Welcome to visit Scientia Silvae Sinicae,Today is

Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2022, Vol. 58 ›› Issue (2): 49-57.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.20220206

• Frontier & Focus: Topic of forest carbon sequestration • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Latitudinal Distribution of Forest Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon and Its Affecting Factors in China

Sha Zhou1,Huanfei Ma1,Jieying Wang1,Chengjie Ren2,Yaoxin Guo3,Jun Wang1,4,*,Fazhu Zhao1   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity of Shaanxi Province College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University Xi'an 710127
    2. College of Agronomy, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University Yangling 712100
    3. College of Life Science, Northwest University Xi'an 710127
    4. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources Yangling 712100
  • Received:2021-05-31 Online:2022-02-25 Published:2022-04-26
  • Contact: Jun Wang

Abstract:

Objective: The study aims to investigate the patterns of latitudinal variation of soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and its driving forces, further to reveal the effect and mechanism of soil MBC content across forest ecosystems along the latitudinal gradients in China, providing a theoretical basis for understanding forest soil carbon turnover and sequestration in the context of global warming. Method: Ten typical forest ecosystems along the latitude gradients in China were selected to measure soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) contents at 0-10 cm soil layer, and the correlation between MBC and abiotic factors (climate factors, soil physical and chemical properties) were conducted. Result: The MBC content of the forest soil decreased with decreasing latitude, ranging from (200.57 ± 13.99) mg·kg-1 to (913.32 ± 39.62) mg·kg-1. The soil MBC content and soil physical and chemical properties were positively correlated (r=0.51, P < 0.01). Highly significant positive correlation with the soil MBC content were identified in soil organic carbon content (r=0.64, P < 0.01), soil sand content (r=0.48, P < 0.01), soil hydrolase activity (r=0.48, P < 0.01), soil total phosphorus content (r=0.47, P < 0.01), pH value (r=0.43, P < 0.01) and soil total nitrogen content (r=0.31, P < 0.01). While silt content (r=0.15, P < 0.05) and soil oxidase activity (r=0.15, P < 0.05) were significantly positively correlated with MBC content. Both the mean annual temperature (r=0.31, P < 0.01), and the alkyl carbon content (r=0.21, P < 0.01) in the chemical structure of soil organic carbon were highly positively correlated with MBC content. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated a prominent decrease of MBC content along the latitude, with the main affecting factors being soil texture, soil nutrient, soil enzyme activities, and soil alkyl carbon content, followed by mean annual temperature.

Key words: forest soil, microbial biomass carbon, latitudinal gradient, soil physicochemical properties, climate factors, alkyl carbon

CLC Number: