Initial soil condition, stand age, and aridity alter the pathways for modifying the soil carbon under afforestation
Zheng, Yang (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research)
Ye, Jiansheng (Lanzhou University. College of Ecology)
Pei, Jiuying (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Fang, Chao (Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. School of Ecology and Applied Meteorology)
Li, Danfeng (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research)
Ke, Wenbin (Lanzhou University. College of Ecology)
Song, Xin (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Sardans i Galobart, Jordi (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Peñuelas, Josep (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	Afforestation is a crucial pathway for ecological restoration and has the potential to modify soil microbial community, thereby impacting the cycling and accumulation of carbon in soil across diverse patterns. However, the overall patterns of how afforestation impacts below-ground carbon cycling processes remain uncertain. In this comprehensive meta-analysis, we systematically evaluated 7045 observations from 210 studies worldwide to evaluate the influence of afforestation on microbial communities, enzyme activities, microbial functions, and associated physicochemical properties of soils. Afforestation increases microbial biomass, carbon and nitrogen hydrolase activities, and microbial respiration, but not carbon oxidase activity and nitrogen decomposition rate. Conversely, afforestation leads to a reduction in the metabolic quotient, with significant alteration of bacterial and fungal community structures and positive effects on the fungi: bacteria ratio rather than alpha and beta diversity metrics. We found a total 77 % increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) content after afforestation, which varied depending on initial SOC content before afforestation, afforestation stand age, and aridity index of afforestation sites. The modified SOC is associated with bacterial community composition along with intracellular metabolic quotient and extracellular carbon degrading enzyme activity playing a role. These findings provide insights into the pathways through which afforestation affects carbon cycling via microorganisms, thus improving our knowledge of soil carbon reservoir's responses to afforestation under global climate change.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-115770RB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2019-110521GB-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017/SGR-1005
Note:	Altres ajuts: the Fundación Ramón Areces Grant CIVP20A6621.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Afforestation ; Initial soil organic carbon ; Stand age ; Aridity index ; Microorganisms ; Carbon accumulation
Published in:	Science of the total environment, Vol. 946 (October 2024) , art. 174448, ISSN 1879-1026

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174448

Available from: 2026-10-30 Postprint

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles