Changes of soil microbial biomass carbon and organic carbon with sea level elevation increasing in soils of mountainous areas, Southwest China

摘要

Soil organic matter, a major factor affecting agroecosystem stability, is controlled by many parameters. It is well understood that cultivation practive would lead to a decrease in organic matter content of soils. However, small gradual changes in total soil organic matter may be difficult to monitor and detect in the short term because of generally high background carbon levels and natural variability of soils. On a short-term scale the measurement of the living fraction of soil organic matter, i.e. microbial biomass C, can reveal early changes in soil organic matter. Our work is to identify the relationship of soil organic C and changes in microbial biomass C with sea-level elevation increasing.