scholarly journals Timescales of carbon turnover in soils with mixed crystalline mineralogies

SOIL ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesego Khomo ◽  
Susan Trumbore ◽  
Carleton R. Bern ◽  
Oliver A. Chadwick

Abstract. Organic matter–mineral associations stabilize much of the carbon (C) stored globally in soils. Metastable short-range-order (SRO) minerals such as allophane and ferrihydrite provide one mechanism for long-term stabilization of organic matter in young soil. However, in soils with few SRO minerals and a predominance of crystalline aluminosilicate or Fe (and Al) oxyhydroxide, C turnover should be governed by chemisorption with those minerals. Here, we correlate mineral composition from soils containing small amounts of SRO minerals with mean turnover time (TT) of C estimated from radiocarbon (14C) in bulk soil, free light fraction and mineral-associated organic matter. We varied the mineral amount and composition by sampling ancient soils formed on different lithologies in arid to subhumid climates in Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. Mineral contents in bulk soils were assessed using chemical extractions to quantify Fe oxyhydroxides and SRO minerals. Because of our interest in the role of silicate clay mineralogy, particularly smectite (2 : 1) and kaolinite (1 : 1), we separately quantified the mineralogy of the clay-sized fraction using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and measured 14C on the same fraction. Density separation demonstrated that mineral associated C accounted for 40–70 % of bulk soil organic C in A and B1 horizons for granite, nephelinite and arid-zone gabbro soils, and > 80 % in other soils. Organic matter strongly associated with the isolated clay-sized fraction represented only 9–47 % of the bulk soil C. The mean TT of C strongly associated with the clay-sized fraction increased with the amount of smectite (2 : 1 clays); in samples with > 40 % smectite it averaged 1020 ± 460 years. The C not strongly associated with clay-sized minerals, including a combination of low-density C, the C associated with minerals of sizes between 2 µm and 2 cm (including Fe oxyhydroxides as coatings), and C removed from clay-sized material by 2 % hydrogen peroxide had TTs averaging 190 ± 190 years in surface horizons. Summed over the bulk soil profile, we found that smectite content correlated with the mean TT of bulk soil C across varied lithologies. The SRO mineral content in KNP soils was generally very low, except for the soils developed on gabbros under more humid climate that also had very high Fe and C contents with a surprisingly short, mean C TTs. In younger landscapes, SRO minerals are metastable and sequester C for long timescales. We hypothesize that in the KNP, SRO minerals represent a transient stage of mineral evolution and therefore lock up C for a shorter time. Overall, we found crystalline Fe-oxyhydroxides (determined as the difference between Fe in dithionate citrate and oxalate extractions) to be the strongest predictor for soil C content, while the mean TT of soil C was best predicted from the amount of smectite, which was also related to more easily measured bulk properties such as cation exchange capacity or pH. Combined with previous research on C turnover times in 2 : 1 vs. 1 : 1 clays, our results hold promise for predicting C inventory and persistence based on intrinsic timescales of specific carbon–mineral interactions.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesego Khomo ◽  
Susan Trumbore ◽  
Carleton R. Bern ◽  
Oliver A. Chadwick

Abstract. Organic matter-mineral associations stabilize much of the carbon stored globally in soils. Metastable short-range-order (SRO) minerals such as allophane and ferrihydrite provide one mechanism for long-term stabilization of organic matter in soil. However, ancient and highly weathered soils that cover a large fraction of land area lack SRO minerals. Here we evaluate the role of different minerals on the amount and turnover time (TT) of carbon in a field setting designed to minimize the role of SRO by taking advantage of multiple lithologies in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Density separation demonstrated that most of the C was associated with minerals, even in surface soils. A parallel separation of clay-sized material demonstrated that 9–47 % of the organic C in these soils was stabilized by clays. Organic C associated with clay-sized material had average TT of 1020 ± 460 years in surface soils. The mean TT of this clay-associated C increased with depth and with fraction of total clay that was smectite. Because the C associated with smectite clay was so old, the amount of smectite (2 : 1 clays) controlled the age of bulk soil C across Kruger landscapes. The TT of the majority of soil C – not stabilized by clays – was much shorter, 190 ± 190 years in surface horizons. We suggest that this faster component reflects timescales of weaker C stabilization by crystalline Fe and Al oxyhydr)oxides and kaolinite (1 : 1) clays, as well as LF fractions not associated with minerals. Thus, bulk or HF carbon integrates C stabilized by mechanisms with inherently different TT, something that is often inferred from radiocarbon measurements. While SRO mineral concentrations were very low in these soils, the soils with most SRO had very high C content but also very young C. In other environments, SRO can be very stable and sorb C on very long timescales. We hypothesize that the seasonal wetting and drying in the KNP may reduce the age of SRO minerals as well as the C associated with them. Across the varying lithologies and a precipitation gradient found in the KNP, we found mineralogy to be the most important explanatory factor for C content (related to crystalline Fe) and turnover time (related to the amount of smectite).


2001 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
E G Gregorich ◽  
C F Drury ◽  
J A Baldock

Legume-based cropping systems could help to increase crop productivity and soil organic matter levels, thereby enhancing soil quality, as well as having the additional benefit of sequestering atmospheric C. To evaluate the effects of 35 yr of maize monoculture and legume-based cropping on soil C levels and residue retention, we measured organic C and 13C natural abundance in soils under: fertilized and unfertilized maize (Zea mays L.), both in monoculture and legume-based [maize-oat (Avena sativa L.)-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)-alfalfa] rotations; fertilized and unfertilized systems of continuous grass (Poa pratensis L.); and under forest. Solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to chemically characterize the organic matter in plant residues and soils. Soils (70-cm depth) under maize cropping had about 30-40% less C, and those under continuous grass had about 16% less C, than those under adjacent forest. Qualitative differences in crop residues were important in these systems, because quantitative differences in net primary productivity and C inputs in the different agroecosystems did not account for observed differences in total soil C. Cropping sequence (i.e., rotation or monoculture) had a greater effect on soil C levels than application of fertilizer. The difference in soil C levels between rotation and monoculture maize systems was about 20 Mg C ha-1. The effects of fertilization on soil C were small (~6 Mg C ha-1), and differences were observed only in the monoculture system. The NMR results suggest that the chemical composition of organic matter was little affected by the nature of crop residues returned to the soil. The total quantity of maize-derived soil C was different in each system, because the quantity of maize residue returned to the soil was different; hence the maize-derived soil C ranged from 23 Mg ha-1 in the fertilized and 14 Mg ha-1 in the unfertilized monoculture soils (i.e., after 35 maize crops) to 6-7 Mg ha-1 in both the fertilized and unfertilized legume-based rotation soils (i.e., after eight maize crops). The proportion of maize residue C returned to the soil and retained as soil organic C (i.e., Mg maize-derived soil C/Mg maize residue) was about 14% for all maize cropping systems. The quantity of C3-C below the plow layer in legume-based rotation was 40% greater than that in monoculture and about the same as that under either continuous grass or forest. The soil organic matter below the plow layer in soil under the legume-based rotation appeared to be in a more biologically resistant form (i.e., higher aromatic C content) compared with that under monoculture. The retention of maize residue C as soil organic matter was four to five times greater below the plow layer than that within the plow layer. We conclude that residue quality plays a key role in increasing the retention of soil C in agroecosystems and that soils under legume-based rotation tend to be more “preservative” of residue C inputs, particularly from root inputs, than soils under monoculture. Key words: Soil carbon, 13C natural abundance, 13C nuclear magnetic resonance, maize cropping, legumes, root carbon


2019 ◽  
Vol 447 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 521-535
Author(s):  
Nina L. Friggens ◽  
Thomas J. Aspray ◽  
Thomas C. Parker ◽  
Jens-Arne Subke ◽  
Philip A. Wookey

Abstract Aims In the Swedish sub-Arctic, mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) forests mediate rapid soil C cycling relative to adjacent tundra heaths, but little is known about the role of individual trees within forests. Here we investigate the spatial extent over which trees influence soil processes. Methods We measured respiration, soil C stocks, root and mycorrhizal productivity and fungi:bacteria ratios at fine spatial scales along 3 m transects extending radially from mountain birch trees in a sub-Arctic ecotone forest. Root and mycorrhizal productivity was quantified using in-growth techniques and fungi:bacteria ratios were determined by qPCR. Results Neither respiration, nor root and mycorrhizal production, varied along transects. Fungi:bacteria ratios, soil organic C stocks and standing litter declined with increasing distance from trees. Conclusions As 3 m is half the average size of forest gaps, these findings suggest that forest soil environments are efficiently explored by roots and associated mycorrhizal networks of B. pubescens. Individual trees exert influence substantially away from their base, creating more uniform distributions of root, mycorrhizal and bacterial activity than expected. However, overall rates of soil C accumulation do vary with distance from trees, with potential implications for spatio-temporal soil organic matter dynamics and net ecosystem C sequestration.


Soil Research ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Dalal ◽  
K. Y. Chan

The Australian cereal belt stretches as an arc from north-eastern Australia to south-western Australia (24˚S–40˚S and 125˚E–147˚E), with mean annual temperatures from 14˚C (temperate) to 26˚C (subtropical), and with annual rainfall ranging from 250 mm to 1500 mm. The predominant soil types of the cereal belt include Chromosols, Kandosols, Sodosols, and Vertosols, with significant areas of Ferrosols, Kurosols, Podosols, and Dermosols, covering approximately 20 Mha of arable cropping and 21 Mha of ley pastures. Cultivation and cropping has led to a substantial loss of soil organic matter (SOM) from the Australian cereal belt; the long-term SOM loss often exceeds 60% from the top 0–0.1 m depth after 50 years of cereal cropping. Loss of labile components of SOM such as sand-size or particulate SOM, microbial biomass, and mineralisable nitrogen has been even higher, thus resulting in greater loss in soil productivity than that assessed from the loss of total SOM alone. Since SOM is heterogeneous in nature, the significance and functions of its various components are ambiguous. It is essential that the relationship between levels of total SOM or its identif iable components and the most affected soil properties be established and then quantif ied before the concentrations or amounts of SOM and/or its components can be used as a performance indicator. There is also a need for experimentally verifiable soil organic C pools in modelling the dynamics and management of SOM. Furthermore, the interaction of environmental pollutants added to soil, soil microbial biodiversity, and SOM is poorly understood and therefore requires further study. Biophysically appropriate and cost-effective management practices for cereal cropping lands are required for restoring and maintaining organic matter for sustainable agriculture and restoration of degraded lands. The additional benefit of SOM restoration will be an increase in the long-term greenhouse C sink, which has the potentialto reduce greenhouse emissions by about 50 Mt CO2 equivalents/year over a 20-year period, although current improved agricultural practices can only sequester an estimated 23% of the potential soil C sink.


Soil Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Zhang ◽  
Ting Wei ◽  
Zhikuan Jia ◽  
Xiaolong Ren

The soil degradation caused by plastic film mulching tillage in rain-fed areas of north-west China is known to affect sustainable and stable crop yields because of major losses of soil organic carbon (SOC) and nutrients. To evaluate the effects of different plastic film mulching modes on SOC and total nitrogen (STN) sequestration capacity in loessic soil, we investigated the effects of different plastic film mulching on SOC, STN, and the soil C:N ratio in semiarid areas of southern Ningxia for a 4-year period (2013–2016). Five treatments were tested: (i) the control, conventional flat planting without mulching (CK); (ii) alternating mulching and bare rows without ridges and planting in mulched rows (P); (iii) furrow planting of maize, separated by consecutive plastic film-mulched ridges (S); (iv) furrow planting of maize, separated by alternating large and small plastic film-mulched ridges (D); and (v) furrow-flat planting of maize with a large plastic film-mulched ridge alternating with a flat plastic film-mulched space (R). In the final experimental year (2016), the results showed that the mean soil bulk density at 0–60 cm depth had decreased with film mulching treatments by 2.82%, 5.90% (P < 0.05), 7.29% (P < 0.05), and 9.46% (P < 0.05) respectively, compared with CK. Film mulching increased the concentration of SOC and STN, which were ranked in order S > R/D > P > CK; however, there was no significant increase with the storage of SOC and STN. The mean soil C:N ratio was higher with mulching treatment, i.e. 2.91% (P > 0.05) higher than CK in 0–60 cm depth. Mulching treatments significantly (P < 0.05) increased the stratification ratio (SR) of SOC and soil C: N ratio from the surface (0–20 cm) to all depths compared with CK, i.e. the SR of SOC at the 0–20:20–40 cm depth significantly (P < 0.05) increased with D, R, S, and P by 14.81%, 9.47%, 14.18%, and 9.51% respectively, compared with CK.


2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. A. Paul ◽  
H. P. Collins ◽  
K. Paustian ◽  
E. T. Elliott ◽  
S. Frey ◽  
...  

Factors controlling soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics in soil C sequestration and N fertility were determined from multi-site analysis of long-term, crop rotation experiments in Western Canada. Analyses included bulk density, organic and inorganic C and N, particulate organic C (POM-C) and N (POM -N), and CO2-C evolved during laboratory incubation. The POM-C and POM-N contents varied with soil type. Differences in POM-C contents between treatments at a site (δPOM-C) were related (r2= 0.68) to treatment differences in soil C (δSOC). The CO2-C, evolved during laboratory incubation, was the most sensitive indicator of management effects. The Gray Luvisol (Breton, AB) cultivated plots had a fivefold difference in CO2-C release relative to a twofold difference in soil organic carbon (SOC). Soils from cropped, Black Chernozems (Melfort and Indian Head, SK) and Dark Brown Chernozems (Lethbridge, AB) released 50 to 60% as much CO2-C as grassland soils. Differences in CO2 evolution from the treatment with the lowest SOM on a site and that of other treatments (δCO2-C) in the early stages of the incubation were correlated to δPOM-C and this pool reflects short-term SOC storage. Management for soil fertility, such as N release, may differ from management for C sequestration. Key words: Multi-site analysis, soil management, soil C and N, POM-C and N, CO2 evolution


Soil Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Erhart ◽  
Harald Schmid ◽  
Wilfried Hartl ◽  
Kurt-Jürgen Hülsbergen

Compost fertilisation is one way to close material cycles for organic matter and plant nutrients and to increase soil organic matter content. In this study, humus, nitrogen (N) and energy balances, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were calculated for a 14-year field experiment using the model software REPRO. Humus balances showed that compost fertilisation at a rate of 8 t/ha.year resulted in a positive balance of 115 kg carbon (C)/ha.year. With 14 and 20 t/ha.year of compost, respectively, humus accumulated at rates of 558 and 1021 kg C/ha.year. With mineral fertilisation at rates of 29–62 kg N/ha.year, balances were moderately negative (–169 to –227 kg C/ha.year), and a clear humus deficit of –457 kg C/ha.year showed in the unfertilised control. Compared with measured soil organic C (SOC) data, REPRO predicted SOC contents fairly well with the exception of the treatments with high compost rates, where SOC contents were overestimated by REPRO. GHG balances calculated with soil C sequestration on the basis of humus balances, and on the basis of soil analyses, indicated negative GHG emissions with medium and high compost rates. Mineral fertilisation yielded net GHG emissions of ~2000 kg CO2-eq/ha.year. The findings underline that compost fertilisation holds potential for C sequestration and for the reduction of GHG emissions, even though this potential is bound to level off with increasing soil C saturation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Plante ◽  
C. E. Stewart ◽  
R. T. Conant ◽  
K. Paustian ◽  
J. Six

Agricultural management affects soil organic matter, which is important for sustainable crop production and as a greenhouse gas sink. Our objective was to determine how tillage, residue management and N fertilization affect organic C in unprotected, and physically, chemically and biochemically protected soil C pools. Samples from Breton, Alberta were fractionated and analysed for organic C content. As in previous reports, N fertilization had a positive effect, tillage had a minimal effect, and straw management had no effect on whole-soil organic C. Tillage and straw management did not alter organic C concentrations in the isolated C pools, while N fertilization increased C concentrations in all pools. Compared with a woodlot soil, the cultivated plots had lower total organic C, and the C was redistributed among isolated pools. The free light fraction and coarse particulate organic matter responded positively to C inputs, suggesting that much of the accumulated organic C occurred in an unprotected pool. The easily dispersed silt-sized fraction was the mineral-associated pool most responsive to changes in C inputs, whereas the microaggregate-derived silt-sized fraction best preserved C upon cultivation. These findings suggest that the silt-sized fraction is important for the long-term stabilization of organic matter through both physical occlusion in microaggregates and chemical protection by mineral association. Key words: Soil organic C, tillage, residue management, N fertilization, silt, clay


Soil Research ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. P. Degens

An incubation study was conducted to test the effects of decomposing clover tops (added at 0, 6·2 or 12·5 mg organic matter/g soil) and earthworm activity on the contribution of carbohydrate C to the stability of aggregates in a sandy soil. Soils incubated with and without earthworms were separated into surface-casts and bulk soil, and the amounts of water-stable aggregates >1 mm surviving slow and rapid rewetting (when air-dry) in these soil separates were determined. Organic C and acid- and water-extractable carbohydrate C concentrations were determined in the aggregates and bulk soil. The treatments of 6·2 and 12·5 mg organic matter/g soil increased the >1 mm aggregation of the bulk soil by more than 2·2- and 2·8-fold, respectively, compared with the non-amended soils. With the addition of earthworms, there were increases from 1·7- to 1·8-fold only in aggregates surviving slow rewetting. The acid- and water-extractable carbohydrate C contents of aggregates >1 mm in the bulk and surface-cast soils were generally not greater than the carbohydrate C in the bulk soil. Generally, the carbohydrate C fractions were also not increased in the more stable aggregates (rapidly rewet) compared with the weaker aggregates (slowly rewet). Carbohydrate C in bulk soil was generally (P < 0·05) correlated with the amounts of aggregates surviving each rewetting treatment (r > 0·71, P < 0·01). In contrast, greater amounts of carbohydrate in aggregates surviving slow rewetting were not correlated (r < -0·45, P > 0·05), with a greater proportion of these aggregates resisting disruption when the soils were rapidly rewet (except for acid-extractable carbohydrate C; r = -0·84, P < 0·05). These results cast doubt on the usefulness of correlations in assessing the contribution of carbohydrate C to aggregation. The amounts of carbohydrate materials in the soil appeared to have little influence on aggregation, probably because the location of bonding compounds in the soil pore matrix is more critical.


1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N'dayegamiye ◽  
D. A. Angers

The long-term effects of wood-residue applications on soil properties are not well documented. This study was undertaken to characterize the organic matter and aggregation of a sandy loam after 9 yr of biennial application of wood residues (tree clippings) at rates of 25, 50 and 100 Mg ha−1 with and without nitrogen fertilization. Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents of the whole soil were determined as well as the C content of the density fractions and of the fractions soluble and insoluble to Na4P2O7. In comparison with the control, the whole-soil C content was 16–24% higher following application of wood residues alone and 16–37% higher for application of wood residues supplemented with nitrogen. The treatments had no effect on soil water-stable macroaggregation (> 250 μm). Wood-residue applications had no effect on the humic material (soluble in Na4P2O7) but favored the humin-C content (the fractions insoluble in Na4P2O7) by 25–60% relative to the control. The light-fraction organic matter was on average 68% larger, and the heavy fraction 17% larger, in the treated soils than in the control. On average, 80% of the differences in total organic C induced by residue application could be attributed to differences in the humin and heavy fractions. The long-term effect of wood-residue applications to the soil was, therefore, reflected in an accumulation of the more stable organic matter present as heavy and humin fractions. In addition, the differences in the light fractions suggested a short-term effect of wood-residue applications.Key words: Light and heavy fractions, wood residues, organic C, water-stable aggregates, humic acids, humins


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