Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-562
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-562
20 Jul 2022
 | 20 Jul 2022

Biotic factors dominantly determine soil inorganic carbon stock across Tibetan alpine grasslands

Junxiao Pan, Jinsong Wang, Dashuan Tian, Ruiyang Zhang, Yang Li, Lei Song, Jiaming Yang, Chunxue Wei, and Shuli Niu

Abstract. Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) pool is a major component of soil C pools, and clarifying the predictors of SIC stock is urgent for decreasing soil C losses and maintaining soil health and ecosystem functions. However, the drivers and their relative effects on the SIC stock at different soil depths remain largely unexplored. Here, we conducted a large-scale sampling to investigate the effects and relative contributions of abiotic (climate and soil) and biotic (plant and microbe) drivers on the SIC stock between topsoils (0–10 cm) and subsoils (20–30 cm) across Tibetan alpine grasslands. Results showed that the SIC stock had no significant differences between the topsoil and subsoil. The SIC stock was positively associated with altitude, pH, and sand proportion, but negatively correlated with mean annual precipitation, plant aboveground biomass, plant coverage, root biomass, soil available nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon, and bacterial and fungal gene abundance. For both soil layers, biotic factors had larger effects on the SIC stock than abiotic factors did. But the relative importance of these determinants varied with soil depth, with the effects of plant and microbial variables on SIC stock weakening with soil depth, whereas the importance of climatic and edaphic variables increasing with soil depth. Specifically, bacterial and fungal gene abundance and plant coverage played dominant roles in regulating SIC stock in the topsoil, while soil pH contributed largely to the variation of SIC stock in the subsoil. Our findings highlight differential drivers over SIC stock with soil depth, which should be considered in biogeochemical models for better simulating and predicting SIC dynamics and its feedbacks to environmental changes.

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

28 Oct 2022
Biotic factors dominantly determine soil inorganic carbon stock across Tibetan alpine grasslands
Junxiao Pan, Jinsong Wang, Dashuan Tian, Ruiyang Zhang, Yang Li, Lei Song, Jiaming Yang, Chunxue Wei, and Shuli Niu
SOIL, 8, 687–698, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-687-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-687-2022, 2022
Short summary

Junxiao Pan et al.

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-562', Enrico Balugani, 04 Aug 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Junxiao Pan, 27 Sep 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-562', Anonymous Referee #2, 01 Sep 2022

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-562', Enrico Balugani, 04 Aug 2022
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Junxiao Pan, 27 Sep 2022
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2022-562', Anonymous Referee #2, 01 Sep 2022

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (27 Sep 2022) by Marta Dondini
AR by Junxiao Pan on behalf of the Authors (06 Oct 2022)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (06 Oct 2022) by Marta Dondini
ED: Publish as is (11 Oct 2022) by Jeanette Whitaker (Executive editor)
AR by Junxiao Pan on behalf of the Authors (12 Oct 2022)  Author's response   Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

28 Oct 2022
Biotic factors dominantly determine soil inorganic carbon stock across Tibetan alpine grasslands
Junxiao Pan, Jinsong Wang, Dashuan Tian, Ruiyang Zhang, Yang Li, Lei Song, Jiaming Yang, Chunxue Wei, and Shuli Niu
SOIL, 8, 687–698, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-687-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-687-2022, 2022
Short summary

Junxiao Pan et al.

Data sets

DATA-soil.xlsx Junxiao Pan https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.20174156

Junxiao Pan et al.

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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

Short summary
Our findings showed that the climatic, edaphic, plant and microbial variables jointly affected SIC stock in the Tibetan grasslands and that biotic factors had a larger contribution than abiotic factors to the variation of SIC stock. The effects of microbial and plant variables on SIC stock weakened with soil depth, while the effects of edaphic variables strengthened. The contrasting responses and drivers of SIC stock highlight differential mechanisms underlying SIC preservation with soil depth.