High heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) in grasslands causes uncertainty in estimating its content and storage. In this study, we investigated the spatial distribution of SOC content and storage in the prairies of southern Alberta, Canada, and how it is affected by land use such as irrigated cropping and other environmental conditions such as cattle grazing, slope landscape position and dominant plant species. The mean SOC content was determined to be 11.5 g kg^–1 (range: 8.9 to 22.4 g kg^–1) in the 0–10 cm layer and 6.8 g kg^–1 (range: 4.0 to 13.3 g kg^–1) in the 10–30 cm layer; mean SOC storage was 1.59 kg C m^–2 (range: 1.23 to 2.78 kg C m^–2) in the 0–10 cm layer and 2.07 kg C m^–2 (range: 1.21 to 3.62 kg C m^–2) in the 10–30 cm layer. The SOC content was significantly affected by slope position in both the 0–10 and 10–30 cm layers, in the following order: bottom >middle > top position. Moreover, SOC storage was higher in sites dominated by shrubs than graminoid/forb communities. Thus, SOC content and storage had distinctly clustered spatial patterns throughout the study area and were significant differences between the 0–10 and 10–30 cm soil layers. Prior land-use change from arid grassland to irrigated cropland increased SOC content and storage in bulk soils.

中文翻译：

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加拿大艾伯塔省草地土壤有机碳和灌溉作物的影响

草地土壤有机碳 (SOC) 空间分布的高度异质性导致其含量和储存估算的不确定性。在这项研究中，我们调查了加拿大阿尔伯塔省南部草原 SOC 含量和储存的空间分布，以及它如何受到土地利用（如灌溉种植）和其他环境条件（如放牧、斜坡景观位置和优势植物）的影响物种。0–10 cm 层的平均 SOC 含量确定为 11.5 g kg ^–1（范围：8.9 到 22.4 g kg ^{–1 ）和 6.8 g kg –1}（范围：4.0 到 13.3 g kg ^–1）。 10-30 厘米层；平均 SOC 存储量为 1.59 kg C m ^–2（范围：1.23 至 2.78 kg C m ^–2) 在 0–10 cm 层和 2.07 kg C m ^–2（范围：1.21 到 3.62 kg C m ^–2）在 10–30 cm 层。在 0-10 和 10-30 cm 层中，SOC 含量受到坡度位置的显着影响，顺序如下：底部 > 中间 > 顶部位置。此外，以灌木为主的地点的 SOC 储存量高于禾本科 / 杂草群落。因此，SOC 含量和储存在整个研究区域具有明显的聚集空间模式，并且在 0-10 和 10-30 cm 土壤层之间存在显着差异。先前从干旱草地到灌溉农田的土地利用变化增加了土壤有机碳含量和储存量。