Effect of sampling method on the estimation of soil carbon and nitrogen storages in thicketed semiarid grasslands, Inner Mongolia

doi:10.11686/cyxb20140604

Abstract

Abstract: Large areas of grasslands have been subjected to severe degradation in Inner Mongolia because of long-term overgrazing. Thicketization, associated with an increase in Caragana microphylla, on Inner Mongolian grasslands has resulted in an apparent increase in heterogeneity of the distribution of soil nutrients. Consequently, setting up appropriate sampling points is crucial for accurately evaluating storage of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). In this study we selected three grasslands with different levels of thicketization (different levels of degradation) and analyzed the differences in soil C and N from soil sampled from underneath, the canopy edge, and between C. microphylla shrubs. Soil C and N contents differed at different sampling locations. In lightly thicketed grasslands, carbon storage in the 0-100 cm soil layer varied; soil underneath shrub canopies, the canopy edge and between shrubs contained 8831.26 g C/m², 8174.59 g C/m² and 7716.48 g C/m² respectively. Sample variation was greatest under the shrubs, intermediate at the canopy edge and least between shrubs. Our findings suggest that traditional sampling between shrubs can be used to accurately estimate soil C and N content in thicketed grasslands in Inner Mongolia. However, apparent spatial heterogeneity in soil nutrients was found; soil C and N contents were negatively correlated with shrub size in different grasslands.

CLC Number:

S812.2

CHAI Hua,FANG Jiang-ping,WEN Ding,LI Jie,HE Nian-peng. Effect of sampling method on the estimation of soil carbon and nitrogen storages in thicketed semiarid grasslands, Inner Mongolia[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2014, 23(6): 28-35.

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