Spatiotemporal Variability and Related Factors of Soil Organic Carbon in Henan Province

Core Ideas Changes in SOC over 30 yr were revealed in a field survey in Henan Province of China. We analyzed influential factors of SOC spatiotemporal variability at a large scale. Cropland was shown to have great potential for C sequestration in the future. Spatial variability and influential factors are important to evaluate soil organic C (SOC) and the C pool in large areas. In the present study, sampling was conducted from May to November 2011 in Henan Province, a typical agricultural region of Central China, to study the effects of soil properties and anthropogenic factors on SOC variability in cropland. Physicochemical properties of soil samples collected at 280 sites from the surface layer (at a depth of 0–20 cm) were analyzed, and related data about the sampling sites were also collected from the Second State Soil Survey of China, conducted in 1981. Firstly, we found increasing trends in SOC density (SOCD) and SOC pool (SOCP) were obvious from 1981 to 2011, and we concluded that cropland presents great C sequestration potential for the future. Carbon pool ability varied with soil properties: the order of fixed Camount in different soil types was found to be Inceptisols > Luvisols > semihydromorphic soil > Anthrosols, and the average SOCP increased significantly from 1981 to 2011. Secondly, soil bulk density, pH, and returning straw were the key influential factors for SOCD in the past 30 yr. Thirdly, although random factors (returning straw) only explain 29.1% of SOCD variability, more attention should be paid to the factors, because application of returning straw was the most dominant anthropogenic factor, which can be used to improve cropland productivity and C sink capacity within a short period if they are properly managed in the future.