Forest soils potentially store a large pool of carbon and phosphorus. A deep understanding of the total carbon and phosphorus stock in forest soils is vital in the assessment of the nutrients dynamics in forest ecosystems. This study examined the effects of elevation, soil depth, and climatic variables, specifically mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP), on soil carbon and organic phosphorus in Schrenk's spruce (Picea schrenkiana) forest at Tianshan Mountains. Results showed that soil organic carbon (SOC) significantly increased while organic phosphorus decreased with elevation. Interestingly, carbon increased faster with increasing elevation in the alluvial horizon than in the leached horizon, demonstrating the important role of deep soils in carbon sequestration potential. SOC concentration decreased with soil depth, whereas phosphorus concentration initially decreased and then increased. SOC had no significant relationships with MAT and MAP, whereas phosphorus concentration decreased with MAT. Similar to the impacts of MAT and MAP on SOC, these two climatic variables also exerted no significant influence on C:P ratio.
How to translate text using browser tools
21 February 2019
Soil C:P Ratio along Elevational Gradients in Picea schrenkiana Forest of Tianshan Mountains
Yue'e Cao,
Yao Wang,
Zhonglin Xu
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Polish Journal of Ecology
Vol. 66 • No. 4
December 2018
Vol. 66 • No. 4
December 2018
C:P stoichiometry
carbon stock
climatic condition
elevation
forest soil