Soil functions and ecosystem services research in the Chinese karst Critical Zone

Sophie M. Green; Jennifer A.J. Dungait; Chenglong Tu; Heather Buss; Nicole Sanderson; Simon J Hawkes; Kaixiong Xing; Fujun Yue; Victoria Hussey; Jian Peng; Penny Johnes; Timothy Barrows; Iain P. Hartley; Xianwei Song; Zihan Jiang; Jeroen Meersmans; Xinyu Zhang; Jing Tian; Xiuchen Wu; Hongyan Liu; Zhaoliang Song; Richard Evershed; Yang Gao; Timothy Quine

doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.03.018

Soil functions and ecosystem services research in the Chinese karst Critical Zone

Sophie M. Green, Jennifer A.J. Dungait, Chenglong Tu, Heather Buss, Nicole Sanderson, Simon J Hawkes, Kaixiong Xing, Fujun Yue, Victoria Hussey, Jian Peng, Penny Johnes, Timothy Barrows, Iain P. Hartley, Xianwei Song, Zihan Jiang, Jeroen Meersmans, Xinyu Zhang, Jing Tian, Xiuchen Wu, Hongyan LiuZhaoliang Song, Richard Evershed, Yang Gao, Timothy Quine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

145 Citations (Scopus)

682 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Covering extensive parts of China, karst is a critically important landscape that has experienced rapid and intensive land use change and associated ecosystem degradation within only the last 50 years. In the natural state, key ecosystem services delivered by these landscapes include regulation of the hydrological cycle, nutrient cycling and supply, carbon storage in soils and biomass, nutrient cycling, biodiversity and food production. Intensification of agriculture since the late-20th century has led to a rapid deterioration in Critical Zone (CZ) state, evidenced by reduced crop production and rapid loss of soil. In many areas, an ecological ‘tipping point’ appears to have been passed as basement rock is exposed and ‘rocky desertification’ dominates. This paper reviews contemporary research of soil processes and ecosystems service delivery in Chinese karst ecosystems, with an emphasis on soil degradation and the potential for ecosystem recovery through sustainable management. It is clear that currently there is limited understanding of the geological, hydrological and ecological processes that control soil functions in these landscapes, which is critical for developing management strategies to optimise ecosystem service delivery. This knowledge gap presents a classic CZ scientific challenge because an integrated multidisciplinary approach is essential to quantify the responses of soils in the Chinese karst CZ to extreme anthropogenic perturbation, to develop a mechanistic understanding of their resilience to environmental stressors, and thereby to inform strategies to recover and maintain sustainable soil function.

Keywords: karst, critical zone, China, soil processes, soil degradation, ecosystem services

Original language	English
Article number	119107
Number of pages	55
Journal	Chemical Geology
Volume	527
Early online date	21 Mar 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.03.018
Publication status	Published - 20 Nov 2019

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 2 Zero Hunger
SDG 15 Life on Land

Research Groups and Themes

Organic & Biological

Keywords

karst
critical zone
China
soil processes
soil degradation
ecosystem services

Access to Document

10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.03.018

Full-text PDF (accepted author manuscript)
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Accepted author manuscript, 2.85 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

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Using δ¹³C to reveal the importance of different water transport pathways in two nested karst basins, Southwest China
Hao, Z., Gao, Y., Ma, M., Green, S. M., Wang, J., Song, X., Dungait, J. A. J., Johnes, P. J., Xiong, B., Quine, T. A., Sun, X., Wen, X. & He, N., 1 Apr 2019, In: Journal of Hydrology. 571, p. 425-436 12 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

Open Access
File
19 Citations (Scopus)

289 Downloads (Pure)
Base cations and micronutrients in soil aggregates as affected by enhanced nitrogen and water inputs in a semi-arid steppe grassland
Wang, R., Dungait, J. A. J., Buss, H. L., Yang, S., Zhang, Y., Xu, Z. & Jiang, Y., 1 Jan 2017, In: Science of the Total Environment. 575, p. 564-572 9 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

Open Access
File
75 Citations (Scopus)

661 Downloads (Pure)
Ecosystem service delivery in Karst landscapes: anthropogenic perturbation and recovery
Quine, T., Guo, D., Green, S. M., Tu, C., Hartley, I., Zhang, X., Dungait, J., Wen, X., Song, Z., Liu, H., Buss, H., Barrows, T., Evershed, R., Johnes, P. & Meersmans, J., 1 Sept 2017, In: Acta Geochimica. 36, 3, p. 416-420 5 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

Open Access
File
25 Citations (Scopus)

365 Downloads (Pure)

MIDST-CZ: Maximising Impact by Decision Support Tools for sustainable soil and water through UK-China Critical Zone science
Johnes, P. J. (Principal Investigator)
1/01/19 → 31/03/22
Project: Research
SPECTRA: Soil processes and ecological services in the karst critical zone of Southwest China
Buss, H. L. (Principal Investigator), Johnes, P. J. (Co-Principal Investigator) & Evershed, R. P. (Co-Principal Investigator)
1/01/16 → 31/12/18
Project: Research

Mapping Microbial Biomass Over Changing Land-use in Relation to Environmental Perturbance in the Karst Region of Southwest China Using Lipid Membrane Biomarkers
Hawkes, S. J. (Author), Evershed, R. (Supervisor), 23 Jan 2019
Student thesis: Master's Thesis › Master of Science by Research (MScR)

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Cite this

Green, S. M., Dungait, J. A. J., Tu, C., Buss, H., Sanderson, N., Hawkes, S. J., Xing, K., Yue, F., Hussey, V., Peng, J., Johnes, P., Barrows, T., Hartley, I. P., Song, X., Jiang, Z., Meersmans, J., Zhang, X., Tian, J., Wu, X., ... Quine, T. (2019). Soil functions and ecosystem services research in the Chinese karst Critical Zone. Chemical Geology, 527, Article 119107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.03.018

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title = "Soil functions and ecosystem services research in the Chinese karst Critical Zone",

abstract = "Covering extensive parts of China, karst is a critically important landscape that has experienced rapid and intensive land use change and associated ecosystem degradation within only the last 50 years. In the natural state, key ecosystem services delivered by these landscapes include regulation of the hydrological cycle, nutrient cycling and supply, carbon storage in soils and biomass, nutrient cycling, biodiversity and food production. Intensification of agriculture since the late-20th century has led to a rapid deterioration in Critical Zone (CZ) state, evidenced by reduced crop production and rapid loss of soil. In many areas, an ecological {\textquoteleft}tipping point{\textquoteright} appears to have been passed as basement rock is exposed and {\textquoteleft}rocky desertification{\textquoteright} dominates. This paper reviews contemporary research of soil processes and ecosystems service delivery in Chinese karst ecosystems, with an emphasis on soil degradation and the potential for ecosystem recovery through sustainable management. It is clear that currently there is limited understanding of the geological, hydrological and ecological processes that control soil functions in these landscapes, which is critical for developing management strategies to optimise ecosystem service delivery. This knowledge gap presents a classic CZ scientific challenge because an integrated multidisciplinary approach is essential to quantify the responses of soils in the Chinese karst CZ to extreme anthropogenic perturbation, to develop a mechanistic understanding of their resilience to environmental stressors, and thereby to inform strategies to recover and maintain sustainable soil function. Keywords: karst, critical zone, China, soil processes, soil degradation, ecosystem services",

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Green, SM, Dungait, JAJ, Tu, C, Buss, H, Sanderson, N, Hawkes, SJ, Xing, K, Yue, F, Hussey, V, Peng, J, Johnes, P, Barrows, T, Hartley, IP, Song, X, Jiang, Z, Meersmans, J, Zhang, X, Tian, J, Wu, X, Liu, H, Song, Z, Evershed, R, Gao, Y & Quine, T 2019, 'Soil functions and ecosystem services research in the Chinese karst Critical Zone', Chemical Geology, vol. 527, 119107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.03.018

TY - JOUR

T1 - Soil functions and ecosystem services research in the Chinese karst Critical Zone

AU - Green, Sophie M.

AU - Dungait, Jennifer A.J.

AU - Tu, Chenglong

AU - Buss, Heather

AU - Sanderson, Nicole

AU - Hawkes, Simon J

AU - Xing, Kaixiong

AU - Yue, Fujun

AU - Hussey, Victoria

AU - Peng, Jian

AU - Johnes, Penny

AU - Barrows, Timothy

AU - Hartley, Iain P.

AU - Song, Xianwei

AU - Jiang, Zihan

AU - Meersmans, Jeroen

AU - Zhang, Xinyu

AU - Tian, Jing

AU - Wu, Xiuchen

AU - Liu, Hongyan

AU - Song, Zhaoliang

AU - Evershed, Richard

AU - Gao, Yang

AU - Quine, Timothy

PY - 2019/11/20

Y1 - 2019/11/20

N2 - Covering extensive parts of China, karst is a critically important landscape that has experienced rapid and intensive land use change and associated ecosystem degradation within only the last 50 years. In the natural state, key ecosystem services delivered by these landscapes include regulation of the hydrological cycle, nutrient cycling and supply, carbon storage in soils and biomass, nutrient cycling, biodiversity and food production. Intensification of agriculture since the late-20th century has led to a rapid deterioration in Critical Zone (CZ) state, evidenced by reduced crop production and rapid loss of soil. In many areas, an ecological ‘tipping point’ appears to have been passed as basement rock is exposed and ‘rocky desertification’ dominates. This paper reviews contemporary research of soil processes and ecosystems service delivery in Chinese karst ecosystems, with an emphasis on soil degradation and the potential for ecosystem recovery through sustainable management. It is clear that currently there is limited understanding of the geological, hydrological and ecological processes that control soil functions in these landscapes, which is critical for developing management strategies to optimise ecosystem service delivery. This knowledge gap presents a classic CZ scientific challenge because an integrated multidisciplinary approach is essential to quantify the responses of soils in the Chinese karst CZ to extreme anthropogenic perturbation, to develop a mechanistic understanding of their resilience to environmental stressors, and thereby to inform strategies to recover and maintain sustainable soil function. Keywords: karst, critical zone, China, soil processes, soil degradation, ecosystem services

AB - Covering extensive parts of China, karst is a critically important landscape that has experienced rapid and intensive land use change and associated ecosystem degradation within only the last 50 years. In the natural state, key ecosystem services delivered by these landscapes include regulation of the hydrological cycle, nutrient cycling and supply, carbon storage in soils and biomass, nutrient cycling, biodiversity and food production. Intensification of agriculture since the late-20th century has led to a rapid deterioration in Critical Zone (CZ) state, evidenced by reduced crop production and rapid loss of soil. In many areas, an ecological ‘tipping point’ appears to have been passed as basement rock is exposed and ‘rocky desertification’ dominates. This paper reviews contemporary research of soil processes and ecosystems service delivery in Chinese karst ecosystems, with an emphasis on soil degradation and the potential for ecosystem recovery through sustainable management. It is clear that currently there is limited understanding of the geological, hydrological and ecological processes that control soil functions in these landscapes, which is critical for developing management strategies to optimise ecosystem service delivery. This knowledge gap presents a classic CZ scientific challenge because an integrated multidisciplinary approach is essential to quantify the responses of soils in the Chinese karst CZ to extreme anthropogenic perturbation, to develop a mechanistic understanding of their resilience to environmental stressors, and thereby to inform strategies to recover and maintain sustainable soil function. Keywords: karst, critical zone, China, soil processes, soil degradation, ecosystem services

KW - karst

KW - critical zone

KW - China

KW - soil processes

KW - soil degradation

KW - ecosystem services

U2 - 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.03.018

DO - 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.03.018

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

SN - 0009-2541

VL - 527

JO - Chemical Geology

JF - Chemical Geology

M1 - 119107

ER -

Soil functions and ecosystem services research in the Chinese karst Critical Zone

Abstract

UN SDGs

Research Groups and Themes

Keywords

Access to Document

Handle.net

Fingerprint

Research output

Using δ13C to reveal the importance of different water transport pathways in two nested karst basins, Southwest China

Base cations and micronutrients in soil aggregates as affected by enhanced nitrogen and water inputs in a semi-arid steppe grassland

Ecosystem service delivery in Karst landscapes: anthropogenic perturbation and recovery

Projects

MIDST-CZ: Maximising Impact by Decision Support Tools for sustainable soil and water through UK-China Critical Zone science

SPECTRA: Soil processes and ecological services in the karst critical zone of Southwest China

Student theses

Mapping Microbial Biomass Over Changing Land-use in Relation to Environmental Perturbance in the Karst Region of Southwest China Using Lipid Membrane Biomarkers

Cite this

Using δ¹³C to reveal the importance of different water transport pathways in two nested karst basins, Southwest China