The effect of afforestation on inorganic carbon in soils of arid
and semi-arid lands of northwest China
Xinglin Zhu 1,2, Jianhua Si 1*, Bing
Jia 1, Xiaohui He 1,2,3, Dongmeng
Zhou 1,2, Chunlin Wang 1,2, Jie Qin1,2, and Zijin Liu 1,2
1 Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydrology of Inland River
Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China, 2 University of
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, 3 Faculty
of Resources and Environment, Baotou Teachers’ College, Inner Mongolia
University of Science and Technology, Baotou, China
Abstract: Alxa is a region with severe land desertification and
extreme ecological fragility in China. The plantation in the area has
effectively curbed the desertification of the local land. However,
Studies on soil inorganic carbon(SIC)dynamics after sandy land
afforestation are still relatively few. Understanding SIC profiles’
distribution and stock changes after afforestation is essential for
assessing regional, continental, and global soil carbon sink potential.
Using 5, 11, 22, and 46 years of Haloxylon ammodendron (H. ammodendron)
plantations and control sands (MS) in the Alxa region, we studied the
variation characteristics of SIC with increasing stand age from 0 to 300
cm. Within the 0-300 cm soil layer, SIC storage increased significantly
after afforestation, with 46yrs increasing by 6.52 kg
m-2 compared to MS. SIC sequestration rate (CSR)
decreased with increasing stand age, in the order of 5yrs(0.054 kg
m-2 yr-1)>11yrs(0.025 kg
m-2 yr-1)>22yrs(0.016 kg
m-2 yr-1)>46yrs(0.009 kg
m-2 yr-1). The
100~300 cm SIC storage accounts for over 60% of the SIC
pool. Soil carbon pool estimation will be largely underestimated if only
the shallow SIC is considered.
Keywords: Soil inorganic carbon; Haloxylon ammodendron
plantations; Stand age; Afforestation