Changes of soil labile organic carbon in different land uses in Sanjiang Plain,Heilongjiang Province

In the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China,the natural wetland is undergoing a rapid conversion into agricultural land,which has resulted in drastic ecological changes in the region. To investigate the effects of different land uses on soil labile organic carbon,soils of Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland,Carex lasiocarpa wetland,dry farmland,paddy field,forest land and abandoned cultivated land were collected for measuring the contents of soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC),dissolved organic carbon (DOC),readil...     

Soil organic carbon pool along different altitudinal level in the Sygera Mountains,Tibetan Plateau

Labile organic carbon (LOC) is one of the most important indicators of soil organic matter quality and dynamics elevation and plays important function in the Tibetan Plateau climate. However, it is unknown what the sources and causes of LOC contamination are. In this study, soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and LOC were analyzed based on different soil horizons and elevations using turnover time in an experimental site (3700 m to 4300 m area) in Sygera. SOC and LOC in higher-elevation vegetation types were higher than that of in lower-elevation vegetation types. Our results presented that the soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and soil microbial biomass nitrogen (SMBN) were positively correlated with SOC. The content of easily oxidized carbon (EOC), particulate organic carbon (POC) and light fraction organic carbon (LFOC) decreased with depth increasing and the content were the lowest in the 60 cm to 100 cm depth. The total SOC, ROC and POC contents decreased with increasing soil horizons. The SOC, TN, MBC and MBN contents increased with increasing altitude in the Sygera Mountains. The MBC and MBN contents were different with the changes of SOC (p<0.05), meanwhile, both LFOC and POC were related to total SOC (p<0.05). The physical and chemical properties of soil, including temperature, humidity, and altitude, were involved in the regulation of SOC, TN, MBC, MBN and LFOC contents in the Sygera Mountains, Tibetan Plateau.     

Effect of Wetland Reclamation on Soil Organic Carbon Stability in Peat Mire Soil Around Xingkai Lake in Northeast China

Content and density of soil organic carbon(SOC) and labile and stable SOC fractions in peat mire soil in wetland, soybean field and rice paddy field reclaimed from the wetland around Xingkai Lake in Northeast China were studied. Studies were designed to investigate the impact of reclamation of wetland for soybean and rice farming on stability of SOC. After reclamation, SOC content and density in the top 0–30 cm soil layer decreased, and SOC content and density in soybean field were higher than that in paddy field. Content and density of labile SOC fractions also decreased, and density of labile SOC fractions and their ratios with SOC in soybean field were lower than that observed in paddy field. In the 0–30 cm soil layer, densities of labile SOC fractions, namely, dissolved organic carbon(DOC), microbial biomass carbon(MBC), readily oxidized carbon(ROC) and readily mineralized carbon(RMC), in both soybean field and paddy field were all found to be lower than those in wetland by 34.00% and 13.83%, 51.74% and 35.13%, 62.24% and 59.00%, and 64.24% and 17.86%, respectively. After reclamation, SOC density of micro-aggregates( 0.25 mm) as a stable SOC fraction and its ratio with SOC in 0–5, 5–10, 10–20 and 20–30 cm soil layers increased. SOC density of micro-aggregates in the 0–30 cm soil layer in soybean field was 50.83% higher than that in paddy field. Due to reclamation, SOC density and labile SOC fraction density decreased, but after reclamation, most SOC was stored in a more complex and stable form. Soybean farming is more friendly for sustainable SOC residence in the soils than rice farming.     

DISSOLVED AND PARTICULATE ORGANIC CARBON IN YANTAI SISHILI BAY AQUICULTURE WATERS

Investigation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) at 12 stations in Yantal Sishili Bay in May, August, and November of 1997 and March and May of 1998 showed that DOC concentrations varied from 1.14 mg/L to 5.35 mg/L; that the average values at all staticrLs ineach entise varied from 1.52 mg/L to 2.12 mg/L; that POC concentrafions varied from 0.049 mg/L to 1.411mg/L; and averaged 0.159 mg/L to 0.631 mg/L in each cruise. Horizontal distribution of DOC was influ-enced by factors such as continental input, organism activity, temperature, aquieulture environment, etc. The higher POC concentration occurred along the coast. The vertical distribution of DOC and POC changed obviously in spring and summer, but not obviously in autumn and winter. DOC concentration was highest in summer and POC in spring; both were lowest in winter. The seasonal change of DOC was con-sistent with primary productivity seasonal variation, and that of POC was consistent with ehlorophyll-a sea-sanal variation. The seasonal change trend of the C/N ratio of dissolved organic matter was obvious, but the C/N ratio of particulate organic matter had no such trend.     

Relationship between soil and water conservation practices and soil conditions in low mountain and hilly region of Northeast China

The soil and water conservation practices of ecological restoration（ER）,fish scale pit（FP）,furrow and ridge tillage across the slope（FR）,shrub strips（SS）,and vegetation-covered ridge（VR） are characteristic of the Jixing small watershed of the low mountain and hilly region of Jilin Province,Northeast China. This study aims to elucidate the effects of soil and water conservation practices on soil conditions after the short-term implementation of practices. Soil samples were collected from five soil and water conservation sites（ER,FP,FR,SS,and VR） and two controls（BL and CT） to investigate their properties. To evaluate the influence of soil and water conservation practices on soil quality,an integrated quantitative index,soil quality index（QI）,was developed to compare the soil quality under the different soil and water conservation practices. The results show that not all soil and water conservation practices can improve the soil conditions and not all soil properties,especially soil organic carbon（SOC）,can be recovered under soil and water conservation practice in short-term. Moreover,the QI in the five soil and water conservation practices and two controls was in the following order： ER VR BL FR CT SS FP. ER exhibited a higher soil quality value on a slope scale. In the low mountain and hilly region of Northeast China,ER is a better choice than the conversion of farmlands to planted grasslands and woodlands early in the soil and water conservation program.     

中国西南喀斯特地区水库溶解态与颗粒态碳研究进展

为了阐明喀斯特水库对河流水体碳循环造成的影响, 总结了近年来喀斯特流域筑坝作用对不同形态碳迁移转化和环境影响的研究进展。通过光谱学、稳定及放射性同位素等手段等对喀斯特地区河流-水库系统中的溶解无机碳(DIC)、溶解有机碳(DOC)、颗粒无机碳(PIC)和颗粒有机碳(POC)迁移转化及其控制机制的研究, 发现喀斯特水库碳循环展现出明显的季节性分布特征以及梯级水库群可能会进一步放大单个水库的生态效应, 这一结果不仅极大地促进了人们对水库碳循环的认识, 还有利于探索河流碳循环中"遗失"的碳汇以及更加准确的评估岩溶水库在全球河流碳循环中扮演的角色。喀斯特水库相比非喀斯特水库对人为活动加剧的影响可能具有更强的响应强度, 这也意味着喀斯特水库在全球变暖的趋势中发挥的作用需要得到更准确的评估, 而在未来的研究中, 通过不同分析手段从微观到宏观系统性的总结不同形态碳迁移转化特点将更准确的回答该问题。      

Seasonal changes of dissolved and particulate organic carbon in Donghu Lake, China

Concentrations of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) were documented in 1996–1997 at 4 different trophic state stations in Donghu Lake, a typical shallow eutrophic lake along the Changjiang River's middle reaches. The mean concentrations of DOC were 15.11±3.26, 15.19±4.24, 14.27±3.43, and 13.31±3.30 mg/L in Station I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The DOC concentrations of the studied area were very similar to that in other lakes along the Changjiang River's middle reaches. The POC mean of the whole lake was 5.01 mg/L due to the large amount of organic detritus of both allochthonous and autochthonous origin. Significant linear relationship was found between POC and chlorophyll a at all 4 stations, which presumably reflect that phytoplankton, its exudates and its metabolic products were the main contributors to the POC pool in the water column. The slope of such linear relationship at Station IV was significantly steeper than that at Station I, II and III. In addition, the DOC/POC ratios (mean value: 4.40) indicated that the organic detritus was the most important component of the particulate organic matter; in other works, next to organic detritus, phytoplankton dominated the particulate organic matter in Donghu Lake. Project 39770146, 39430101 supported by NSFC and the State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, affiliated to the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.     

The effects of estuarine processes on the fluxes of inorganic and organic carbon in the Yellow River estuary

Riverine carbon flux is an important component of the global carbon cycle. The spatial and temporal variations of organic and inorganic carbon were examined during both dry and wet seasons in the Yellow River estuary. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the Yellow River during dry seasons were higher than those during wet seasons. The effective concentrations of DOC (C_DOC*) were higher than the observed DOC at zero salinity. This input of DOC in the Yellow River estuary was due to sediment desorption processes in low salinity regions. In contrast to DOC, the effective concentrations of DIC were 10% lower than the DIC measured at freshwater end, and the loss of DIC was caused by CaCO₃ precipitation in low salinity region. Particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) contents of the particles stabilized to constant values (0.5%±0.05% and 1.8%±0.2%, respectively) within the turbidity maximum zone (TMZ) and showed no noticeable seasonal variations. A rapid drop of PIC and rise of POC occurred simultaneously outside the TMZ due to an intense dilution of riverine inorganic-rich particles being transported into a pool of aquatic organic-poor particles outside the TMZ. Annually, the Yellow River transported 6.95×10⁵ t of DIC, 0.64×10⁵ t of DOC, 78.58×10⁵ t of PIC and 2.29×10⁵ t of POC to the sea.     

Effects of Reclamation on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen in Coastal Wetlands of Liaohe River Delta,China

To evaluate the influence of wetland reclamation on vertical distribution of carbon and nitrogen in coastal wetland soils, we measured the soil organic carbon(SOC), soil total nitrogen(STN) and selected soil properties at five sampling plots(reed marsh, paddy field, corn field, forest land and oil-polluted wetland) in the Liaohe River estuary in September 2013. The results showed that reclamation significantly changed the contents of SOC and STN in the Liaohe River estuary(P 0.001). The SOC concentrations were in the order: oil-polluted wetland corn field paddy field forest land reed marsh, with mean values of 52.17, 13.14, 11.46, 6.44 and 6.16 g/kg, respectively. STN followed a similar order as SOC, with mean values of 1351.14, 741.04, 632.32, 496.17 and 390.90 mg/kg, respectively. Interaction of reclamation types and soil depth had significant effects on SOC and STN, while soil depth had significant effects on SOC, but not on STN. The contents of SOC and STN were negatively correlated with pH and redox potential(Eh) in reed marsh and corn field, while the SOC and STN in paddy field had positive correlations with electrical conductivity(EC). Dissolved organic carbon(DOC), ammonium nitrogen(NH_4~+-N) and nitrate nitrogen(NO_3~–-N) were also significantly changed by human activities. NH_4~+-N and NO_3~–-N increased to different degrees, and forest land had the highest NO_3~–-N concentration and lowest DOC concentration, which could have been caused by differences in soil aeration and fertilization. Overall, the results indicate that reed harvest increased soil carbon and nitrogen release in the Liaohe River Estuary, while oil pollution significantly increased the SOC and STN; however, these cannot be used as indicators of soil fertility and quality because of the serious oil pollution.     

SESTON AND DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON DYNAMICS DURING MICROCYSTIS BLOOM WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE EFFECTS OF THREE CHINESE DOMESTIC FISHES IN EXPERIMENTAL ENCLOSURES

ImODUonONGrowingconcemovertheprobboofobnoxiouswaterbloornspromPtedagreatdealofresearchintothebiologyofblue-grmalgae(Reynolds&Walsby,l975,Reynothe,l984).PreviousstudiesonMimptiSwereaimedatitSphySinlogicalcharaCteristirsindudinggroWthandbuoyancyraegnolds,l975),0Vendteringandphotosynthesisfea-turesffokamuraetal.,l984,Takamura,l985),nutrientdemandsoprlofTetal.,l952,0kado&Sudo,l979).TherearerepoffethatMicropstiswasawidelydistributalspedesthatcouldeasilybloomWhenambientenvironrnentSweresuit…     

土地利用变化对吴江市水田土壤有机碳储量的影响分析

 农业表层土壤碳库容易受人为强烈干扰,而又可以在较短的时间尺度上进行调节,当今我国经济发达地区土地利用变化必然会对土壤固碳产生重要影响。本研究以江苏省吴江市水稻土为例,利用新一代中分辨率成像光谱仪(MODIS)和TM/ETM影像提取了1984年稻田面积,以及这部分稻田在2000-2005年的土地利用变化状况。研究中以最大似然法对TM/ETM、MODIS影像应用归一化植被指数(NDVI)、增强型植被指数(EVI)和陆地水分指数(LSWI)掩膜的方法作了识别提取;同时,结合第二次全国土壤普查、2003年耕地地力调查点和吴江市农林局土肥指导站长期定位点的土壤有机碳数据估算了1984年和2000-2005年土壤碳库变化情况。结果表明:近20多年来尽管吴江市水稻土水耕熟化过程中有机碳总体呈增加的趋势,但由于大量稻田被非农用地所取代,导致土壤固碳能力大幅度下降,尤其从2001年开始从"碳汇"变成"碳源"。因此,在我国经济发达区应密切关注耕地转换成非农用地而导致的土壤有机碳的损失。     

Influence of climate on soil organic carbon in Chinese paddy soils

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a major component of the global carbon cycle and has a potentially large impact on the greenhouse effect. Paddy soils are important agricultural soils worldwide, especially in Asia. Thus, a better understanding of the relationship between SOC of paddy soils and climate variables is crucial to a robust understanding of the potential effect of climate change on the global carbon cycle. A soil profile data set (n = 1490) from the Second National Soil Survey of China conducted from 1979 to 1994 was used to explore the relationships of SOC density with mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) in six soil regions and eight paddy soil subgroups. Results showed that SOC density of paddy soils was negatively correlated with MAT and positively correlated with MAP (P < 0.01). The relationships of SOC density with MAT and MAP were weak and varied among the six soil regions and eight paddy soil subgroups. A preliminary assessment of the response of SOC in Chinese paddy soils to climate indicated that climate could lead to a 13% SOC loss from paddy soils. Compared to other soil regions, paddy soils in Northern China will potentially more sensitive to climate change over the next several decades. Paddy soils in Middle and Lower Yangtze River Basin could be a potential carbon sink. Reducing the climate impact on paddy soil SOC will mitigate the positive feedback loop between SOC release and global climate change.     

Land use effects on soil organic carbon,microbial biomass and microbial activity in Changbai Mountains of Northeast China

Land use changes are known to alter soil organic carbon （SOC） and microbial properties, however, information about how conversion of natural forest to agricultural land use as well as plantations affects SOC and microbial properties in the Changbai Moun- tains of Northeast China is meager. Soil carbon content, microbial biomass carbon （MBC）, basal respiration and soil carbon mineraliza- tion were studied in five selected types of land use： natural old-growth broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest （NF）; spruce plantation （SP） established following clear-cutting of NF; cropland （CL）; ginseng farmland （GF） previously under NF; and a five-year Mongolian oak young forest （YF） reforested on an abandoned GF, in the Changbai Mountains of Northeast China in 2011. Results showed that SOC content was significantly lower in SP, CL, GF, and YF than in NF. MBC ranged from 304.4 mg/kg in CL to 1350.3 mg/kg in NF, which was significantly higher in the soil of NF than any soil of the other four land use types. The SOC and MBC contents were higher in SP soil than in CL, GF, and YF soils, yielding a significant difference between SP and CL. The value of basal respiration was also higher in NF than in SP, CL, GF, and YF. Simultaneously, higher values of the metabolic quotient were detected in CL, GF, and YF soils, indicat- ing low substrate utilization of the soil microbial community compared with that in NF and SP soil. The values of cumulative mineral- ized carbon and potentially mineralized carbon （Co） in NF were significantly higher than those in CL and GF, while no significant dif- ference was observed between NF and SP. In addition, YF had higher values of Co and C mineralization rate compared with GF. The results indicate that conversion from NF into agricultural land （CL and GF） uses and plantation may lead to a reduction in soil nutrients （SOC and MBC） and substrate utilization efficiency of the microbial community. By contrast, soils below SP were more conducive to the preservation of soil organic matter, which was reflected in the comparison of microbial indicators among CL, GF, and YF land uses. This study can provide data for evaluating soils nutrients under different land use types, and serve as references for the rational land use of natural forest in the study area.     

Rainfall and Tillage Impacts on Soil Erosion of Sloping Cropland with Subtropical Monsoon Climate- A Case Study in Hilly Purple Soil area,China

Under global warming, storm events tend to intensify, particularly in monsoon-affected regions.As an important agricultural area in China, the purple soil region in the Sichuan Basin, where it has a prevailing monsoon climate, is threatened by serious soil erosion. Tillage operations alter runoff and soil erosion processes on croplands by changing the physical properties of the soil surface. To clarify the relationship between tillage and soil erosion in the purple soil region, three different tillage practices in this region were investigated at the plot scale over 4 years: bare land with minimum tillage(BL),conventional tillage(CT) and seasonal no-tillage ridges(SNTR) which was initially designed to prevent soil erosion by contoured ridges and no-tillage techniques. The results showed that although there were no significant differences in the surface runoff and soil erosion among the three practices, BL causedrelatively high surface runoff and soil erosion,followed by CT and SNTR. Classification and comparison of the rainfall events based on cluster analysis(CA) verified that the surface runoff was not significantly different between most intensive event and long intensive events but was significantly different between most intensive and short and medium-duration events. Only the rainfall events with the highest rainfall intensity could trigger serious soil erosion, up to 1000 kg ha-1 in the region. Further detailed investigations on the effects of tillage operations on the soil erosion in a subtropical region with a monsoon climate are needed to provide a basis for modeling catchments and designing better management practices.     

Soil organic carbon contents,aggregate stability,and humic acid composition in different alpine grasslands in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Alpine grassland soils on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau store approximately 33.5 Pg of organic carbon(C) at 0–0.75 m depth and play an important role in the global carbon cycle.We investigated soil organic C(SOC),water-soluble organic C(WSOC),easily oxidizable organic C(EOC),humic C fractions,aggregate-associated C,aggregate stability,and humic acid(HA) composition along an east-west transect across Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,and explored their spatial patterns and controlling factors.The contents of SOC,WSOC,EOC,humic C fractions and aggregate-associated C,the proportions of macroaggregates(2-0.25) and micro-aggregates(0.25-0.053 mm),and the aggregate stability indices all increased in the order alpine desert alpine steppe alpine meadow.The alkyl C,O-alkyl C,and aliphatic C/aromatic C ratio of HA increased as alpine desert alpine meadow alpine steppe,and the trends were reverse for the aromatic C and HB/HI ratio.Mean annual precipitation and aboveground biomass weresignificantly correlated with the contents of SOC and its fractions,the proportions of macro- and microaggregates,and the aggregate stability indices along this transect.Among all these C fractions,SOC content and aggregate stability were more closely associated with humic C and silt and clay sized C in comparison with WSOC,EOC,and macro- and microaggregate C.The results suggested that alpine meadow soils containing higher SOC exhibited high soil aggregation and aggregate stability.Mean annual precipitation should be the main climate factor controlling the spatial patterns of SOC,soil aggregation,and aggregate stability in this region.The resistant and stable C fractions rather than labile C fractions are the major determinant of SOC stocks and aggregate stability.     

Seston and dissolved organic carbon dynamics duringMicrocystis bloom with special reference to the effects of three Chinese domestic fishes in experimental enclosures

TheMicrocystis bloom that once disappeared from Donghu Lake, a shallow, eutrophic Chinese lake, was successfully resumed with the use of the enclosure method. Seston and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics during theMicrocystis bloom were investigated with particular emphasis on the effect of three Chinese domestic fishes (silver carp, bighead carp and grass carp). The results showed that the change of chlorophyll a obviously related to the fish species and its stocking density. Due to the release of extracellular ogranic carbon and increased bacterial activity, DOC increased apparently after silver and bighead carps were introduced. POC/DOC dropped considerably in the enclosures containing silver and bighead carps and in the surrounding lake water, which implied that the bacterial activity was more pronounced in such ecosystems. Statistical analysis indicated that the linear relationship between POC and chlorophyll a could reflect the state of algal growth and nutrient metabolism. It was expected that this study would provide some information on biomanipulation in the shallow, eutrophic lakes. This work was supported in part by a Grant-In-Aid from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology (FEBL) affiliated to the Institute of Hydrobiology for the project “Control Ecosystem: An Approach to Lake Restoration”.     

Labile and stabile soil organic carbon fractions in surface horizons of mountain soils–relationships with vegetation and altitude

Global and local climate changes could disturb carbon sequestration and carbon stocks in forest soils. Thus, it is important to characterize the stability of soil organic matter and the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions in forest ecosystems. This study had two aims: (1) to evaluate the effects of altitude and vegetation on the content of labile and stabile forms of organic carbon in the mountain soils; and (2) to assess the impact of the properties of soil organic matter on the SOC pools under changing environmental conditions. The studies were conducted in the Karkonosze Mountains (SW Poland, Central Europe). The content of the most labile fraction of carbon (dissolved organic carbon, DOC) decreases with altitude, but the content of fulvic acids (FA), clearly increases in the zone above 1000 m asl, while the stabile fraction (humins, non-hydrolyzing carbon) significantly decreases. A higher contribution of stabile forms was found in soils under coniferous forests (Norway spruce), while a smaller - under deciduous forests (European beech) and on grasslands. The expected climate change and the ongoing land use transformations in the zone above 1000 m asl may lead to a substantial increase in the stable humus fraction (mainly of a non-hydrolyzing carbon) and an increase in the SOC pools, even if humus acids are characterized by a lower maturity and greater mobility favorable to soil podzolization. In the lower zone (below 1000 m asl), a decrease in the most stable humus forms can be expected, accompanied by an increase of DOC contribution, which will result in a reduction in SOC pools. Overall, the expected prevailing (spatial) effect is a decreasing contribution of the most stable humus fractions, which will be associated with a reduction in the SOC pools in medium-high mountains of temperate zone of Central Europe.     

水稻土有机碳密度的空间预测分析——以浙江省长兴县为例

准确预测未采样区域SOC密度,是研究SOC演变趋势和探索土壤固碳作用对缓解全球气候变化的基础。采用泛克里格法(Universal Kriging,UK)和土壤类型法(pedological professional knowledge-based method,PKB),分别对长兴县水稻土有机碳密度进行了预测,其中,UK直接以长兴水稻土剖面资料为源数据、PKB以长兴水稻土剖面数据和长兴1∶5万数字土壤图为源数据进行预测。根据平均绝对误差(MAE)及均方根误差(RMSE)大小,评价了两种方法在县域尺度土壤有机碳密度空间预测效果。结果表明:UK的MAE(31.2)、RMSE(52.5)均大于PKB的MAE(24.7)、RMSE(43.1),说明PKB法的预测效果较好,UK法相对较差。研究表明,对土壤类型、土壤母质,以及剖面点位置等信息的综合考虑能使PKB法更好地表达土壤属性的空间特征,也更适于县域尺度土壤有机碳密度的空间预测。     

Temporal and spatial variability of dissolved organic carbon concentration in the Xijiang River, South China

A whole year analysis of riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in the Xijiang River (XJR), South China, showed that the mean riverine DOC concentration (1.24 mg L-1) in the XJR was notably lower than the averaged value (5.75 mg L-1) of the global riverine DOC concentration in several major rivers. There is an inconspicuous monthly fluctuation of the DOC signal in the XJR, but on a semi-yearly time scale, however, the riverine DOC concentration had significant difference between hydrological...     

Soil organic carbon pools in particle-size fractions as affected by slope gradient and land use change in hilly regions, western Iran

This study was conducted to explore the effects of topography and land use changes on particulate organic carbon(POC),particulate total nitrogen(PTN),organic carbon(OC) and total nitrogen(TN) associated with different size primary particle fractions in hilly regions of western Iran.Three popular land uses in the selected site including natural forest(NF),disturbed forest(DF) and cultivated land(CL) and three slope gradients(0-10 %,S1,10-30 %,S2,and 30-50%,S3) were employed as the basis of soil sampling.A total of 99 soil samples were taken from the 0-10 cm surface layer in the whole studied hilly region studied.The results showed that the POC in the forest land use in all slope gradients was considerably more than the deforested and cultivated lands and the highest value was observed at NF-S1 treatment with 9.13%.The values of PTN were significantly higher in the forest land use and in the down slopes(0.5%) than in the deforested and cultivated counterparts and steep slopes(0.09%) except for the CL land use.The C:N ratios in POC fraction were around 17-18 in the forest land and around 23 in the cultivated land.In forest land,the silt-associated OC was highest among the primary particles.The enrichment factor of SOC,EC,was the highest for POC.For the primary particles,EC of both primary fractions of silt and clay showed following trend for selected land uses and slope gradients:CL> DF> NF and S3 > S2> S1.Slope gradient of landscape significantly affected the OC and TN contents associated with the silt and clay particles,whereas higher OC and TN contents were observed in lower positions and the lowest value was measured in the steep slopes.Overall,the results showed that native forest land improves soil organic carbon storage and can reduce the carbon emission and soil erosion especially in the mountainous regions with high rainfall in west of Iran.