Soil C, N and P stocks and stoichiometry under different vegetation on the surface of the Leshan Giant Buddha

Abstract

Leshan Giant Buddha is damaged seriously because of weathering and plant settlement

Amounts of soil organic C, N and P was accumulated in the surface of the Buddha

Soil organic C, N and P stocks under herbs are the most abundant

ŸSoil organic C, N and P mainly stocks in the shoulder, arm and the platform

The accumulation of soil organic matter and nutrients are important pathways in effectively understanding the mechanisms of plant settlement and rock weathering, while the characteristics of soil organic carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) under different vegetation remains unclear. In this study, the stocks and stoichiometry of soil organic C, N and P were determined in different positions and types of vegetation on the surface of the Leshan Giant Buddha. We found that the total stocks of soil organic C, N and P were 1689.77, 134.6 and 29.48 kg, respectively, for the Buddha. The stocks of soil organic C, N and P under vascular plants were higher than those under other vegetation, with highest values observed under herb. Higher stocks per unit area (m²) of soil organic C, N and P were found on the left and right arms, shoulders, and two platforms. These results provide a full primary picture in understanding soil organic C, N and P accumulation and distribution on the surface of the Buddha, which could supply the fundamental data on weathering management of the Buddha and other similar open-air stone carvings.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Rock weathering / Soil organic matter / Plant settlement / Open-air stone carving

References

[1] Abinandan, S., Subashchandrabose, S.R., Venkateswarlu, K., Megharaj, M., 2019. Soil microalgae and cyanobacteria: the biotechnological potential in the maintenance of soil fertility and health. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology 39, 981–998

[2] Ågren, G.I., Sveriges, L., 2008. Stoichiometry and nutrition of plant growth in natural communities. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 39, 153–170

[3] Arellano, G., Jørgensen, P.M., Fuentes, A.F., Loza, M.I., Torrez, V., Macía, M.J., 2016. Oligarchic patterns in tropical forests: role of the spatial extent, environmental heterogeneity and diversity. Journal of Biogeography 43, 616–626

[4] Castellano, M.J., Mueller, K.E., Olk, D.C., Sawyer, J.E., Six, J., 2015. Integrating plant litter quality, soil organic matter stabilization, and the carbon saturation concept. Global Change Biology 21, 3200–3209

[5] Castle, S.C., Lekberg, Y., Affleck, D., Cleveland, C.C., 2016. Soil abiotic and biotic controls on plant performance during primary succession in a glacial landscape. Journal of Ecology 104, 1555–1565

[6] Cerveny, N.V., Dorn, R.I., Allen, C.D., Whitley, D.S., 2016. Advances in rapid condition assessments of rock art sites: Rock Art Stability Index (RASI). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 10, 871–877

[7] Cleveland, C.C., Liptzin, D., 2007. C:N:P stoichiometry in soil: Is there a “Redfield Ratio” for the microbial biomass? Biogeochemistry 85, 235–252

[8] Cuadros, J., Cesarano, M., Dubbin, W., Smith, S.W., Davey, A., Spiro, B., Burton, R.G.O., Jungblut, A.D., 2018. Slow weathering of a sandstone-derived Podzol (Falkland Islands) resulting in high content of a non-crystalline silicate. American Mineralogist 103, 1617–1628

[9] Dettweiler-Robinson, E., Ponzetti, J.M., Bakker, J.D., 2013. Long-term changes in biological soil crust cover and composition. Ecological Processes 2, 1–10

[10] Dise, N.B., Matzner, E., Forsius, M., 1998. Evaluation of organic horizon C:N ratio as an indicator of nitrate leaching in conifer forests across Europe. Environmental Pollution 102, 453–456

[11] Dovrat, G., Meron, E., Shachak, M., Golodets, C., Osem, Y., 2020. Functional reorganization and productivity of a water-limited annual plant community. Plant Ecology 221, 191–204

[12] Frost, P.C., Hillebrand, H., Kahlert, M., 2005. Low algal carbon content and its effect on the C:P stoichiometry of periphyton. Freshwater Biology 50, 1800–1807

[13] Fukami, T., Nakajima, M., 2013. Complex plant-soil interactions enhance plant species diversity by delaying community convergence. Journal of Ecology 101, 316–324

[14] Giesen, M.J., Ung, A., Warke, P.A., Christgen, B., Mazel, A.D., Graham, D.W., 2014. Condition assessment and preservation of open-air rock art panels during environmental change. Journal of Cultural Heritage 15, 49–56

[15] Hättenschwiler, S., Jørgensen, H.B., 2010. Carbon quality rather than stoichiometry controls litter decomposition in a tropical rain forest. Journal of Ecology 98, 754–763

[16] He, M., Zhao, R., Tian, Q., Huang, L., Wang, X., Liu, F., 2019. Predominant effects of litter chemistry on lignin degradation in the early stage of leaf litter decomposition. Plant and Soil 442, 453–469

[17] Kaye, J.P., Binkley, D., Rhoades, C., 2003. Stable soil nitrogen accumulation and flexible organic matter stoichiometry during primary floodplain succession. Biogeochemistry 63, 1–22

[18] Kjær, U., Olsen, S.L., Klanderud, K., Pugnaire, F., 2018. Shift from facilitative to neutral interactions by the cushion plant Silene acaulis along a primary succession gradient. Journal of Vegetation Science 29, 42–51

[19] Lan, S., Wu, L., Zhang, D., Hu, C., 2015. Analysis of environmental factors determining development and succession in biological soil crusts. Science of The Total Environment 538, 492–499.

[20] Lawonn, K., Trostmann, E., Preim, B., Hildebrandt, K., 2017. Visualization and extraction of carvings for heritage conservation. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 23, 801–810

[21] Lebedeva, M.I., Brantley, S.L., 2017. Weathering and erosion of fractured bedrock systems. Earth Surface Proccesses Landforms 42, 2090–2108

[22] Liu, S., Zhang, W., Wang, K., Pan, F., Yang, S., Shu, S., 2015. Factors controlling accumulation of soil organic carbon along vegetation succession in a typical karst region in Southwest China. Science of the Total Environment 521–522, 52–58

[23] Lu, R., 2000. Soil agricultural chemical analysis methods. China Agricultural Science and Technology Press, Beijing.

[24] Lucas-Borja, M.E., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., 2019. Plant diversity and soil stoichiometry regulates the changes in multifunctionality during pine temperate forest secondary succession. Science of the Total Environment 697, 134204

[25] Mage, S.M., Porder, S., 2013. Parent material and topography determine soil phosphorus status in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. Ecosystems (New York, N.Y.) 16, 284–294

[26] Makoto, K., Wilson, S.D., 2019. When and where does dispersal limitation matter in primary succession? Journal of Ecology 107, 559–565

[27] Marler, T.E., Del Moral, R., 2018. Increasing topographic influence on vegetation structure during primary succession. Plant Ecology 219, 1009–1020

[28] Mitchell, E., Scheer, C., Rowlings, D., Conant, R.T., Cotrufo, M.F., Grace, P., 2018. Amount and incorporation of plant residue inputs modify residue stabilisation dynamics in soil organic matter fractions. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 256, 82–91

[29] Pandita, S., Kumar, V., Dutt, H.C., 2019. Environmental variables vis-a-vis distribution of herbaceous tracheophytes on northern sub-slopes in Western Himalayan ecotone. Ecological Processes 8, 1–9

[30] Pillans, B., Fifield, L.K., 2013. Erosion rates and weathering history of rock surfaces associated with Aboriginal rock art engravings (petroglyphs) on Burrup Peninsula, Western Australia, from cosmogenic nuclide measurements. Quaternary Science Reviews 69, 98–106

[31] Reed, S.C., Townsend, A.R., Davidson, E.A., Cleveland, C.C., 2012. Stoichiometric patterns in foliar nutrient resorption across multiple scales. New Phytologist 196, 173–180

[32] Ren, C., Zhang, W., Zhong, Z., Han, X., Yang, G., Feng, Y., Ren, G., 2018. Differential responses of soil microbial biomass, diversity, and compositions to altitudinal gradients depend on plant and soil characteristics. Science of the Total Environment 610–611, 750–758

[33] Scarciglia, F., Saporito, N., La Russa, M.F., Le Pera, E., Macchione, M., Puntillo, D., Crisci, G.M., Pezzino, A., 2012. Role of lichens in weathering of granodiorite in the Sila uplands (Calabria, southern Italy). Sedimentary Geology 280, 119–134

[34] Schaub, I., Baum, C., Schumann, R., Karsten, U., 2019. Effects of an early successional biological soil crust from a temperate coastal sand dune (NE Germany) on soil elemental stoichiometry and phosphatase activity. Microbial Ecology 77, 217–229

[35] Seneviratne, G., Indrasena, I.K., 2006. Nitrogen fixation in lichens is important for improved rock weathering. Journal of Biosciences 31, 639–643

[36] Sun, C., Liu, G., Xue, S., 2016. Natural succession of grassland on the Loess Plateau of China affects multifractal characteristics of soil particle-size distribution and soil nutrients. Ecological Research 31, 891–902

[37] Tamura, M., Suseela, V., Simpson, M., Powell, B., Tharayil, N., 2017. Plant litter chemistry alters the content and composition of organic carbon associated with soil mineral and aggregate fractions in invaded ecosystems. Global Change Biology 23, 4002–4018

[38] Tian, H., Chen, G., Zhang, C., Melillo, J.M., Hall, C A S., 2010. Pattern and variation of C:N:P ratios in China’s soils: a synthesis of observational data. Biogeochemistry 98, 139–151

[39] Tian, J., Wang, X., Tong, Y., Chen, X.,Liao, H., 2012. Bioengineering and management for efficient phosphorus utilization in crops and pastures. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 23, 866–871

[40] Tian, K., Kong, X., Yuan, L., Lin, H., He, Z., Yao, B., Ji, Y., Yang, J., Sun, S., Tian, X., 2019. Priming effect of litter mineralization: the role of root exudate depends on its interactions with litter quality and soil condition. Plant and Soil 440, 457–471

[41] Twilley, J., 2006. Raman spectroscopy investigations of the weathering alteration of apredazzite marble mouflon of the Indus Valley Culture. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy : JRS 37, 1201–1210

[42] Vilmundardóttir, O.K., Sigurmundsson, F.S., Møller Pedersen, G.B., Belart, J.M., Kizel, F., Falco, N., Benediktsson, J.A., Gísladóttir, G., 2018. Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland. Progress in Physical Geography 42, 765–791

[43] Wang, B., Zhang, G., Yang, Y., Li, P., Liu, J., 2018. The effects of varied soil properties induced by natural grassland succession on the process of soil detachment. Catena 166, 192–199

[44] Wang, Q., Wang, S., He, T., Liu, L., Wu, J., 2014. Response of organic carbon mineralization and microbial community to leaf litter and nutrient additions in subtropical forest soils. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 71, 13–20

[45] Waragai, T., 2016. The effect of rock strength on weathering rates of sandstone used for Angkor temples in Cambodia. Engineering Geology 207, 24–35

[46] Wu, F., Sun, B., Chen, X., Yang, T., Song, H., 2020. Spatial heterogeneity analysis of vegetation on the surface of Leshan Buddha. Chinese Journal of Applied and Environmental Biology 26, 1–12.

[47] Wu, Z., Raven, P., 1994. Flora of China. Science Press, Beijing.

[48] Yan, J., Wang, L., Hu, Y., Tsang, Y.F., Zhang, Y., Wu, J., Fu, X., Sun, Y., 2018. Plant litter composition selects different soil microbial structures and in turn drives different litter decomposition pattern and soil carbon sequestration capability. Geoderma 319, 194–203

[49] Yang, D., Song, L., Jin, G., 2019. The soil C: N:P stoichiometry is more sensitive than the leaf C:N:P stoichiometry to nitrogen addition: a four-year nitrogen addition experiment in a Pinus koraiensis plantation. Plant and Soil 442, 183–198

[50] Zhou, Y., Boutton, T.W., Wu, X.B., 2018. Soil C:N:P stoichiometry responds to vegetation change from grassland to woodland. Biogeochemistry 140, 341–357

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press