Soil organic carbon stocks in relation to elevation gradients in volcanic ash soils of Taiwan
Journal
Geoderma
Journal Volume
209-210
Pages
119-127
Date Issued
2013
Author(s)
Abstract
Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks are controlled by factors with varying degrees of importance at different spatial scales. In this study, soil data were collected from recently sampled pedons and previous studies on volcanic origin soils in Yangmingshan (YMS) National Park in northern Taiwan. This study evaluated the effect of soil order, vegetation type and elevation on the SOC stocks of humid subtropical volcanic ash soils. Analysis results indicate that SOC stock (mean±standard deviation) was 15.6±4.5kgm-2m-1 (n=40) for Andisols and 17.3±7.3kgm-2m-1 (n=20) for Inceptisols with andic soil properties. Meanwhile, SOC stocks under silver grass (17.4±5.5kgm-2m-1, n=20) and bamboo (17.9±2.5kgm-2m-1, n=8) were significantly higher than those under secondary forests (14.9±6.0kgm-2m-1, n=32). Additionally, statistically significant linear regressions were found between the mean SOC stock and the mean of elevation classes. Climate, vegetation types and soil mineralogy vary along elevation gradients in the complex terrain. Our results demonstrated that elevation is a simple and effective predictor of SOC stock. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.
Subjects
Andisol; Climate; Elevation; Soil Organic Carbon (SOC); Vegetation
SDGs
Other Subjects
Andisols; Climate; Elevation; Elevation gradient; Soil organic carbon; Soil organic Carbon stocks; Standard deviation; Volcanic ash soil; Vegetation; Volcanoes; Soils; Andisol; carbon sequestration; complex terrain; sampling; secondary forest; soil carbon; soil organic matter; volcanic ash; volcanic soil; Taiwan; Yangmingshan National Park
Type
journal article