Effects of adjacent land-use types on the distribution of soil organic carbon stocks in the montane area of central Taiwan

BACKGROUND: Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks can be altered through reforestation and cropping. We estimated the effects of land use on SOC stocks after natural deciduous forests replaced by crops and coniferous plantations by examining the vertical distribution of SOC stocks at different depth intervals in an adjacent Oolong tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plantation, Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) forest, Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) forest, and Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides) forest in central Taiwan. The main soil characteristics, soil nitrogen (N) content, and soil carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio were also determined. RESULTS: Different land uses resulted in significantly higher bulk density, lower cation exchange capacity, SOC, soil N, soil C/N ratio, and SOC stocks in croplands compared to forestlands. Due to the long-term application of chemical fertilizers, a significantly lower soil pH was found in the tea plantation. Croplands had a lower soil C/N ratio because of less C input into the soil and a higher mineralization rate of organic carbon during cultivation. Similar SOC stocks were found in Taiwania and Japanese cedar forests (148.5 and 151.8 Mg C ha(−1), respectively), while the tea plantation had comparable SOC stocks to the bamboo forest (101.8 and 100.5 Mg C ha(−1), respectively). Over 40% of SOC stocks was stored in croplands and over 56% was stored in forestland within the upper 10 cm of soil. CONCLUSIONS: Coniferous plantations can contribute to a higher SOC stock than croplands, and a significant difference can be found in the top 0–5 cm of soil. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40529-016-0147-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.