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Characteristics of soil organic carbon under different karst landforms

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Abstract

The spatial distribution patterns of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its relationship with various environmental factors in different topographic features are of great significance for evaluating SOC reserves and carbon pool management in karst areas. In this paper, SOC from the non-karst landforms and four typical karst landforms (karst canyon, karst peak cluster, karst plateau, and karst trough valley) was selected as the research object. The distribution patterns and the driving factors of SOC in the typical landforms were investigated from the topographical and environmental perspectives. The results showed that the average content of organic carbon in non-karst region was 9.39 g/kg, while that in karst areas was 16.31 g/kg. The vertical changes in SOC content showed different patterns in different topographic features, and each layer of the soil profile showed that SOC content in karst regions was greater than that in the non-karst one. The driving factors for SOC varied in different landforms. Specifically, in non-karst and karst peak cluster areas, slope gradient was the key factor influencing SOC. In karst canyon areas, soil thickness was the key factor influencing SOC. In karst plateau areas, land utilization was the key factor influencing superficial SOC. In karst trough valley areas, rock exposure was the major driving factor for karst SOC. These findings could provide an excellent explanation for the factors influencing SOC in karst and non-karst regions in Southwest China.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the first class discipline construction project in Guizhou Province (GNYL[2017]007), the Guizhou science and technology support plan project (No. [2019]2840); The Guizhou science and technology plan project (No. [2020]1Y178); and the project funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M673582XB).

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  1. **anfei Huang and Zhenming Zhang contribute equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Forest Resources and Environment of Guizhou, Key Laboratory of Forest Cultivation in Plateau Mountain Area, College of Forestry, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, People’s Republic of China

    **anfei Huang, Zhenming Zhang & Yunchao Zhou

  2. Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory for Environment, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, People’s Republic of China

    **anfei Huang & **ngfu Wang

  3. Institute of Biology, Guizhou Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, 550001, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenming Zhang

  4. Guizhou Botanical Garden, Guiyang, 550000, Guizhou, People’s Republic of China

    Jiachun Zhang & **nwei Zhou

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  1. **anfei Huang
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  2. Zhenming Zhang
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  3. Yunchao Zhou
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  4. **ngfu Wang
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Correspondence to Yunchao Zhou.

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Huang, X., Zhang, Z., Zhou, Y. et al. Characteristics of soil organic carbon under different karst landforms. Carbonates Evaporites 36, 40 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-021-00711-y

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