New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts

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Effects of land-use regimes on carbon sequestration in the Loess Plateau, northern China

Xudong Li¹

Hua Fu^1,*

Xiaodong Li¹

Ding Guo¹

Xiaoyu Dong¹

Changgui Wan^1,2

¹Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystem
Ministry of Agriculture
College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology
Lanzhou University
PO Box 61
Lanzhou 730000, China

²Department Range Wildlife and Fisheries Management
Texas Tech University
Lubbock
Texas 79409, USA

^*Corresponding author: fuhua@lzu.edu.cn

Abstract    The effects of different land-use regimes on C sequestration in the terrestrial ecosystems were investigated in the Loess Plateau. We found that the surface soil (0–10 cm) was more active at sequestering carbon after land had been used as grassland. When cropland was converted to grassland, C storage in surface soil (0–10 cm) increased. Grazing exclusion led to vegetation and soil restoration, thus increasing the sequestration of atmospheric C. Intensive cultivation led to a decline of soil organic carbon content in the surface soil of cropland. Long-term application of organic manure accompanied with moderate chemical fertiliser can greatly enhance the C storage in the soil layer below the tilled layer in cropland. In this region, both grassland and cropland can contribute to C sequestration when proper management practice is implemented.

Keywords    carbon sequestration; carbon storage; cropland; grassland; loess plateau

A07049; Online publication date 13 March 2008; Received 23 June 2007; accepted 31 January 2008

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 2008, Vol. 51: 45–52
0028–8233/08/5101–0045 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2008

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