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Responses of soil aggregate stability to carbon and nitrogen under precipitation gradients in a desert steppe

Responses of soil aggregate stability to carbon and nitrogen under precipitation gradients in a... PurposeSoil aggregates regulate soil water and temperature, soil fertilizer, and leaf gas exchange. In desert steppes, precipitation restricts the growth and development of plants, and it affects the availability of soil carbon and nitrogen, thereby influencing soil aggregate stability. However, studies on precipitation influence on the stability of aggregates are limited.Materials and methodsHere, we conducted a 2-year field experiment in a desert steppe of Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia, to test the effect of a changing precipitation gradient “reducing precipitation by 50% (W-50%), natural precipitation (W), increasing precipitation by 50% (W+50%), and increasing precipitation by 100% (W+100%)” on the depth distribution, stability of soil aggregates and aggregate-associated organic carbon content (OC), and total nitrogen (TN) contents. We used a wet sieving method yielding silt and clay (SCA, < 0.053 mm), microaggregates (MIA, 0.053–0.25 mm), small macroaggregates (SMA, 0.25–2 mm), and large macroaggregates (LMA, > 2 mm).Results and discussionOur results indicated that the topsoil (0–30 cm) was dominated by SCA and MIA. Increasing precipitation increased soil aggregate stability and reduced soil erodibility by increasing water-stable aggregates (WSA, > 0.25 mm). In this study, the comprehensive soil aggregate stability score was the highest at W+100%. Although LMA serve as the main carriers of SOC and TN, MIA-associated OC and TN had the highest contribution rate to SOC and TN. This study revealed that bulk soil properties including MBN, BD, MBC, and pH significantly influenced aggregate stability. Additionally, WSA-associated OC were found to be the most crucial contributors to soil aggregate stability.ConclusionsOverall, our study indicates that increasing precipitation is beneficial to WSA accumulation and highlighted the vital role of microbial biomass and WSA-associated OC on maintaining soil aggregate stability under precipitation change. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Soils and Sediments Springer Journals

Responses of soil aggregate stability to carbon and nitrogen under precipitation gradients in a desert steppe

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Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
ISSN
1439-0108
eISSN
1614-7480
DOI
10.1007/s11368-023-03708-3
Publisher site
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Abstract

PurposeSoil aggregates regulate soil water and temperature, soil fertilizer, and leaf gas exchange. In desert steppes, precipitation restricts the growth and development of plants, and it affects the availability of soil carbon and nitrogen, thereby influencing soil aggregate stability. However, studies on precipitation influence on the stability of aggregates are limited.Materials and methodsHere, we conducted a 2-year field experiment in a desert steppe of Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia, to test the effect of a changing precipitation gradient “reducing precipitation by 50% (W-50%), natural precipitation (W), increasing precipitation by 50% (W+50%), and increasing precipitation by 100% (W+100%)” on the depth distribution, stability of soil aggregates and aggregate-associated organic carbon content (OC), and total nitrogen (TN) contents. We used a wet sieving method yielding silt and clay (SCA, < 0.053 mm), microaggregates (MIA, 0.053–0.25 mm), small macroaggregates (SMA, 0.25–2 mm), and large macroaggregates (LMA, > 2 mm).Results and discussionOur results indicated that the topsoil (0–30 cm) was dominated by SCA and MIA. Increasing precipitation increased soil aggregate stability and reduced soil erodibility by increasing water-stable aggregates (WSA, > 0.25 mm). In this study, the comprehensive soil aggregate stability score was the highest at W+100%. Although LMA serve as the main carriers of SOC and TN, MIA-associated OC and TN had the highest contribution rate to SOC and TN. This study revealed that bulk soil properties including MBN, BD, MBC, and pH significantly influenced aggregate stability. Additionally, WSA-associated OC were found to be the most crucial contributors to soil aggregate stability.ConclusionsOverall, our study indicates that increasing precipitation is beneficial to WSA accumulation and highlighted the vital role of microbial biomass and WSA-associated OC on maintaining soil aggregate stability under precipitation change.

Journal

Journal of Soils and Sediments – Springer Journals

Published: Mar 1, 2024

Keywords: Desert steppe; Manipulated precipitation gradients; Soil particle size; Soil aggregate stability; Aggregate-associated OC and TN

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