title: Maintenance of a living understory enhances soil carbon sequestration in subtropical orchards.
abstract: Orchard understory represents an important component of the orchards, performing numerous functions related to soil quality, water relations and microclimate, but little attention has been paid on its effect on soil C sequestration. In the face of global climate change, fruit producers also require techniques that increase carbon (C) sequestration in a cost-effective manner. Here we present a case study to compare the effects of understory management (sod culture vs. clean tillage) on soil C sequestration in four subtropical orchards. The results of a 10-year study indicated that the maintenance of sod significantly enhanced the soil C stock in the top 1 m of orchard soils. Relative to clean tillage, sod culture increased annual soil C sequestration by 2.85 t C ha(-1), suggesting that understory management based on sod culture offers promising potential for soil carbon sequestration. Considering that China has the largest area of orchards in the world and that few of these orchards currently have sod understories, the establishment and maintenance of sod in orchards can help China increase C sequestration and greatly contribute to achieving CO2 reduction targets at a regional scale and potentially at a national scale.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhanfeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yongbiao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Hongfang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Mingmao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Yaowen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Shejin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Shenglei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D031041:Annona / Q000254:growth & development; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D057965:Carbon Sequestration; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000254:growth & development*; D017753:Ecosystem; D032125:Litchi / Q000254:growth & development; D031647:Psidium / Q000254:growth & development; D029631:Sapindaceae / Q000254:growth & development; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D014329:Tropical Climate
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon