"Grain for Green" driven land use change and carbon sequestration on the Loess Plateau, China.
Land-use change is widely considered to be a major factor affecting soil carbon (C) sequestration (ΔCs). This paper studied changes to soil C stocks (Cs) following the conversion of farmland to forest, shrub and grassland across the key area for implementing China's "Grain for Green"--the Loess Plateau. The results are based on a synthesis of 44 recent publications (including 424 observations at 70 sites) which has allowed us to further refine our understanding of the mechanisms driving the increase in Cs following farmland conversion. This synthesis suggests that the ΔCs potential of the Loess Plateau could reach 0.59 Tg yr(-1) based on an estimated annual average ΔCs rate of 0.29 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1). In the region's different rainfall zones both the main contributing factors and Cs dynamics varied. Across the entire Loess Plateau, Cs showed first an increasing (<5 yr) then a decreasing (6-10 yr) tendency only to increase (>10 yr) yet again. In addition, the ΔCs rates depended primarily on restoration age. This synthesis demonstrates that both the initial s Cs and the average annual temperature have a significant effect on ΔCs while the effect of land-use conversion type, rainfall zone, and average annual precipitation were minimal.
1] State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China [2] Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
Lei
L
Deng
1] State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China [2] Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
Zhou-ping
ZP
Shangguan
Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey.
Sandra
S
Sweeney