Distribution Characteristics of Active Soil Substances along Elevation Gradients in the Southern of Taihang Mountain, China
Active soil substances, which can indicate environmental changes sensitively, have the fastest turnover rate. Vegetation diversity and soil bio-physicochemical properties according to five elevations classes (800 m, 1000 m, 1100 m, 1200 m, and 1500 m a.s.l.) in the Southern Taihang Mountain were inv...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/2/370 |
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| author | Erpeng Feng Liwei Zhang Yuhua Kong Xingkai Xu Ting Wang Caifeng Wang |
| author_facet | Erpeng Feng Liwei Zhang Yuhua Kong Xingkai Xu Ting Wang Caifeng Wang |
| author_sort | Erpeng Feng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Active soil substances, which can indicate environmental changes sensitively, have the fastest turnover rate. Vegetation diversity and soil bio-physicochemical properties according to five elevations classes (800 m, 1000 m, 1100 m, 1200 m, and 1500 m a.s.l.) in the Southern Taihang Mountain were investigated. Soil ammonium-N (NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>—N), nitrate-N (NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>—N), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and nitrogen (MBN), as well as soil urease (URE) and sucrose (SUC) activities were determined. The results showed that elevation gradients, soil layers, and their interaction had significant effects on most of the active soil substances. With the rise of elevation, soil NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>—N, inorganic N, MBC, and MBN contents, as well as SUC activity and SUC/MBC ratio basically showed an inverted V-shaped distribution trend and reached the peak value at 1100 m (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Soil URE showed a fluctuating upward trend and reached the peak value at 1500 m (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and the URE/MBC ratio showed a straight upward trend. With the depth of soil layer, the contents of active soil substances tended to decrease, showing a phenomenon of surface aggregation. Active soil substances were correlated with plant community diversity indexes, soil water content, pH, available N, and available phosphorus contents, and available N was the main factor affecting active soil substances, which could explain 34.4% of the variation. In summary, at the intermediate slope of 1100 m, soil moisture and tightness were suitable for soil microbial activity and plant growth, the highest contents of active soil substances, indicating a fast turnover of soil carbon and nitrogen. The present study enriched our understanding of soil carbon and nitrogen turnover mechanisms in the mountain ecosystem. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:48:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
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| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-1ee82c4729734e85b9a6178c67876c812023-11-16T20:35:03ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072023-02-0114237010.3390/f14020370Distribution Characteristics of Active Soil Substances along Elevation Gradients in the Southern of Taihang Mountain, ChinaErpeng Feng0Liwei Zhang1Yuhua Kong2Xingkai Xu3Ting Wang4Caifeng Wang5College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaChina Construction Seventh Engineering Division Corp. Ltd., Zhengzhou 450004, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaChina Construction Seventh Engineering Division Corp. Ltd., Zhengzhou 450004, ChinaActive soil substances, which can indicate environmental changes sensitively, have the fastest turnover rate. Vegetation diversity and soil bio-physicochemical properties according to five elevations classes (800 m, 1000 m, 1100 m, 1200 m, and 1500 m a.s.l.) in the Southern Taihang Mountain were investigated. Soil ammonium-N (NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>—N), nitrate-N (NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>—N), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and nitrogen (MBN), as well as soil urease (URE) and sucrose (SUC) activities were determined. The results showed that elevation gradients, soil layers, and their interaction had significant effects on most of the active soil substances. With the rise of elevation, soil NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>—N, inorganic N, MBC, and MBN contents, as well as SUC activity and SUC/MBC ratio basically showed an inverted V-shaped distribution trend and reached the peak value at 1100 m (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Soil URE showed a fluctuating upward trend and reached the peak value at 1500 m (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and the URE/MBC ratio showed a straight upward trend. With the depth of soil layer, the contents of active soil substances tended to decrease, showing a phenomenon of surface aggregation. Active soil substances were correlated with plant community diversity indexes, soil water content, pH, available N, and available phosphorus contents, and available N was the main factor affecting active soil substances, which could explain 34.4% of the variation. In summary, at the intermediate slope of 1100 m, soil moisture and tightness were suitable for soil microbial activity and plant growth, the highest contents of active soil substances, indicating a fast turnover of soil carbon and nitrogen. The present study enriched our understanding of soil carbon and nitrogen turnover mechanisms in the mountain ecosystem.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/2/370active soil substanceselevation gradientsplant diversity indexesTaihang mountain |
| spellingShingle | Erpeng Feng Liwei Zhang Yuhua Kong Xingkai Xu Ting Wang Caifeng Wang Distribution Characteristics of Active Soil Substances along Elevation Gradients in the Southern of Taihang Mountain, China Forests active soil substances elevation gradients plant diversity indexes Taihang mountain |
| title | Distribution Characteristics of Active Soil Substances along Elevation Gradients in the Southern of Taihang Mountain, China |
| title_full | Distribution Characteristics of Active Soil Substances along Elevation Gradients in the Southern of Taihang Mountain, China |
| title_fullStr | Distribution Characteristics of Active Soil Substances along Elevation Gradients in the Southern of Taihang Mountain, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Distribution Characteristics of Active Soil Substances along Elevation Gradients in the Southern of Taihang Mountain, China |
| title_short | Distribution Characteristics of Active Soil Substances along Elevation Gradients in the Southern of Taihang Mountain, China |
| title_sort | distribution characteristics of active soil substances along elevation gradients in the southern of taihang mountain china |
| topic | active soil substances elevation gradients plant diversity indexes Taihang mountain |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/2/370 |
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