Soil fertility and function of soil

The focus lies on quantification of the impacts of the new production system on soil fertility and assessment of the ability of these systems to sequester carbon (C). A comparison between the new system and existing pure forest stands and pure bamboo stands are planned. Partial nutrient balances will be applied to evaluate sustainability of the different land use systems. Different C stocks and C fluxes between above- and below-ground parts of the systems will be measured. C-models used by Chinese soil scientists will be validated and calibrated.