Soil physico-chemical properties are critical for predicting carbon storage and nutrient availability across Australia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15548763 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jinquan Li (0000-0002-2219-2571, Fudan University), Mintao Nie (0000-0003-0702-8009, Fudan University, corresponding author), J Richard Powell (0000-0003-1091-2452, Western Sydney University), Andrew Bissett (0000-0001-7396-1484, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere), Elise Pendall (0000-0002-1651-8969, Western Sydney University) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 094088-094088 |
| Publication date | 2020-06-23 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/ab9f7e |
| OpenAlex | W3037058805 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 55 |
Soil carbon and nutrient availability play crucial roles in ecosystem sustainability, and they are controlled by the interaction of climatic, biotic, and soil physico-chemical variables. Although soil physico-chemical properties have been recognized as vital variables for predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrients, their relative influence across broad geographical scales has yet to be evaluated when simultaneously considering many other drivers. Using boosted regression tree and structural equation modelling analyses of observations from topsoil (0–10 cm) and subsoil (20–30 cm) at 628 sites across Australia, we investigated the effects and relative influence of climate (mean annual temperature and aridity index), plant productivity, soil biodiversity (bacterial and fungal richness), and soil physical (clay and silt) and chemical (pH and iron) properties on SOC content and nutrient availability (i.e. nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). Among these variables, we found that soil physico-chemical properties primarily predicted the continent-scale SOC storage and nutrient availability. In contrast, climate, plant productivity, and soil biodiversity played relatively small roles. The importance of physico-chemical properties was evident across soil depths and ecosystem types (i.e. tropical, temperate, arid, and cropland). Our findings point to the need to better understand the role of soil physico-chemical properties in soil carbon and nutrient cycling and including these variables in predictions of SOC and nutrient dynamics at the ecosystem to continental scale
Biology · Ecosystem · Nutrient · Soil biodiversity · Soil carbon · Soil fertility · Soil water · Subsoil · Topsoil · Environmental Science · Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics · Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics · Soil Geostatistics and Mapping · Ecology · Soil Science
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Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas
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Soil Carbon Sequestration Impacts on Global Climate Change and Food Security
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A working guide to boosted regression trees
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| Highly cited | No |
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