Article
Agronomy
Chen Gong, Qingyue Tan, Guobin Liu, Mingxiang Xu
Summary: Mixed-species plantations are more effective in enhancing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks compared to monoculture plantations, especially in climate-limited regions and with different species combinations. Additionally, a stronger coupling relationship between soil total nitrogen (STN) and SOC stocks was observed in mixed-species plantations.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Gang Li, Shaobo Sun, Nan Lu, Rong Huang, Jianwu Yan, Fan Song, Jichang Han, Ying Wang
Summary: Soil organic carbon stocks (SOCS) on the Loess Plateau (LP) play a critical role in maintaining ecosystem functions and regulating global climate. The impacts of the Grain for Green Program (GGP) and climate change on SOCS have been investigated. The study found that SOCS did not significantly increase after the implementation of the GGP, mainly due to the adverse impacts of climate change and the limited effect of vegetation restoration programs.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lie Xiao, Guobin Liu, Peng Li, Sha Xue
Summary: The study investigated the ecological stoichiometric interactions among plants, soils, and enzymes in the rhizosphere and their effects on secondary plant succession. Results indicated that rhizosphere stoichiometry is a powerful tool for evaluating plant-soil interactions in terrestrial ecosystems.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yulin Liu, Kaibo Wang, Lingbo Dong, Jiwei Li, Xiaozhen Wang, Zhouping Shangguan, Bodong Qu, Lei Deng
Summary: This study conducted a decomposition experiment across four successional stages to investigate the dynamics and mechanisms of litter decomposition and soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration following vegetation succession. The results showed that litter decomposition rates decreased gradually with vegetation succession, and litter quality was the major factor controlling the decomposition rate. The early successional stage had higher rates of litter decomposition and SOC turnover, while the late successional stage showed lower rates. Litter inputs significantly increased SOC content in the early stage, but soil carbon sequestration reached saturation in the late stage.
Article
Forestry
Meng Liang, Yang Wu, Qifan Zhao, Yaokun Jiang, Guobin Liu, Wei Sun, Lihui Ma, Sha Xue
Summary: The diversity and interactions between AMF and nifH gene-expressing bacteria were found to be influenced by vegetation succession on the Loess Plateau in China. The AMF community diversified during secondary succession, while the nifH community showed a decrease and then an increase. The interactions between AMF and nifH bacteria were mainly cooperative in the early and middle stages of succession but became more competitive in later stages.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Mathieu Santonja, Susana Pereira, Thierry Gauquelin, Elodie Quer, Guillaume Simioni, Jean-Marc Limousin, Jean-Marc Ourcival, Ilja M. Reiter, Catherine Fernandez, Virginie Baldy
Summary: Forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean region are important carbon reservoirs, but their contribution to global carbon and nitrogen stocks is often overlooked and poorly quantified. This study quantified the soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in Mediterranean forests and examined how an experimental reduction in precipitation affected these stocks and litter decomposition efficiency. The results showed that the shallowness and stoniness of these forests limited the carbon and nitrogen stocks. Further investigation is needed to understand the impacts of climate change on soil carbon stocks in these forests.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lourens Poorter, Danae M. A. Rozendaal, Frans Bongers, de Jarcilene S. Almeida, Francisco S. Alvarez, Jose Luis Andrade, Luis Felipe Arreola Villa, Justin M. Becknell, Radika Bhaskar, Vanessa Boukili, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Ricardo G. Cesar, Jerome Chave, Robin L. Chazdon, Gabriel Dalla Colletta, Dylan Craven, Ben H. J. de Jong, Julie S. Denslow, Daisy H. Dent, Saara J. DeWalt, Elisa Diaz Garcia, Juan Manuel Dupuy, Sandra M. Duran, Mario M. Espirito Santo, Geraldo Wilson Fernandes, Bryan Finegan, Vanessa Granda Moser, Jefferson S. Hall, Jose Luis Hernandez-Stefanoni, Catarina C. Jakovac, Deborah Kennard, Edwin Lebrija-Trejos, Susan G. Letcher, Madelon Lohbeck, Omar R. Lopez, Erika Marin-Spiotta, Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Jorge A. Meave, Francisco Mora, Vanessa de Souza Moreno, Sandra C. Muller, Rodrigo Munoz, Robert Muscarella, Yule R. F. Nunes, Susana Ochoa-Gaona, Rafael S. Oliveira, Horacio Paz, Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa, Lucia Sanaphre-Villanueva, Marisol Toledo, Maria Uriarte, Luis P. Utrera, Michiel van Breugel, Masha T. van der Sande, Maria D. M. Veloso, S. Joseph Wright, Katia J. Zanini, Jess K. Zimmerman, Mark Westoby
Summary: One-third of Neotropical forests are secondary forests that regrow naturally after agricultural use through secondary succession. Wet and dry forests show marked differences in functional traits and successional pathways. Climatic water availability influences the start and trajectory of succession, resulting in convergence of community trait values with forest age.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Xinyue Zhang, Jinghua Huang, Jing Chen, Guoqing Li, Haoran He, Tianyuan Huang, Jianan Ding
Summary: The secondary succession of plant communities leads to significant changes in the communities of soil microbes and animals, with nematodes as the most abundant animals in soil playing a crucial role in soil biodiversity and functions. This study aimed to explore the changes in nematode diversity and community assembly during forest secondary succession and understand the contributions of different assembly processes. The results showed that plant-parasitic and bacterial-feeding nematodes were less abundant in pioneer and climax forest stages, while fungal-feeding nematodes dominated in these stages. Nematode diversity peaked in the shrub stage but decreased in the climax forest stage, and deterministic processes mainly influenced nematode community assembly in grassland and climax forest stages. Litter and root quality were found to be critical factors in regulating nematode diversity and community assembly.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Lingbo Dong, Jiwei Li, Yu Zhang, Yulin Liu, Ao Li, Zhouping Shangguan, Lei Deng
Summary: The study investigated the effects of different vegetation restoration types on soil carbon mineralization. It found that forestland restoration significantly increased soil CO2 efflux and stable soil organic carbon pool, while decreasing soil carbon mineralization efficiency. Forestland restoration was recommended as the preferred restoration type in the central Loess Plateau due to its lower carbon mineralization efficiency with similar carbon stocks.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Zaixiang Yuan, Qingwei Guan, Xinli Chen, Pengjun Zou, Yuqing Gu, Qian Wu, Yingying Niu, Appiah Ofori Meshack
Summary: The study found that tree species diversity can reduce the total carbon stocks by influencing tree biomass carbon, and increase the carbon and nitrogen stocks in litter through affecting conifer proportion, as well as increase the soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks at the 0-40 cm depth by increasing their stable fractions. Tree species diversity has positive effects on the stocks of microbial carbon, heavy fractions of organic carbon, and mineral associated carbon in soil epipedon. These results reveal the positive impact of tree species diversity on soil carbon and nitrogen stocks and their stability in subtropical secondary forests of China.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mark Bryan Carayugan, Ji Young An, Si Ho Han, Byung Bae Park
Summary: This study monitored litterfall mass, element flux, and nutrient use efficiency in different types of secondary-growth forests in South Korea. The results showed variations in litterfall mass and element concentrations among forests with different tree compositions. Nutrient cycling via litterfall was primarily influenced by litterfall quantity and secondarily by litter element concentration.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yang Wu, Wenjing Chen, Qiang Li, Ziqi Guo, Yuanze Li, Ziwen Zhao, Jiaying Zhai, Guobin Liu, Sha Xue
Summary: Soil ecoenzymatic activity undergoes significant changes during the secondary succession of vegetation on the Loess Plateau, with a decrease in soil microbial metabolic activity as succession progresses. Nutrient limitations in the soil microbial community shift from weak to strong for N and strong to weak for P during succession. The C:N:P acquisition ratios of soil ecoenzymes deviate from 1:1:1, indicating a nutrient-dependent but non-homeostatic nature of secondary succession. Soil physicochemical properties and vegetation play crucial roles in influencing soil enzyme activities.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yanzhang Huang, Zhongbao Xin, Jian Hou, Zongshan Li, Lei Yang, Hedi Yuan, Abdul Majid
Summary: Large-scale ecological restoration practices can increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks significantly, with grasslands showing the highest SOC stocks. This study conducted field investigations on six watersheds in a hilly and gully area of the Loess Plateau, indicating the effectiveness of ecological restoration practices in enhancing SOC stocks.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Chen Gong, Qingyue Tan, Guobin Liu, Mingxiang Xu
Summary: The study found that mixed plantations significantly increased soil total nitrogen (STN) stocks compared to monocultures, with tree-shrub mixed plantations showing greater improvement. Additionally, mixed plantations had more advantages in increasing STN stocks in areas with steep slopes, lower elevations, and climates that were more restricted. Increasing tree species richness was identified as an important strategy to increase STN stocks.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Juan Alberto Molina-Valero, J. Julio Camarero, Juan Gabriel Alvarez-Gonzalez, Matteo Cerioni, Andrea Hevia, Raul Sanchez-Salguero, Dario Martin-Benito, Cesar Perez-Cruzado
Summary: Forests play a vital role in the global carbon cycle, with management practices aimed at enhancing long-term carbon storage. This study focused on the relationship between stand live biomass and naturalness in undisturbed, mature forests, as well as establishing an upper threshold for live biomass stock. Findings suggest that live biomass stock in mature forests may reach a maximum value irrespective of naturalness, indicating the existence of an upper limit for carbon storage in undisturbed mature stands.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
