Effects of Riparian Land Use Changes on Soil Aggregates and Organic Carbon

Qian, J., Liu, J., Wang, P., Wang, C., Hu, J., Li, K., Lu, B., Tian, X., & Guan, W. (2018). Effects of Riparian Land Use Changes on Soil Aggregates and Organic Carbon. Ecological Engineering. 112, 82-88. DOI:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.12.015.

Abstract

Soil aggregation processes play a crucial role in re-establishing soil structure and function, and protecting soil organic carbon (SOC) to sustain soil fertility and quality. There is a strong interest in preventing soil erosion in the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem. The relationship between soil aggregates and SOC in riparian zones is not as well studied as in terrestrial ecosystems. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of conversion of abandoned lands to cultivated lands on organic carbon (C) and soil structure. Soil samples and plant residues were collected from abandoned lands and cultivated lands which had been converted from abandoned lands over 10 years ago. Results show that SOC content and storage increases by 1.64 times and 6.75 Mg hmâˆ'2, respectively, after the land use change. For cultivated lands, 11.94% of macro-aggregates (>2 mm) were broken into micro-aggregates (