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Fertilization enhancing carbon sequestration as carbonate in arid cropland: assessments of long-term experiments in northern China

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Abstract

Aims

Soil inorganic carbon (SIC), primarily calcium carbonate, is a major reservoir of carbon in arid lands. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that carbonate might be enhanced in arid cropland, in association with soil fertility improvement via organic amendments.

Methods

We obtained two sets (65 each) of archived soil samples collected in the early and late 2000’s from three long-term experiment sites under wheat-corn cropping with various fertilization treatments in northern China. Soil organic (SOC), SIC and their Stable 13C compositions were determined over the range 0–100 cm.

Results

All sites showed an overall increase of SIC content in soil profiles over time. Particularly, fertilizations led to large SIC accumulation with a range of 101–202 g C m−2 y−1 in the 0–100 cm. Accumulation of pedogenic carbonate under fertilization varied from 60 to 179 g C m−2 y−1 in the 0–100 cm. Organic amendments significantly enhanced carbonate accumulation, in particular in the subsoil.

Conclusions

More carbon was sequestrated in the form of carbonate than as SOC in the arid cropland in northern China. Increasing SOC stock through long-term straw incorporation and manure application in the arid and semi-arid regions also enhanced carbonate accumulation in soil profiles.

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Acknowledgments

This study is financially supported by the Hundred Talented Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Key Basic Research Program (2013CB956602) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (41171239). We are grateful for the reviewers’ constructive comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, China

    X. J. Wang & J. P. Wang

  2. College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University and Joint Center for Global Change Studies, Xinjiekouwai Street No.19, Haidian District, Beijing, 100875, China

    X. J. Wang

  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 & W. J. Zhang

  4. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    J. P. Wang

  5. College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest Agricultural and Forestry Science and Technology University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China

    X. Y. Yang

  6. Institute of Plant Nutrition, Resources and Environment, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450002, China

    S. M. Huang

  7. Institute of Soil and Fertilizer and Agricultural Sparing Water, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi, 830091, China

    H. Liu

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  1. X. J. Wang
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  2. M. G. Xu
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  3. J. P. Wang
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  5. X. Y. Yang
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  7. H. Liu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to X. J. Wang.

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Responsible Editor: Eric Paterson.

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Wang, X.J., Xu, M.G., Wang, J.P. et al. Fertilization enhancing carbon sequestration as carbonate in arid cropland: assessments of long-term experiments in northern China. Plant Soil 380, 89–100 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2077-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2077-x

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