The below-ground biomass contributes more to wetland soil carbon pools than the above-ground biomass—a survey based on global wetlands

Abstract

Abstract The biomass of wetland plants is highly responsive to environmental factors and plays a crucial role in the dynamics of the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool. In this study, we collected and analyzed global data on wetland plant biomass from 1980 to 2021. By examining 1134 observations from 182 published papers on wetland ecosystems, we created a comprehensive database of wetland plant above-ground biomass (AGB) and below-ground biomass (BGB). Using this database, we analyzed the biomass characteristics of different climate zones, wetland types and plant species globally. Based on this, we analyzed the differences between the biomass of different plant species and the linkage between AGB and BGB and organic carbon. Our study has revealed that wetland plant AGB is greater in equatorial regions but BGB is highest in polar areas, and lowest in arid and equatorial zones. For plant species, the BGB of the Poales is higher than the AGB but Caryophyllales, Cyperales and Lamiales have higher AGB. Moreover, our findings indicate that BGB plays a more significant role in contributing to the organic carbon pool compared to AGB. Notably, when BGB is less than 1 t C ha−1, even slight changes in biomass can have a significant impact on the organic carbon pool. And we observed that the SOC increases by 5.7 t C ha−1 when the BGB content is low, indicating that the SOC is more sensitive to changes in biomass under such circumstances. Our study provides a basis for the global response of AGB and BGB of wetland plants to organic carbon.