title: Soil acidity reconstruction based on tree ring information of a dominant species Abies fabri in the subalpine forest ecosystems in southwest China.
abstract: To assess the suitability of dendrochemistry as an indicator of soil acidification, soil chemistry and tree ring information of Abies fabri were measured at two distinct sites (severe acid deposition site-Emei Mountain and clean site-Gongga Mountain) of the subalpine forest ecosystems of western Sichuan, southwest China. The actual soil acidity (pH) was significantly correlated with some of the recent xylem cation (Ca, Mg, Mn, Al, Sr and Ba) concentrations and their molar ratios. Xylem Ca/Mg and Ca/Mn of A. fabri were ultimately selected to reconstruct the historical changes of soil pH in Emei Mountain and Gongga Mountain, respectively. The validity of those rebuild was also verified to a certain extent. We conclude that xylem cation molar ratios of A. fabri were superior to the single cation concentrations in soil acidity rebuild at the study sites due to normalizing for concentration fluctuations.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Subtropical Wetland Ecosystem Research, Ministry of Education of China, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Fei-Hua
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ting-Wu
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhen-Ji
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhen-Ming
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Hai-Lei
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D028202:Abies / Q000737:chemistry*; D015258:Acid Rain; D000143:Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D002412:Cations / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014197:Trees; D052584:Xylem / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015258:Acid Rain; D000143:Acids; D002412:Cations; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants