Cited by 103Soil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsForest ecology and managementForest, Soil, and Plant Ecology in China

Forest thinning increases soil carbon stocks in China

Gong, Chen, Tan, Qingyue, Liu, Guobin, Xu, Mingxiang·2021·Forest Ecology and Management

Abstract

Thinning is a common forest management practice. However, its impact on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks is still unknown. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of 270 measurements from 77 articles to evaluate the effect of forest thinning on SOC stocks in mineral soil (0–30 cm) across planted forests in China. The results showed that, compared to reference (non-thinned) plantations, thinning significantly increased SOC stocks in planted forests by 7.2%. Among different thinning intensities, moderate thinning (35–55% of thinning intensity) increased SOC stocks in planted forests (+16.1%) more than other levels of thinning intensity. However, the positive effect of thinning on SOC stock was significant > 5 years after harvesting. In the humidity-restricted areas (humidity index (HI) < 30), the increase in SOC stocks after thinning was significantly higher than that of other areas. In addition, thinning increased the sensitivity (i.e. slope value) of soil total nitrogen (TN) stocks changes to SOC stocks. Therefore, we conclude that forest thinning strategy is potentially a viable silvicultural measure to increase SOC fixation in planted forests. Our results provide a reference for the formulation and implementation of future forest management strategies.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118812

Cites

76 of 76 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Optimizing forest management strategies such as selection of suitable tree species, rotation length, and fertilization regimes are effective ways to increase forest C sequestration.

    “for C sequestration in forest ecosystems, optimizing forest management strategies such as selection of suitable tree species, rotation length, and fertilization regimes are effective ways to increase the amount of forest C sequestration.177, 178, 179”

    From Technologies and perspectives for achieving carbon neutrality (2021) · cites this paper as [178]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Gong, C., Tan, Q., Liu, G., & Xu, M.
Affiliations
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • Northwest A&F University (CN)
Corresponding author
Xu, Mingxiang
Venue
Forest Ecology and Management
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-02
Volume
482
Pages
118812
ISSN
0378-1127 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3112515481
Cited by
103
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 5
FWCI
6.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Forest Ecology and Management (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China
  • National Key Research and Development Program of China
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Forest ecology and management
  • Social Sciences › Education › Forest, Soil, and Plant Ecology in China
Keywords
forest thinning, soil organic carbon stocks, forest plantations, thinning intensity, silviculture, soil total nitrogen, humidity index, carbon sequestration, forest management, China

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review