Effects of different restoration years on soil carbon sequestration and water retention capacity in bamboo forest: A case study in Southwest China Karst
{"title":"Effects of different restoration years on soil carbon sequestration and water retention capacity in bamboo forest: A case study in Southwest China Karst","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107434","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Grain for Green Program (GGP) is an ecological protection plan launched by China. In this context, much cultivated land in Southwest China Karst has been converted into bamboo forest to balance both ecological and economic benefits. This study selected typical areas in southern Sichuan Province and used natural bamboo forests (CK) as controls to analyze the changes in soil carbon sequestration and water retention capacity of bamboo forests with different restoration periods. The results showed that there was no significant change in soil mechanical composition during forest restoration. The soil bulk density (BD) showed a decreasing trend overall with the restoration period. The total porosity (P<sub>t</sub>) and capillary porosity (P<sub>c</sub>) showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing with the increase of restoration years, while no obvious change pattern was found in non-capillary porosity (P<sub>o</sub>). The variation characteristics of water retention capacity are similar to porosity, and returning farmland for 5 years can achieve good water retention performance, even higher than CK. The total organic carbon (TOC) and labile organic carbon (LOC) in the soil of bamboo forests after 20 years of returning farmland were significantly higher than those in 5 and 10 years of bamboo forests, and their organic carbon content was close to that of CK. It is worth noting that the soil organic carbon activity reached its optimal state after 10 years of returning farmland. To sum up, the implementation of the project of returning farmland to bamboo can effectively improve the soil carbon sequestration and water retention capacity. The research results provide a scientific basis for the optimization of the measures of the GGP, and help to promote the sustainable development in Southwest China Karst.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11490,"journal":{"name":"Ecological Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ecological Engineering","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857424002593","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The Grain for Green Program (GGP) is an ecological protection plan launched by China. In this context, much cultivated land in Southwest China Karst has been converted into bamboo forest to balance both ecological and economic benefits. This study selected typical areas in southern Sichuan Province and used natural bamboo forests (CK) as controls to analyze the changes in soil carbon sequestration and water retention capacity of bamboo forests with different restoration periods. The results showed that there was no significant change in soil mechanical composition during forest restoration. The soil bulk density (BD) showed a decreasing trend overall with the restoration period. The total porosity (Pt) and capillary porosity (Pc) showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing with the increase of restoration years, while no obvious change pattern was found in non-capillary porosity (Po). The variation characteristics of water retention capacity are similar to porosity, and returning farmland for 5 years can achieve good water retention performance, even higher than CK. The total organic carbon (TOC) and labile organic carbon (LOC) in the soil of bamboo forests after 20 years of returning farmland were significantly higher than those in 5 and 10 years of bamboo forests, and their organic carbon content was close to that of CK. It is worth noting that the soil organic carbon activity reached its optimal state after 10 years of returning farmland. To sum up, the implementation of the project of returning farmland to bamboo can effectively improve the soil carbon sequestration and water retention capacity. The research results provide a scientific basis for the optimization of the measures of the GGP, and help to promote the sustainable development in Southwest China Karst.
期刊介绍:
Ecological engineering has been defined as the design of ecosystems for the mutual benefit of humans and nature. The journal is meant for ecologists who, because of their research interests or occupation, are involved in designing, monitoring, or restoring ecosystems, and can serve as a bridge between ecologists and engineers.
Specific topics covered in the journal include: habitat reconstruction; ecotechnology; synthetic ecology; bioengineering; restoration ecology; ecology conservation; ecosystem rehabilitation; stream and river restoration; reclamation ecology; non-renewable resource conservation. Descriptions of specific applications of ecological engineering are acceptable only when situated within context of adding novelty to current research and emphasizing ecosystem restoration. We do not accept purely descriptive reports on ecosystem structures (such as vegetation surveys), purely physical assessment of materials that can be used for ecological restoration, small-model studies carried out in the laboratory or greenhouse with artificial (waste)water or crop studies, or case studies on conventional wastewater treatment and eutrophication that do not offer an ecosystem restoration approach within the paper.