文摘
Background and aims SOC inventory and soil δ13C were widely used to access the size of soil C pool and to indicate the dynamics of C input and output. The effects of climatic factors and soil physical characteristics and plant litter input on SOC inventory and soil δ13C were analyzed to better understand the dynamics of carbon cycling across ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Methods Field investigation was carried out along the two transects with a total of 1,875?km in length and 200?km in width. Sixty-two soil profiles, distributed in forest, meadow, steppe, and cropland, were stratified sampled every 10?cm from 0 to 40?cm. Results Our result showed that SOC density in forest and meadows were much higher than in steppe and highland barley. In contrast, δ13C in forest and meadow were lower than in steppe and highland barley. Soil δ13C tended to enrich with increasing soil depth but SOC decline. SOC and δ13C (0-0?cm) were correlated with different climatic factors in different ecosystems, such that SOC correlated negatively with MAT in meadow and positively with MAP in steppe; δ13C correlated positively with MAT in meadow and steppe; and δ13C also tended to increase with increasing MAT in forest. Of the variation of SOC, 55.15?% was explained by MAP, pH and silt content and 4.63?% was explained by the interaction between MAT and pH across all the ecosystems except for the cropland. Meanwhile, SOC density explained 27.40?% of variation of soil δ13C. Conclusions It is suggested that different climatic factors controlled the size of the soil C pool in different ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau. SOC density is a key contributor to the variation of soil δ13C.