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Forests
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Forest Soil Carbon and Climate Change
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Forest Soil Carbon and Climate Change

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Soil".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2024) | Viewed by 8254

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yanghui He

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Guest Editor
School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Interests: soil carbon cycle; priming effect; warming; biochar; greenhouse gas
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xuhui Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China
Interests: global change ecology; ecosystem ecology; biogeochemical cycle; ecological modeling and ecoinformatics; data assimilation and ecological forecasting
Dr. Junjiong Shao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China
Interests: global change; carbon cycle; evolutionary history; drought; ecosystem function
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lingyan Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Interests: global change; carbon cycle; Nitrogen; interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forest ecosystems cover ~22% of terrestrial area but contribute ~50% of terrestrial carbon (C) reserves. With ~70% of forest carbon being stored in soils, even slight changes in forest soil C stock could exert significant impacts on the atmospheric CO2 concentration. It is now becoming generally recognized that the magnitude and stability of forest soil C are profoundly influenced by climate changes, such as global warming, changes in precipitation regime, and extreme climatic events. This Special Issue aims to understand the impacts of climate change on soil C cycling, including soil C inputs, outputs, stabilization, and their underlying mechanisms in forest ecosystems. We invite submissions of studies on soil C cycling in response to climate change, which include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  •  Forest soil organic C and its fractions under changing climate;
  •  Forest soil C fluxes in response to temperature and precipitation changes;
  •  Effects of climate change on soil C stabilization in forests;
  •  The interactive effects of global change factors;
  •  Thermal acclimation of soil C microbial-driven C processes in forests;
  •  Simulating soil C dynamics under climate scenario in forests.

Prof. Dr. Yanghui He
Prof. Dr. Xuhui Zhou
Dr. Junjiong Shao
Dr. Lingyan Zhou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • soil carbon cycling
  • soil carbon stability
  • warming
  • drought
  • extreme climate events
  • interactive effects
  • thermal acclimation

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2089 KiB  
Article
The Application of Percolation Theory in Modeling the Vertical Distribution of Soil Organic Carbon in the Changbai Mountains
by Fang Yu and Chunnan Fan
Forests 2024, 15(7), 1155; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15071155 - 3 Jul 2024
Viewed by 674
Abstract
A power-law formulation rooted in percolation theory has proven effective in depicting the vertical distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) in temperate forest subsoils. While the model suggests the solute as the primary factor distributing SOC, this may not hold true in the [...] Read more.
A power-law formulation rooted in percolation theory has proven effective in depicting the vertical distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) in temperate forest subsoils. While the model suggests the solute as the primary factor distributing SOC, this may not hold true in the surface soil in which roots contribute significantly to the SOC. This study in the Changbai Mountains Mixed Forests ecoregion (CMMF) evaluates the SOC profiles in three forests to assess the model’s efficacy throughout the soil column. Prediction of the SOC profile based on the regional average values was also assessed using field data. The observed scaling aligned well with predictions in mixed broadleaved and broadleaved Korean pine mixed forests, but disparities emerged in birch forest, possibly due to waterlogging. The predicted SOC levels correlate strongly with the field data and align well with the normalized average SOC levels. The findings suggest that the model remains applicable in the CMMF when considering root-derived carbon. However, the hindrance of solute transport may have a greater impact than roots do. The spatial heterogeneity of the SOC means that a single predicted SOC value at a specific depth may not fit all sites, but the overall agreement highlights the potential of the model for predicting the average or representative SOC profiles, which could further aid in regional-scale carbon stock estimation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Soil Carbon and Climate Change)
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11 pages, 3364 KiB  
Article
Introducing a New Pyrogenic Podzolic Sub-Horizon to Clarify Organic Matter Pools in Pine Forest Soils
by Marina Nadporozhskaya, Denis Mirin, Vladislava Zhuravleva, Ekaterina Stadnik and Kirill Yakkonen
Forests 2024, 15(1), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15010040 - 23 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1008
Abstract
Pine-green moss forests on Podzols exhibit high susceptibility to fire. Subsequent to wildfire, soot and charcoal enter the soil profile and accumulate in the upper part of the podzolic horizon (E). This process results in the development of a greying pyrogenic podzol horizon [...] Read more.
Pine-green moss forests on Podzols exhibit high susceptibility to fire. Subsequent to wildfire, soot and charcoal enter the soil profile and accumulate in the upper part of the podzolic horizon (E). This process results in the development of a greying pyrogenic podzol horizon (Epyr). The maximum concentration of pyrogenic components accumulates in the surface layer of Epyr, which is 1 to 4 cm thick and the darkest in colour. The comprehensive soil descriptions showed the existence of a fine pyrogenic layer between the forest floor and mineral horizon. This layer was not analysed. The current shift in science towards assessing the environmental aspects of soil organic matter dynamics requires a more detailed study of the soil profile. We suggest distinguishing the pyrogenic organic mineral sub-horizon of the Eopyr as the upper Epyr layer. Our results show this sub-horizon contains sand, humus, detritus, and charcoal. It forms around 6%–22% of the entire organic matter pools in the biologically active part of the soil (0–30 cm). Further research is needed to obtain reliable qualitative and quantitative data on Eopyr. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Soil Carbon and Climate Change)
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19 pages, 3006 KiB  
Article
Divergent Responses of Temperature Sensitivity to Rising Incubation Temperature in Warmed and Un-Warmed Soil: A Mesocosm Experiment from a Subtropical Plantation
by Yong Zheng, Zhijie Yang, Jiacong Zhou, Wei Zheng, Shidong Chen, Weisheng Lin, Decheng Xiong, Chao Xu, Xiaofei Liu and Yusheng Yang
Forests 2023, 14(11), 2164; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14112164 - 30 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1221
Abstract
We conducted a short-term laboratory soil warming incubation experiment, sampling both warmed and un-warmed soils from a subtropical plantation in southeastern China, incubating them at 20 °C, 30 °C, and 40 °C. Our aim was to study the SOC mineralization response to increasing [...] Read more.
We conducted a short-term laboratory soil warming incubation experiment, sampling both warmed and un-warmed soils from a subtropical plantation in southeastern China, incubating them at 20 °C, 30 °C, and 40 °C. Our aim was to study the SOC mineralization response to increasing temperatures. Our findings revealed that the temperature sensitivity (Q10) of SOC mineralization to short-term experimental warming varied between the warmed soil and the un-warmed soil. The Q10 of the un-warmed soil escalated with the temperature treatment (20–30 °C: 1.31, 30–40 °C: 1.63). Conversely, the Q10 of the warmed soil decreased (20–30 °C: 1.57, 30–40 °C: 1.41). Increasing temperature treatments decreased soil substrate availability (dissolved organic C) in both un-warmed and warmed soil. The C-degrading enzyme in un-warmed soil and warmed soil had different trends at different temperatures. In addition, warming decreased soil microbial biomass, resulting in a decrease in the total amount of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and a decrease in the abundance of fungi and Gram-negative bacteria (GN) in both un-warmed and warmed soil. The ratio of fungal to bacterial biomass (F:B) in un-warming soil was significantly higher than that in warmed soil. A drop in the microbial quotient (qMBC) coupled with a rise in the metabolic quotient (qCO2) indicated that warming amplified microbial respiration over microbial growth. The differential Q10 of SOC mineralization in un-warmed and warmed soil, in response to temperature across varying soil, can primarily be attributed to shifts in soil dissolved organic C (DOC), alterations in C-degrading enzyme activities, and modifications in microbial communities (F:B). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Soil Carbon and Climate Change)
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15 pages, 7325 KiB  
Article
Drought Exerted a Stronger Controlling Effect on Soil Carbon Release than Moisturizing in a Global Meta-Analysis
by Jiamin Xiao, Yonghui Lin, Xingbing He, Zaihua He and Xiangshi Kong
Forests 2023, 14(10), 1957; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14101957 - 27 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1298
Abstract
The carbon cycle within a terrestrial ecosystem is a pivotal functional process that drives ecosystem evolution, and the precipitation pattern variations exert a profound influence on it. To comprehensively assess the response of carbon release in the global terrestrial ecosystem to water variation, [...] Read more.
The carbon cycle within a terrestrial ecosystem is a pivotal functional process that drives ecosystem evolution, and the precipitation pattern variations exert a profound influence on it. To comprehensively assess the response of carbon release in the global terrestrial ecosystem to water variation, we performed a global meta-analysis by extracting data from 144 publications. Additionally, we incorporated various moderators to elucidate the heterogeneity observed in the data. The results showed that soil carbon release was highly sensitive to water variation, with drying and moisturizing treatments responding differently to water variability. Specifically, drought inhibited the soil carbon release of terrestrial ecosystems (24% reduction in effect size), but precipitation promoted it (11% increase in effect size). Moreover, this sensitivity could be affected by other ambient factors, depending on water manipulation (drying or moisturizing treatment). In moisturizing treatment cases, ambient precipitation, altitude, and vegetation type more or less affected the sensitivity of soil carbon release to a water increase. However, in drying treatment cases, these factors had no significant influence on the water sensitivity of soil carbon release. Unlike the above ambient factors, a temperature increase strengthened this sensitivity in both of the treatments. In addition, our study also showed that the response of carbon release to water variation did not depend on the substrate type or the carbon–nitrogen ratio (C/N) of the substrates, revealing that these effect factors on carbon release on the local scale could be overshadowed by water conditions. Overall, water variation positively affected soil carbon release on the global scale. Particularly, drought had a strong controlling effect on carbon release over the other environmental factors. Therefore, the impact of soil water loss on carbon release should be of great concern for the management of ecosystems and the prediction of carbon release models, especially when high temperatures and drought have been occurring more and more frequently on the planet in recent years. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Soil Carbon and Climate Change)
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15 pages, 1420 KiB  
Article
Effect of Stand Density on Soil Organic Carbon Storage and Extracellular Enzymes Activity of Larch Plantation in Northeast China
by Xudong Sun, Hailong Sun, Juan Chen, Guoqiang Gao, Rui Li, Jinfang Li, Yang Li, Xiaoyang Sun and Yandong Zhang
Forests 2023, 14(7), 1412; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14071412 - 11 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1344
Abstract
Soil is the largest carbon (C) pool in terrestrial ecosystems. A small change of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage may have a substantial effect on the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, potentially leading to global climate change. Forest stand density has been [...] Read more.
Soil is the largest carbon (C) pool in terrestrial ecosystems. A small change of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage may have a substantial effect on the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, potentially leading to global climate change. Forest stand density has been reported to influence SOC storage, yet the effects are often inconsistent. In order to reveal the mechanisms of effect of stand density on SOC storage, larch plantations with three different stand densities (which were 2000, 3300 and 4400 trees per hectare) were chosen. Soil properties were measured in three soil layers which are: 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm and 40–60 cm. An incubation experiment with 14C-labeled cellulose addition was subsequently conducted to study the decomposition of SOC and cellulose, as well as the enzymes activity involved in C and nutrients cycle. The results showed that SOC storage increased with increasing stand density in larch plantations, which was due to the higher C stored in heavy fraction instead of light fraction in higher density. The decomposition of added cellulose decreased with increasing stand density in each soil layer, as well as the cumulative soil derived CO2 emission rate. The activity of enzymes involved in C-cycle and C- and nitrogen (N)-cycle remained unaffected by stand density in the 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm layers. The enzyme activity involved in the phosphorus (P)-cycle did not change corresponding to the stand density in each soil layer. Enzymes involved in the N-cycle showed the highest activity in the middle stand density in 0–20 cm, but no difference was observed among different densities in the subsurface layer except for tyr in the 40–60 cm layer, which showed the lowest activity in high stand density. Cellulose addition stimulated the extracellular enzymes activity involved in the C-cycle and P-cycle in the 0–20 cm layer, and the stimulation declined with increasing stand density. However, significant stimulation of cellulose addition to C-cycle involved enzymes activity was not found in the subsurface layer. We aim to reveal the mechanism of effects of stand density of larch plantations on SOC storage by focusing on the cellulose and SOC decomposition and the corresponding extracellular enzymes activity. In the plots of higher stand density, larch plantations may lead to a weaker C output and stronger C input, which leads to the higher SOC storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Soil Carbon and Climate Change)
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12 pages, 2570 KiB  
Article
Responses of Soil Organic Carbon Decomposition and Temperature Sensitivity to N and P Fertilization in Different Soil Aggregates in a Subtropical Forest
by Jing Li, Shengen Liu, Xuechao Zhao and Qingkui Wang
Forests 2023, 14(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14010072 - 30 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1869
Abstract
Soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition, a key process controlling the carbon (C) loss from terrestrial soils to the atmosphere, varies with soil aggregate size and is influenced by increasing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs from anthropogenic activities. However, how increasing N and [...] Read more.
Soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition, a key process controlling the carbon (C) loss from terrestrial soils to the atmosphere, varies with soil aggregate size and is influenced by increasing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs from anthropogenic activities. However, how increasing N and P affects SOC decomposition and its temperature sensitivity (Q10) in soil aggregates remains unclear. Thus, we collected soils from a subtropical Cunninghamia lanceolata forest receiving N and P addition for 8 years to explore the interactive effects of N and P fertilization on SOC decomposition and its Q10 in mega-aggregates (>2 mm, MeA), macroaggregates (0.25–2.0 mm, MaA), and microaggregates (<0.25 mm, MiA). Results showed that aggregate size has a huge influence on SOC decomposition and its Q10. Specifically, SOC decomposition in MiA is 49.2% and 26.0% higher than MeA and MaA, respectively. Moreover, the averaged Q10 values were 2.29, 2.26 and 1.83 in MeA, MaA and MiA. SOC decomposition significantly increased by 39.4% in MaA and 23.7% in MiA with N fertilization, but P fertilization had less impact. However, P fertilization increased Q10 by 46.7% in MeA and 46.6% in MaA. Furthermore, we found P fertilization changed the influences of N fertilization on SOC decomposition in MaA and MiA but had no effect on responses of Q10 to N fertilization. Overall, our findings suggested that there were differences in SOC decomposition and Q10 among aggregates, and fertilization treatment had an impact on them. Our results highlighted the significance of considering differences in SOC decomposition and its response to climate warming and nutrient input among different aggregates in the prediction of SOC dynamics and its feedback to environmental changes in terrestrial ecosystems under climate warming scenarios. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forest Soil Carbon and Climate Change)
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