Soil temperatures and active carbon components as key drivers of C stock dynamics between two different stand ages of Larix principis-rupprechtii plantation

Forest soils sequester a large amount of carbon (C) and have a significant effect on the global C balance. Forests are commonly managed to maintain certain age structures but the effects of this management on soil C pools (kg C m −2 ) is still uncertain. We compared 40-year-old (1GF) and 24-year-old (2GF) plantations of Larix principis-rupprechtii in North China. Specifically, we measured environmental factors (e.g., soil temperature, moisture, and pH), the active C and nitrogen (N) pools (e.g., soil organic C, soil total N, dissolved organic C and N, microbial biomass C and N), and soil processes (e.g., C mineralization and microbial activity in different seasons) in five soil layers (0–50 cm, 10 cm for each soil layer) across the growing seasons in three 25 m × 25 m plots in each age class (1GF and 2GF). Findings indicated that the soil organic C pool in the older 1GF forest (12.43 kg C m −2 ) was significantly higher than 2GF forests (9.56 kg C m −2 ), and that soil temperature in 1GF forests was 9.8 °C, on average, 2.9% warmer than temperature in 2GF forests. The C lost as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) as a result of mineralization in the 2GF plots may partly explain the lower soil organic C pool in these younger forests; microorganisms likely drive this process.