Reverse diversity-biomass patterns in grasslands are constrained by climates and stoichiometry along an elevational gradient.

Diversity and biomass play an important role in grassland ecosystem functions. However, diversity and biomass are variable because of their high sensitivity to environmental change in natural ecosystems. How plant diversity, biomass, and driving factors (climates, soils, and plants) in grasslands vary with environmental change remains unclear. We conducted intensive fieldwork (≈1000 km transect) on plant diversity, biomass, and associated drivers (i.e., climates, soils, and plants) to identify the patterns of diversity and biomass along an elevational gradient (50-4000 m) in grasslands of southwest China. Grassland biomass decreased significantly, but grassland diversity increased with increasing elevation. Consequently, a significant reverse pattern between biomass and diversity was detected along an elevational gradient. We also observed that the reverse pattern was primarily driven by the shifts in climates (i.e., temperature and precipitation), leaf stoichiometric traits (i.e., leaf N:P ratio), and soil properties (i.e., soil N content) along the elevational gradient. Our results contradicted previous studies on the positive diversity-biomass relationships, suggesting that previous studies might weaken the effects of climatic factors and plant stoichiometry under environmental change. These findings revealed that the reverse pattern between diversity and biomass in grasslands was shaped by the combined effects (climates, plants, soils) in grasslands, thus providing new insights into the debates and predictions on the diversity and biomass in grasslands under climate change.

Divergent linkages of soil phosphorus fractions to edaphic properties following afforestation in the riparian zone of the upper Yangtze river, China.

Soil phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient element for plant growth but it is also one of the elements of agricultural-dominated watershed pollution. While the vegetation in the riparian zone usually plays an important role in regulating P pollutants. However, how afforestation affects soil P dynamics and fractions in the riparian zone remains largely unclear. Here, we investigated soil P fractions, and associated drivers including edaphic properties, microbial attributes, and soil enzyme activities under conversion from cropland to different afforested lands in order to better understand the dynamics of soil P fractions in the riparian zone of the upper Yangtze River. We found that afforestation significantly decreased the concentrations of available phosphorus, microbial biomass P, and labile P fractions, but the moderately labile P and Stable P did not significantly differ among afforestation types. Particularly, the lowest concentration of labile P was observed in Morus alba (M.a.) forests followed by the Salix babylonica (S.b.) forests, whereas croplands generally exhibited an inverse trend with a higher labile P concentration compared to woodlands, especially in croplands nearby Morus alba forests. Generally, P fractions were negatively associated with soil pH and C:N ratio, while positively related to microbial attributes, N:P ratio, and alkaline phosphatase activities. The labile P and moderately labile P fractions were predominantly regulated by biotic factors (i.e., microbial biomass P, microbial biomass N, leucine amino peptidase), whereas the stable P was strongly related to abiotic factors (i.e., total C concentration, pH, C:N ratio). These findings indicate afforestation is conducive to intercept more labile P, resulting in reduced P leaching to rivers. Collectively, our results not only offer direct experimental insight into predicting the effects of afforestation on soil P fractions but also have important implications for agricultural pollution management and reforestation strategies in the riparian zone.

Effects of land use on the heavy metal pollution in mangrove sediments: Study on a whole island scale in Hainan, China.

In recent decades, mangrove ecosystems at coastal zone are experiencing rapid land-use conversion, however effects of land use on the heavy metal pollution in mangrove sediments still are not clear. This study investigated the concentration and distribution of heavy metals (including chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd)) in different mangrove sediments with different land-use patterns along seashore of the whole Hainan island (with the third largest mangrove area of China). The effects of land use on the accumulation of heavy metals in these mangrove sediments are also analyzed. The results showed contaminations of ∑6Metals in this study following the order of arable lands (ARAB) > aquaculture ponds (AQUA) > riverine area (RIVER) > ecological area (ECOL) > construction area (CONS). Accumulation degree of As and Cd were high in the AQUA, ARAB, and RIVER area. As metal hotspots, ARAB, RIVER and AQUA area showed the deteriorated sediment quality with high pollution load index (>1). Redundancy discriminate analysis revealed that mangrove, paddy lands and aquaculture ponds related activities correlated well with the metal pollution. The results clearly revealed that different land uses would not only change the accumulation capacity of mangrove soil for heavy metals, but also contribute different sources of heavy metal pollution. These findings do help to facilitate land-use planning and contribute to guide a better mangrove wetland management at coastal zone.

Relationships between above- and below-ground carbon stocks in mangrove forests facilitate better estimation of total mangrove blue carbon.

BACKGROUND: Although great efforts have been made to quantify mangrove carbon stocks, accurate estimations of below-ground carbon stocks remain unreliable. In this study, we examined the distribution patterns of mangrove carbon stocks in China and other countries using our own field survey data and datasets from published literature. Based on these data, we investigated the possible relationships between above-ground carbon stock (AGC) and below-ground carbon stock (BGC) for mangrove forests, aiming to provide a scientific basis for estimation of total mangrove carbon stocks. RESULTS: The average above-ground carbon stock in each region was sizeable (ranging from 12.0 to 150.2 Mg/ha), but average below-ground carbon stock was dominant (ranging from 46.6 to 388.6 Mg/ha), accounting for 69-91% of total carbon stock at the sites studied in China. Significant positive relationships were found between above-ground and below-ground mangrove carbon stocks, with the best fitting equation as BGC = 1.58 * AGC + 81.06 (Mg/ha, R2 = 0.62, p < 0.01, n = 122) for China. Such linear relationships vary for mangrove forests of different types and locations, from different geographical regions in China to other countries worldwide. CONCLUSION: The positive relationship we found between above- and below-ground carbon stocks of mangrove forests in China and worldwide can facilitate more accurate assessments of mangrove blue carbon stocks at regional or global scales using modern techniques including remote sensing.

[Concentration and Source of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Snowpits of the Tibetan Plateau].

Snowpit samples of three glaciers (Laohugou NO. 12 Glacier (LHG), Small Dongkemadi Glacier on Mount Tanggula (TGL) and East Ronghuk Glacier on Mount Everest (ZF)) in the Tibetan Plateau were collected. Concentrations of DOC and major ions were analyzed. The results showed that average DOC concentrations of the snowpits of LHG, TGL and ZF were (250.30 +/- 157.10), (216.92 +/- 142.82) and (152.50 +/- 56.11) microg x L(-1), respectively. DOC of TGL and ZF accounted for large parts of total values of DOC and ions. Correspondingly, DOC of LHG accounted for small part (only 5%), because LHG was located at north China and intensively influenced by natural mineral dust, which caused high concentrations of Ca2+ (the highest value could reach 5299.18 microg x L(-1)) and consequently low percentage of DOC of snowpit samples. Correlation and PCA analyses were used to study the sources of DOC. DOC was significantly correlated with Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and SO4(2-). Additionally, PCA further indicated that the main potential source of DOC was the natural source of mineral dust. Meanwhile, anthropogenic pollutants (e.g., biomass, fossil combustion and agricultural related pollutants) could also not be ignored. Moreover, the carbon depositional fluxes of three snowpits were roughly estimated, and the values of LHG, TGL and ZF snowpits were 189.23, 132.76 and 128.44 mg (m2 x a)(-1), respectively, which played a significant role in the carbon cycle in this region and was also helpful for the study of glaciers fluctuation.

[Study on soil element background values of the Hoh Xil area in north Tibet].

Hoh Xil locates at northern part of the Tibetan Plateau. Twenty five surface soil samples were collected from this area in 2007 and 32 elements were analyzed and compared to the element contents of Yarlung Zangbo river sediment, background element value of the Tibetan surface soil and the Chinese Continental crust contents. The results showed that the element contents of the < 20 microm fraction were higher than those of bulk samples; Contents of many elements of this study were similar to those of the Tibetan soil. Meanwhile, contents of Ca and As of the studied area were higher than those of Chinese continental crust, resulting mainly from local alpine arid climate and widely distributed the rocks that enriched in As, respectively. The EOF analysis of the contents of bulk soil samples revealed the sources and chemical properties of studied elements: many elements such as Al, Fe, Ga inherit the characteristics of the parent rocks of this region. Meanwhile, elements with an active chemical property and the element Zr that specially existed in the heavy minerals also had a certain contribution to the contents. The contents of B and Cs revealed contribution of hot springs to the soil of studied area.