Effects of Biochar on Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Degraded Alpine Grasslands—A Study on Arid Regions in Central Asia
Numerous studies have reported the importance of soil organic carbon (SOC) in grassland ecosystems and its response to soil degradation, but the effect of biochar application on SOC pools in degraded alpine grasslands remains unclear. Here, we set up nine biochar addition treatments with a combinati...
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2025-05-01
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| author | Yunpeng Hu Maidinuer Abulaizi Yuxin Tian Yang Hu Mo Chen Keyi Li Yuanbin Jia Tianle Kou Jianqin Zhou Hongtao Jia |
| author_facet | Yunpeng Hu Maidinuer Abulaizi Yuxin Tian Yang Hu Mo Chen Keyi Li Yuanbin Jia Tianle Kou Jianqin Zhou Hongtao Jia |
| author_sort | Yunpeng Hu |
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| description | Numerous studies have reported the importance of soil organic carbon (SOC) in grassland ecosystems and its response to soil degradation, but the effect of biochar application on SOC pools in degraded alpine grasslands remains unclear. Here, we set up nine biochar addition treatments with a combination of three different biochar particle sizes (0~0.25 mm, 0.25~1 mm, and 1~2 mm) and three different biochar additions (1%, 2%, and 4%), and conducted a short-term observational experiment over a 7-month period in the non-degraded (ND), lightly degraded (LD), and severely degraded (SD) zones of alpine grassland. The results showed that the addition of 0.25~1 mm/2% and 1~2 mm/4% biochar increased the SOC storage in LD and SD by 2.03 kg m<sup>−2</sup> and 1.19 kg m<sup>−2</sup>, respectively. The addition of biochar decreased the stability of the soil carbon pools, but the stability of the soil carbon pools increased with time. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that changes in biochar application and particle size would indirectly affect the stability of soil carbon pools by influencing soil and plant indicators, while changes in electrical conductivity (EC) were the key factors influencing the changes of soil carbon pools in degraded LD and SD grasslands. These results can provide technical support and theoretical basis for realizing the benign development of degraded alpine grassland ecosystems and the “carbon neutral” strategy in arid areas. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| spelling | doaj-art-65bc6209bcfa45f7973d4db18febf41a2025-08-20T03:47:59ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2025-05-01145101810.3390/land14051018Effects of Biochar on Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Degraded Alpine Grasslands—A Study on Arid Regions in Central AsiaYunpeng Hu0Maidinuer Abulaizi1Yuxin Tian2Yang Hu3Mo Chen4Keyi Li5Yuanbin Jia6Tianle Kou7Jianqin Zhou8Hongtao Jia9College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, ChinaCollege of Grassland Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, ChinaCollege of Grassland Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, ChinaCollege of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaCollege of Grassland Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, ChinaCollege of Grassland Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, ChinaNumerous studies have reported the importance of soil organic carbon (SOC) in grassland ecosystems and its response to soil degradation, but the effect of biochar application on SOC pools in degraded alpine grasslands remains unclear. Here, we set up nine biochar addition treatments with a combination of three different biochar particle sizes (0~0.25 mm, 0.25~1 mm, and 1~2 mm) and three different biochar additions (1%, 2%, and 4%), and conducted a short-term observational experiment over a 7-month period in the non-degraded (ND), lightly degraded (LD), and severely degraded (SD) zones of alpine grassland. The results showed that the addition of 0.25~1 mm/2% and 1~2 mm/4% biochar increased the SOC storage in LD and SD by 2.03 kg m<sup>−2</sup> and 1.19 kg m<sup>−2</sup>, respectively. The addition of biochar decreased the stability of the soil carbon pools, but the stability of the soil carbon pools increased with time. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that changes in biochar application and particle size would indirectly affect the stability of soil carbon pools by influencing soil and plant indicators, while changes in electrical conductivity (EC) were the key factors influencing the changes of soil carbon pools in degraded LD and SD grasslands. These results can provide technical support and theoretical basis for realizing the benign development of degraded alpine grassland ecosystems and the “carbon neutral” strategy in arid areas.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/5/1018soil organic carboncarbon pool stabilitybiochar additiongrassland degradationrestoration |
| spellingShingle | Yunpeng Hu Maidinuer Abulaizi Yuxin Tian Yang Hu Mo Chen Keyi Li Yuanbin Jia Tianle Kou Jianqin Zhou Hongtao Jia Effects of Biochar on Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Degraded Alpine Grasslands—A Study on Arid Regions in Central Asia Land soil organic carbon carbon pool stability biochar addition grassland degradation restoration |
| title | Effects of Biochar on Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Degraded Alpine Grasslands—A Study on Arid Regions in Central Asia |
| title_full | Effects of Biochar on Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Degraded Alpine Grasslands—A Study on Arid Regions in Central Asia |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Biochar on Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Degraded Alpine Grasslands—A Study on Arid Regions in Central Asia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Biochar on Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Degraded Alpine Grasslands—A Study on Arid Regions in Central Asia |
| title_short | Effects of Biochar on Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Degraded Alpine Grasslands—A Study on Arid Regions in Central Asia |
| title_sort | effects of biochar on soil organic carbon stability in degraded alpine grasslands a study on arid regions in central asia |
| topic | soil organic carbon carbon pool stability biochar addition grassland degradation restoration |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/5/1018 |
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