Effect of Vegetation Degradation on Soil Carbon Fractions and Carbon Pool in the Maqu Wetland, China on the Eastern Edge of the Qinghai-tibet Plateau
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The occurrence of vegetation degradation may greatly affect the soil organic carbon (SOC) composition and carbon pool of wetland meadows in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP).However, it is currently unclear how SOC will change under different degrees of degradation.Therefore, we studied the wetland meadows of Maqu, China on the eastern edge of the QPT with different degrees of vegetation degradation (undegraded (UD), light degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD) and severely degraded (HD)), analyzed the impact of vegetation degradation on SOC composition, and calculated the carbon storage management index (CPMI).The results showed that the degradation of vegetation significantly reduces the SOC content of the Maqu wetland.With the aggravation of vegetation degradation, the proportion of SOCs in different fractions showed significant differences, especially in the topsoil layer.The mean CPMI value from 0-40 cm of LD, MD and HD has decreased by 47.29%, 41.64%, and 51.73% respectively compared to UD.It can be seen that vegetation degradation significantly increasing the carbon pool activity index (CAI) of Maqu.Our study suggested that vegetation degradation could considerably reduce the carbon pool index, which decrease the storage of wetland carbon, gradually undermine or even depleting the carbon sink capacity of QTP wetland system.
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Climate action, Life on land
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4402344060