Tree species effects on topsoil carbon stock and concentration are mediated by tree species type, mycorrhizal association, and N-fixing ability at the global scale

TL;DR

This study synthesizes global data to reveal how tree species traits, such as type, mycorrhizal association, and N-fixing ability, influence soil carbon stocks and concentrations, informing forest management for climate change mitigation.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive quantitative analysis of how specific tree species traits affect soil carbon at a global scale, highlighting mechanisms and environmental mediators.

Findings

Broadleaf trees have lower forest floor C stocks.

N-fixing trees increase mineral soil C concentration.

Tree effects are mediated by environmental factors like latitude and climate.

Abstract

Selection of appropriate tree species is an important forest management decision that may affect sequestration of carbon (C) in soil. However, information about tree species effects on soil C stocks at the global scale remains unclear. Here, we quantitatively synthesized 850 observations from field studies that were conducted in a common garden or monoculture plantations to assess how tree species type (broadleaf vs. conifer), mycorrhizal association (arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) vs. ectomycorrhizal (ECM)), and N-fixing ability (N-fixing vs. non-N-fixing), directly and indirectly, affect topsoil (with a median depth of 10 cm) C concentration and stock, and how such effects were influenced by environmental factors such as geographical location and climate. We found that (1) tree species type, mycorrhizal association, and N-fixing ability were all important factors affecting soil C, with lower forest floor C stocks under broadleaved (44%), AM (39%), or N-fixing (28%) trees respectively, but higher mineral soil C concentration (11%, 22%, and 156%) and stock (9%, 10%, and 6%) under broadleaved, AM, and N-fixing trees respectively; (2) tree species type, mycorrhizal association, and N-fixing ability affected forest floor C stock and mineral soil C concentration and stock directly or indirectly through impacting soil properties such as microbial biomass C and nitrogen; (3) tree species effects on mineral soil C concentration and stock were mediated by latitude, MAT, MAP, and forest stand age. These results reveal how tree species and their specific traits influence forest floor C stock and mineral soil C concentration and stock at a global scale. Insights into the underlying mechanisms of tree species effects found in our study would be useful to inform tree species selection in forest management or afforestation aiming to sequester more atmospheric C in soil for mitigation of climate change.