Rights statement: The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04881-5
Accepted author manuscript, 2.19 MB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY-NC: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Aboveground litter inputs determine carbon storage across soil profiles
T2 - a meta-analysis
AU - Xu, S.
AU - Sayer, E.J.
AU - Eisenhauer, N.
AU - Lu, X.
AU - Wang, J.
AU - Liu, C.
N1 - The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04881-5
PY - 2021/5/31
Y1 - 2021/5/31
N2 - Aims: Aboveground plant litter inputs are important sources of soil carbon (C). We aimed to establish how experimentally altered litter inputs affect soil C to 1-m depth across different ecosystems, and over different timeframes. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of 237 studies across 248 sites worldwide to assess the influence of treatment magnitude, treatment duration, initial soil C content, and climate on the response of soil C to altered aboveground litter inputs. Results: Overall, soil C content was lower under litter removal, but higher under litter addition compared to controls. The effects of litter manipulation were apparent throughout the soil profile and were related to treatment magnitude. Soil C content declined markedly with increasing duration of litter removal, whereas the positive effect of litter addition attenuated over time. Cropland management practices (bare fallow or additional straw incorporation) had similar effects on soil C to litter removal and addition treatments. Conclusions: Our study reveals rapid and consistent changes in soil C content with altered litter inputs and provides important insights into plant residue management to enhance soil C sequestration. We highlight the need for long-term experiments, with a greater focus on the processes underpinning soil C storage in different ecosystems.
AB - Aims: Aboveground plant litter inputs are important sources of soil carbon (C). We aimed to establish how experimentally altered litter inputs affect soil C to 1-m depth across different ecosystems, and over different timeframes. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of 237 studies across 248 sites worldwide to assess the influence of treatment magnitude, treatment duration, initial soil C content, and climate on the response of soil C to altered aboveground litter inputs. Results: Overall, soil C content was lower under litter removal, but higher under litter addition compared to controls. The effects of litter manipulation were apparent throughout the soil profile and were related to treatment magnitude. Soil C content declined markedly with increasing duration of litter removal, whereas the positive effect of litter addition attenuated over time. Cropland management practices (bare fallow or additional straw incorporation) had similar effects on soil C to litter removal and addition treatments. Conclusions: Our study reveals rapid and consistent changes in soil C content with altered litter inputs and provides important insights into plant residue management to enhance soil C sequestration. We highlight the need for long-term experiments, with a greater focus on the processes underpinning soil C storage in different ecosystems.
KW - Bare fallow
KW - Litter manipulation
KW - Meta-analysis
KW - Soil carbon stocks
KW - Soil profiles
KW - Thinning
U2 - 10.1007/s11104-021-04881-5
DO - 10.1007/s11104-021-04881-5
M3 - Journal article
VL - 462
SP - 429
EP - 444
JO - Plant and Soil
JF - Plant and Soil
SN - 0032-079X
ER -