Changes in soil inorganic carbon following vegetation restoration in the cropland on the Loess Plateau in China: A meta-analysis

Zhenyu Zhao; Keyu Ren; Yang Gao; Mengfan Zhao; Long Zhou; Shaofeng Huo; Jiabin Liu

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123412

Changes in soil inorganic carbon following vegetation restoration in the cropland on the Loess Plateau in China: A meta-analysis

J Environ Manage. 2024 Nov 21:372:123412. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123412. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhenyu Zhao¹, Keyu Ren¹, Yang Gao², Mengfan Zhao³, Long Zhou³, Shaofeng Huo¹, Jiabin Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
² Breeding Base for State Key Lab. of Land Degradation and Ecological Restoration in Northwestern China, Key Lab. of Restoration and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystems in Northwestern China of Ministry of Education, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, 750021, China.
³ College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China.
⁴ College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China. Electronic address: liujb@nwafu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39577192
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123412

Abstract

Vegetation restoration in the cropland has been widely implemented to protect the ecological environment of the Loess Plateau, China. However, a quantitative and comprehensive understanding of the changes in soil inorganic carbon (SIC) after vegetation restoration is lacking. Based on 637 pieces of data from 35 studies on the Loess Plateau, we performed a meta-analysis to quantify the variations in SIC after vegetation restoration in the cropland and analyze the influences of environment factors on the variations in SIC. Overall, SIC significantly increased by 6.73% after vegetation restoration. The conversions of cropland to broadleaf forestland, coniferous forestland and grassland significantly increased the SIC contents by 3.16, 14.77 and 6.32%, respectively. The response ratio of SIC (RR-SIC) to vegetation restoration was positively related with restoration age, the response ratio of soil organic carbon and the soil pH respectively, but was significantly negatively correlated with mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature. The results demonstrated that vegetation restoration in cropland has a high potential to SIC sequestration on the Loess Plateau. The relationship of RR-SIC with environmental factors indicated that the production of pedogenic inorganic carbon plays a crucial role in SIC sequestration after vegetation restoration in the cropland on the Loess Plateau. Our findings highlight that SIC is as vital to soil carbon sequestration as soil organic carbon after vegetation restoration, and SIC should not be neglected for assessing carbon sequestration capacity of vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau.

Keywords: Carbon sequestration; Cropland; Forestland; Grassland; Soil inorganic carbon.