Publication Date:
2012-03-10
Description:
Precise estimation of soil organic carbon storage is essential to assess carbon sequestration in soils at a regional scale. However, there is great uncertainty regarding such estimations for discontinuous soils, especially in peak-karst regions where soil is distributed between horizontal cracks and vertical fissures. In this study, a modified method was developed to estimate the soil organic carbon density (SOCD) in peak-karst regions in southwest China, and four typical sites were selected to evaluate this methodology. Compared with the conventional method, additional soil distribution characters, such as the average depth and the proportions of the ground surface area represented by continuous soil, soil in cracks and fissures, soil on rocks, and rocky soil, were considered in the estimation. The SOCD under each vegetation type was calculated by totaling the SOCD values for the various types of soil surfaces, and the SOCD for a site was then totaled using the weighted mean method based on vegetation. Using the modified method, the SOCD values were estimated for the four typical sites selected. The estimation results demonstrated that the SOCD values for the karst sites (6.39, 7.52, and 9.22 kg m −2 ) were lower than that for the red soil site (10.01 kg m −2 ). The SOCD values estimated for the karst sites using the proposed method ranged from 24.3 to 89.6% of the estimates obtained using the conventional method, reflecting previous overestimations. The differences in the estimated SOCD values were mainly due to soil distribution characters. Content Type Journal Article Category Original Article Pages 1-13 DOI 10.1007/s12665-012-1618-y Authors Hua Zheng, Key Laboratory of Subtropical Agriculture Ecology, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125 China Yirong Su, Key Laboratory of Subtropical Agriculture Ecology, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125 China Xunyang He, Key Laboratory of Subtropical Agriculture Ecology, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125 China Lening Hu, Key Laboratory of Subtropical Agriculture Ecology, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125 China Jinshui Wu, Key Laboratory of Subtropical Agriculture Ecology, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125 China Daoyou Huang, Key Laboratory of Subtropical Agriculture Ecology, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125 China Lei Li, Key Laboratory of Subtropical Agriculture Ecology, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125 China Cixian Zhao, Key Laboratory of Subtropical Agriculture Ecology, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125 China Journal Environmental Earth Sciences Online ISSN 1866-6299 Print ISSN 1866-6280
Print ISSN:
1866-6280
Electronic ISSN:
1866-6299
Topics:
Geosciences
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