Global significance of the carbon cycle in the karst dynamic system: evidence from geological and ecological processes

On the basis of proposing the existence of a karst carbon cycle and carbon sink at a watershed scale, this paper provides four pieces of evidence for the integration of geology and ecology during the carbon cycle processes in the karst dynamic system, and estimated the karst carbon sink effect using the methods of comparative monitoring of paired watersheds and the carbon stable isotope tracer technique. The results of the soil carbon cycle in Maocun, Guilin, showed that the soil carbon cycle in the karst area, the weathering and dissolution of carbonate rocks under the soil, resulted in a lower soil respiration of 25% in the karst area than in a non-karst area(sandstone and shale), and the carbon isotope results indicated that13.46% of the heavy carbon of the limestone is involved in the soil carbon cycle. The comparative monitoring results in paired watersheds, suggesting that the HCO3-concentration in a karst spring is 10 times that of a rivulet in a non-karst area, while the concentration of inorganic carbon flux is 23.8 times. With both chemical stoichiometry and carbon stable isotopes, the proportion of carbon in karst springs derived from carbonate rocks was found to be 58.52% and 37.65% respectively. The comparison on carbon exchange and isotopes at the water-gas interface between the granite and carbonate rock basins in the Li River showed that the CO2emission of the karst water is 10.92 times that of the allogenic water from the non-karst area, while the carbon isotope of HCO3-in karst water is lighter by 8.62‰. However, this does not mean that the karst water body has a larger carbon source effect. On the contrary, it means the karst water body has a greater karst carbon sink effect. When the karst subterranean stream in Zhaidi, Guilin, is exposed at the surface, carbon-rich karst water stimulated the growth of aquatic plants. The values of carbon stable isotopes in the same species of submerged plants gradually becomes heavier and heavier, and the 512 m flow process has a maximum range of 15.46‰. The calculation results showed that 12.52% of inorganic carbon is converted into organic carbon. According to the data that has been published, the global karst carbon sink flux was estimated to be 0.53-0.58 Pg C/a, equivalent to 31.18%-34.41% of the global forest carbon sink flux. In the meanwhile, the karst carbon sink flux in China was calculated to be 0.051 Pg C/a, accounting for 68% of its forest carbon sink flux.