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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2025, Vol. 61 ›› Issue (11): 1-13.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.LYKX20250243

• Frontiers and hot topics •     Next Articles

Effects of Close-to-Nature Transformation on the Chemical Stability of Soil Organic Carbon in Pinus massoniana and Cunninghamia lanceolata Plantations

Weiwei Shu1,3,Angang Ming1,*(),Kun Yang1,Hua Li1,3,Huilin Min1,3,Yi Tao1,Zhongguo Li1,3,Juling Wei1,Shirong Liu2   

  1. 1. Experimental Center of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry Pingxiang 532600
    2. Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091
    3. Guangxi Youyiguan Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station Youyiguan Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station of Guangxi Pingxiang 532600
  • Received:2025-04-19 Revised:2025-08-23 Online:2025-11-25 Published:2025-12-11
  • Contact: Angang Ming E-mail:mingangang0111@163.com

Abstract:

Objective: This study aims to explore the effects of close-to-nature transformation on the chemical composition and distribution evenness of soil organic carbon in subtropical coniferous plantations in south Asia, providing a reference for revealing the mechanism of soil organic carbon chemical stability under close-to-nature management in coniferous plantations. Method: This study focused on close-to-nature transformed stands of Pinus massoniana and Cunninghamia lanceolata, which were thinned and replanted with native broadleaf species (Quercus griffithii and Erythrophleum fordii), as well as untransformed pure stands as controls. Specifically, four plantation types were included: close-to-nature transformed P. massoniana plantation, P. massoniana control plantation, close-to-nature transformed C. lanceolata plantation and C. lanceolata control plantation. The 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to systematically analyze the chemical composition of organic carbon (alkyl C, O-alkyl C, aromatic C, carbonyl C) in soil, litter, and fine roots. The Pielou evenness index was used to assess the distribution evenness of various organic carbon components in the total organic carbon of soil, litter, and fine roots. Result: 1) The close-to-nature transformation significantly altered the organic carbon chemical composition in the litter, fine roots, and soil of P. massoniana plantation: In litter, the proportions of alkyl C increased while O-alkyl C and aromatic C decreased; in fine roots, alkyl C proportion increased while aromatic C proportion decreased; in soil, alkyl C proportion increased while O-alkyl C proportion decreased. However, the transformation had no significant effect on any organic carbon chemical components in litter, fine roots, or soil of C. lanceolata plantation. 2) In the transformed P. massoniana plantation, the alkyl C proportion/O-alkyl C proportion ratio (A/O-A) and the Pielou evenness index of carbon chemical composition in litter and soil significantly increased. 3) The transformation significantly increased soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), but did not significantly affect soil bacterial Chao1 diversity index and Shannon-Wiener diversity index. 4) Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that fine root alkyl C proportion and O-alkyl C proportion were the two most critical factors influencing SOC chemical composition, indicating that, compared to litter, the chemical composition of fine root organic carbon was the key factor leading to differences in SOC chemical composition between the transformed and pure plantation. Conclusion: The influence of close-to-nature transformation on the chemical stability of SOC displays notable species-specificity. Following transformation, the P. massoniana stand has a more uniform distribution of SOC chemical components, along with a significant increase in alkyl C proportion and the alkyl C proportion/O-alkyl C proportion ratio, effectively enhancing chemical stability of organic carbon. In contrast, no comparable effect has been observed in the transformed C. lanceolata stand.

Key words: close-to-nature transformation, SOC chemical composition, Pielou evenness index, chemical stability, Pinus massoniana, Cunninghamia lanceolata

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