Summary
This study investigates how land-use transition from barren hillsides to pear orchards, combined with cover crop intercropping, affects soil carbon sequestration on gneiss slopes in the Taihang Mountains, China — an ecologically fragile region. Sampling across 72 sites in Fuping County, the authors apply partial least squares structural equation modelling to disentangle the relative contributions of land-use change and intercropping to soil carbon outcomes. Findings suggest that long-term orchard establishment with cover crops can more than double soil organic carbon storage in surface layers compared to cultivated land, with implications for land rehabilitation strategies in similar degraded landscapes.
UK applicability
This study is conducted in a semi-arid, mountainous region of northern China with distinct geological and climatic conditions, limiting direct transferability to UK contexts. However, the findings on cover cropping within perennial fruit systems are broadly relevant to UK orchard management and agri-environment schemes aimed at improving soil carbon under tree fruit crops.
Key measures
Soil organic carbon storage (tC/ha); soil physicochemical properties; land-use type comparisons; PLS-SEM pathway coefficients
Outcomes reported
The study measured soil organic carbon storage across land-use types and intercropping systems, reporting that 8-year-old pear orchards with cover crops substantially increased soil carbon relative to cultivated land. It also assessed soil physicochemical properties and used PLS-SEM to model the drivers of carbon sequestration.
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