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Relationship between soil inorganic carbon and organic carbon in the wheat-maize cropland of the North China Plain

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Abstract

Aims

Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) and organic carbon (SOC) play an important role in the global carbon cycle. However, studying of SIC dynamics has been lacking. This study was aimed at evaluating the distribution of SIC and influencing factors in the wheat-maize cropland of the North China Plain.

Methods

We measured contents of SOC, SIC, water-soluble Ca2+ and Mg2+ of 24 soil profile (120 soil samples), and applied various analytical methods to evaluate the spatial distribution of SIC and its relationship with other key parameters.

Results

Mean SOC content decreased from 9.5 g C kg−1 in the 0–20 cm to 4.1 g C kg−1 in 20–40 cm but SIC increased from 8.1 g C kg−1 (0–20 cm) to 12.1 g C kg−1 (80–100 cm). On average, SIC stock over 0–100 cm (16.5 ± 4.7 kg C m−2) was more than twice of SOC stock (7.5 ± 1.4 kg C m−2). In general, SIC stock was lower at the sites far away from the Yellow River.

Conclusions

There is a significantly positive correlation between SIC and SOC stocks (R = 0.74, P < 0.001) in the cropland of the North China Plain. This study implies that SIC accumulation might be enhanced by an increase of SOC and highlights the importance of SIC in carbon sequestration in arid and semi-arid croplands.

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Acknowledgements

This study is financially supported by the Beijing Normal University of Stat-up fund (310232102) and the National Key Basic Research Program (2013CB956602). We appreciate the constructive comments made by two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Xinjiekouwai Street No.19, Haidian District, Beijing, 100875, China

    H. J. Shi, X. J. Wang, D. W. Li & Y. Guo

  2. College of Resource and Environment Science, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050024, China

    Y. J. Zhao

  3. Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Crop Nutrition and Fertilization, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    M. G. Xu

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  1. H. J. Shi
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Correspondence to X. J. Wang.

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Responsible Editor: Zucong Cai.

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Shi, H.J., Wang, X.J., Zhao, Y.J. et al. Relationship between soil inorganic carbon and organic carbon in the wheat-maize cropland of the North China Plain. Plant Soil 418, 423–436 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3310-1

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