Study finds increased leaching of dissolved organic carbon in soil in rubber plantations

Credit: Journal of Environmental Management (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122965
Although rubber plantations bring significant economic benefits, large-scale rubber plantations have significant impacts on the ecological environment, especially in terms of soil physical and chemical properties.
In a study published in the Journal of Environmental Management, researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) found that the conversion of tropical rainforests to rubber plantations is one of the most mobile organic matter (OM) on Earth. The effects on soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were investigated. Terrestrial ecosystems that cause carbon transformation and transport, and the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N).
They also investigated how such transformations mediate these effects by changing soil biogeochemical properties.
The researchers determined that soil DOC and other soil The influence of different land use types on chemical properties was evaluated.
To investigate the role of microorganisms in the DOC conversion process, they further analyzed the relationship between microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) and DOC/DN ratio.
Their results show that the conversion of rainforests to rubber plantations results in increased soil DOC concentrations and decreased soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrients, resulting in increased DOC losses due to limited DOC utilization by microorganisms. It was shown that
Studies have shown that although SOC concentrations are 38.5% lower in rubber plantations than in tropical rainforests, DOC concentrations are 150-200% higher, indicating that the adsorption capacity of rubber plantation soils is lower than in tropical rainforests. There is.
Furthermore, the establishment of rubber agroforestry caused the deterioration of key soil properties including a decrease in pH, electrical conductivity, soil organic carbon, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus, which were significantly negatively associated with DOC. There was a correlation between
Researchers therefore optimized plant density and intercropped nitrogen-fixing legumes in rubber plantations to improve soil health and reduce DOC loss and its potential environmental impact. proposed to introduce it.
Further information: Ashutosh Kumar Singh et al, Detrimental effects of rainforest conversion to rubber plantations on soil dissolved organic carbon and C:N stoichiometry, mediated by changes in soil biogeochemistry, Journal of Environmental Management ( 2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122965
Provided by Chinese Academy of Sciences
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