Advances in Earth Science ›› 2018, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (5): 464-472. doi: 10.11867/j.issn.1001-8166.2018.05.0464

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Carbon Exchange Process Between Atmosphere and Soil in Desert Soils

Keyu Fa 1, 2( ), Guangchun Lei 1, Yuqing Zhang 2, Jiabin Liu 3   

  1. 1.School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2.Yanchi Ecology Research Station, School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    3.College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling Shaanxi 712100,China;
  • Received:2018-03-13 Revised:2018-05-15 Online:2018-05-20 Published:2018-06-13
  • About author:

    First author:Fa Keyu (1987-), male, Benxi City, Liaoning Province,Post Doctor. Research areas include soil carbon processes in arid and semi-arid regions. E-mail:fkysparrow@163.com

  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the Chinese Postdoctoral Science Foundation “Migration process of pedogenic inorganic carbon in sandy soil” (No.2016M600938);The National Natural Science Foundation of China “Microbial pathways of atmospheric CO 2 fixation in soils in a semi-arid desert” (No.31670709).

Keyu Fa, Guangchun Lei, Yuqing Zhang, Jiabin Liu. Carbon Exchange Process Between Atmosphere and Soil in Desert Soils[J]. Advances in Earth Science, 2018, 33(5): 464-472.

Because the net primary productivity is low and disturbance effect are strong, desert ecosystems have been proposed conventionally as a carbon source. However, studies worldwide in recent years have reported that desert soils can absorb atmospheric CO2, and the absorbed carbon may be conserved in soils or aquifers. As the carbon uptake is counterintuitive and the mechanisms of this process are elusive, the authenticity of this process is still grossly controversial. In this paper, we deeply discussed the authenticity of the anomalous carbon absorption and its possible driving mechanisms, and conclude that the counterintuitive process is authentic. The thermal mechanism, surficial turbulence and pressure gradients variations driving CO2 migration may be the important driving mechanisms. However, heretofore, no direct evidence can be provided for the speculation that the carbon absorbed by desert soils can commonly and rapidly transport into underground water or mineralize and sequestrate in soil. As a result, the role of carbon sink of desert soils remains veiled. It was suggested that future researches should focus on the transportation and emphatically focus on the gaseous transformation and mineralization of the liquid phase carbon.

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