The variation of different ecosystems on the terrestrial carbon balance is predicted to be large. We investigated a typical arid region with widespread saline/alkaline soils, and evaluated soil respiration of different agricultural and natural ecosystems. Soil respiration for five ecosystems together with soil temperature, soil moisture, soil pH, soil electric conductivity and soil organic carb...

[1] Soil surface CO2 efflux is an important component of the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems. However, our understanding of mechanistic controls of soil CO2 production and transport is greatly limited. Amultilayer process-based soil CO2 effluxmodel (PATCIS) wasused to evaluate soilCO2production and transport in theDukeForest.CO2production in the soil is the sum of root respiration and so...

To date, few studies are conducted to quantify the effects of reduced ammonium (NH4+) and oxidized nitrate (NO3-) on soil CH4 uptake and N2O emission in the subtropical forests. In this study, NH4Cl and NaNO3 fertilizers were applied at three rates: 0, 40 and 120 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1). Soil CH4 and N2O fluxes were determined twice a week using the static chamber technique and gas chromatography. S...

Crust restoration is increasingly being done but we lack quantitative information on soil improvements. The study aimed to elucidate the dynamics involving soil microbial biomass carbon and soil dissolved organic carbon in the re-vegetation chronosequences of a hillslope land with purple soil in Hengyang, Hunan Province. The soil can cause serious disasters with both soil erosion and seasonal d...

Understanding the dynamics of water distribution in soil is crucial for enhancing our knowledge of managing soil and water resources. The application of X-ray computed tomography (CT) to the plant and soil sciences is now well established. However, few studies have utilized the technique for visualizing water in soil pore spaces. Here this method is utilized to visualize the water in soil in si...

Sorted circles emerge as self-organized patterns from a laterally uniform active layer that becomes laterally sorted as frost heave deforms the interface between a stone layer and an underlying soil layer. In a three-dimensional, cellular model of the active layer, cyclic freezing and thawing drives transport of stone and soil particles by (1) addition of ice particles representing soil expansi...

Soil compaction may affect N mineralization and the subsequent fate of N in agroecosystems. Laboratory incubation and field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of surface soil compaction on soil N mineralization in a claypan soil amended with poultry litter (i.e., Turkey excrement mixed with pine shavings as bedding). In a laboratory study, soil from the surface horizon of a Mex...

The responses of soil respiration to environmental conditions have been studied extensively in various ecosystems. However, little is known about the impacts of temperature and moisture on soils respiration under biological soil crusts. In this study, CO2 efflux from biologically-crusted soils was measured continuously with an automated chamber system in Ningxia, northwest China, from June to O...

Information of spatial and temporal variations of soil quality (soil properties) is required for various purposes of sustainable agriculture development and management. Traditionally, soil quality characterization is done by in situ point soil sampling and subsequent laboratory analysis. Such methodology has limitation for assessing the spatial variability of soil quality. Various researchers i...

Soil microbial properties are known to exhibit high spatial and temporal variability, which can hinder our understanding of the effects of agricultural management on soil microbial activities, populations and communities. However, if this variability is explicitly considered in soil sampling schemes, experimental results can help us better understand soil microbial properties. In this initial a...