The effects of experimental warming and CO2 concentration doubling on soil organic carbon fractions of a montane coniferous forest on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

To explore the effects of elevated temperature (ET), elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration (EC) and ET plus EC (ETC) on different fractions of soil organic carbon (SOC) is significant for understanding the interactions between SOC and environmental variables. Up to date, little information is available in montane forests of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which is a key region for studying global climate change especially for high altitude areas. This work applied an automatic gas exchange system to investigate the responses of different fractions of SOC to these factors (ET: + 2.5 °C; EC: + 350 ppm; ETC: + 2.5 °C + 350 ppm) after two and a half years’ treatments. Results showed that both ET and EC significantly increased the average amount of SOC and not-readily oxidizable carbon (NROC), while significantly decreased the readily oxidizable carbon (ROC) in soil. The dramatic contrast between the content of NROC and ROC provided evidence that trees exposed to either ET or EC would employ more labile nutrient to meet their growth demands. Soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) was significantly related to the amount of ROC. Unlike ROC, the trends of particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MOC) under different treatments were consistent with that of SOC. Under ET, EC and ETC, the alterations of %ROC were more obvious than that of %POC, and positive correlations were observed between SOC, POC, MOC and NROC, with the exception of ROC and SMBC. These results indicated that the biotical and chemical labile components were more sensitive than the physical active fraction of soil organic matter. Meanwhile, the physical protection and chemical recalcitrance effects were important protection mechanisms from the response to global climate change.