Warming rather than increased precipitation increases soil recalcitrant organic carbon in a semiarid grassland after 6 years of treatments.

ABSTRACT: Improved understanding of changes in soil recalcitrant organic carbon (C) in response to global warming is critical for predicting changes in soil organic C (SOC) storage. Here, we took advantage of a long-term field experiment with increased temperature and precipitation to investigate the effects of warming, increased precipitation and their interactions on SOC fraction in a semiarid Inner Mongolian grassland of northern China since April 2005. We quantified labile SOC, recalcitrant SOC and stable SOC at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depths. Results showed that neither warming nor increased precipitation affected total SOC and stable SOC at either depth. Increased precipitation significantly increased labile SOC at the 0-10 cm depth. Warming decreased labile SOC (P = 0.038) and marginally but signif

SUBMITTER: Zhou X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3544855 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature