JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2020, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (4): 151-158.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-2006.201907016

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Effects of spatial difference between urban and rural areas on soil active organic carbon in Quercus acutissima forests

FAN Hongwang1(), BUI Van Thang1,2(), TAO Xiao1, GUAN Zhiwei3, XU Kefu1()   

  1. 1.School of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
    2.Department of Forestry, The Second Branch of Vietnam Forestry University, Dong Nai Province 81000, Vietnam
    3.Textile Engineering and Academy of Art, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
  • Received:2019-07-12 Revised:2019-11-24 Online:2020-07-22 Published:2020-08-13
  • Contact: XU Kefu E-mail:fhw_0926@163.com;bvthang@ahau.edu.cn;xkf69@163.com

Abstract: Objective

Forests hold the largest carbon stocks of all terrestrial ecosystems, therefore playing a critical role in mitigating global climate change. Soil microbial biomass is often used as an early indicator of changes in soil properties, and has also been used to understand the characteristics and the factors influencing the active organic carbon in forest soils, both in urban and rural environments.

Method

In this study, we selected three forest parks in Hefei City characterized as either urban, rural or suburban, respectively.Soil samples from two upper layers (0-10 cm and ≥10-20 cm) were collected and analyzed for natural forest active organic carbon contents. The effects of urbanization on the forest soil organic carbon were analyzed in order to enhance the understanding of carbon cycles in urban forest ecosystems.

Result

The soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) contents in the central urban area were significantly different (P < 0.001) to those in the suburbs and rural areas. Furthermore, the average annual soil MBC (177.26 mg/kg) in the central urban area was significantly higher than those in the suburbs (97.89 mg/kg) and rural areas (89.91 mg/kg). The annual average DOC of soil varied in the following order: central city (139.59 mg/kg) > rural (99.94 mg/kg) > suburb (96.42 mg/kg). The MBC and DOC of the upper layer of soil in the urban and rural forests were higher than those of the lower soil layer (≥10?20 cm). The MBC of the forest soil in both urban and rural environments changed seasonally, with the highest value observed in autumn (October). However, there were no significant seasonal variations in soil DOC. The correlation analysis indicated that both soil MBC and DOC were significantly correlated with soil organic carbon and total nitrogen (P <0 .001). Furthermore, soil DOC was significantly negatively correlated with pH (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The interaction between environmental factors (in urban, suburban, and rural forests) and soil nutrients illustrated the spatial and temporal patterns of active organic carbon in forest soils along the urban to rural gradient.

Key words: urban-rural gradient, microbial biomass carbon(MBC), dissolved organic carbon(DOC), Quercusacutissima forest

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