
when boreal forests were converted to agricultural land-use.
266 Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Conclusions
Land-use and cultivation significantly affected total ecosystem C storage although management-
induced differences in C stocks were confined to differences in above- and belowground biomass C.
Land-use change has significant effects on C storage in meadow steppe of Northeast China.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (no. KZCX2-YW-Q1-06). We thank anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, which helped in improving the manuscript. We also thank He-Ming Lin, Gui-Yan Ai and Jing-Shi Li for laboratory analyses, and other colleagues who participated in the field work. *This work was supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences (no. KZCX2-YW-Q1-06).
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Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.108 Impact of Land-Use Change on Carbon Stocks in Meadow Steppe of Northeast China 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.108.262
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