Articles | Volume 3, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-31-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-31-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Original research article
| 
06 Feb 2017
Original research article |
| 06 Feb 2017
Thermal alteration of soil organic matter properties: a systematic study to infer response of Sierra Nevada climosequence soils to forest fires
Environmental Systems Graduate Group, University of California,
Merced, CA 95343, USA
Marilyn L. Fogel
Environmental Systems Graduate Group, University of California,
Merced, CA 95343, USA
Life and Environmental Sciences Unit, University of California,
Merced, CA 95343, USA
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
Environmental Systems Graduate Group, University of California,
Merced, CA 95343, USA
Life and Environmental Sciences Unit, University of California,
Merced, CA 95343, USA
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Samuel N. Araya, Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Jan W. Hopmans, and Teamrat A. Ghezzehei
SOIL, 8, 177–198, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-177-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-177-2022, 2022
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We studied the long-term effects of no-till (NT) and winter cover cropping (CC) practices on soil hydraulic properties. We measured soil water retention and conductivity and also conducted numerical simulations to compare soil water storage abilities under the different systems. Soils under NT and CC practices had improved soil structure. Conservation agriculture practices showed marginal improvement with respect to infiltration rates and water storage.
Samuel N. Araya, Anna Fryjoff-Hung, Andreas Anderson, Joshua H. Viers, and Teamrat A. Ghezzehei
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2739–2758, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2739-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2739-2021, 2021
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We took aerial photos of a grassland area using an unoccupied aerial vehicle and used the images to estimate soil moisture via machine learning. We were able to estimate soil moisture with high accuracy. Furthermore, by analyzing the machine learning models we developed, we learned how different factors drive the distribution of moisture across the landscape. Among the factors, rainfall, evapotranspiration, and topography were most important in controlling surface soil moisture distribution.
Samuel N. Araya, Mercer Meding, and Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
SOIL, 2, 351–366, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-351-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-351-2016, 2016
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Using laboratory heating, we studied effects of fire intensity on important topsoil characteristics. This study identifies critical temperature thresholds for significant physical and chemical changes in soils that developed under different climate regimes. Findings from this study will contribute towards estimating the amount and rate of change in essential soil properties that can be expected from topsoil exposure to different intensity fires under anticipated climate change scenarios.
Moritz Mainka, Laura Summerauer, Daniel Wasner, Gina Garland, Marco Griepentrog, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, and Sebastian Doetterl
Biogeosciences, 19, 1675–1689, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, 2022
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The largest share of terrestrial carbon is stored in soils, making them highly relevant as regards global change. Yet, the mechanisms governing soil carbon stabilization are not well understood. The present study contributes to a better understanding of these processes. We show that qualitative changes in soil organic matter (SOM) co-vary with alterations of the soil matrix following soil weathering. Hence, the type of SOM that is stabilized in soils might change as soils develop.
Samuel N. Araya, Jeffrey P. Mitchell, Jan W. Hopmans, and Teamrat A. Ghezzehei
SOIL, 8, 177–198, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-177-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-177-2022, 2022
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We studied the long-term effects of no-till (NT) and winter cover cropping (CC) practices on soil hydraulic properties. We measured soil water retention and conductivity and also conducted numerical simulations to compare soil water storage abilities under the different systems. Soils under NT and CC practices had improved soil structure. Conservation agriculture practices showed marginal improvement with respect to infiltration rates and water storage.
Daniel Rath, Nathaniel Bogie, Leonardo Deiss, Sanjai J. Parikh, Daoyuan Wang, Samantha Ying, Nicole Tautges, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Teamrat A. Ghezzehei, and Kate M. Scow
SOIL, 8, 59–83, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-59-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-59-2022, 2022
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Storing C in subsoils can help mitigate climate change, but this requires a better understanding of subsoil C dynamics. We investigated changes in subsoil C storage under a combination of compost, cover crops (WCC), and mineral fertilizer and found that systems with compost + WCC had ~19 Mg/ha more C after 25 years. This increase was attributed to increased transport of soluble C and nutrients via WCC root pores and demonstrates the potential for subsoil C storage in tilled agricultural systems.
Sophie F. von Fromm, Alison M. Hoyt, Markus Lange, Gifty E. Acquah, Ermias Aynekulu, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Stephan M. Haefele, Steve P. McGrath, Keith D. Shepherd, Andrew M. Sila, Johan Six, Erick K. Towett, Susan E. Trumbore, Tor-G. Vågen, Elvis Weullow, Leigh A. Winowiecki, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 305–332, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-305-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-305-2021, 2021
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We investigated various soil and climate properties that influence soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations in sub-Saharan Africa. Our findings indicate that climate and geochemistry are equally important for explaining SOC variations. The key SOC-controlling factors are broadly similar to those for temperate regions, despite differences in soil development history between the two regions.
Samuel N. Araya, Anna Fryjoff-Hung, Andreas Anderson, Joshua H. Viers, and Teamrat A. Ghezzehei
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2739–2758, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2739-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2739-2021, 2021
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We took aerial photos of a grassland area using an unoccupied aerial vehicle and used the images to estimate soil moisture via machine learning. We were able to estimate soil moisture with high accuracy. Furthermore, by analyzing the machine learning models we developed, we learned how different factors drive the distribution of moisture across the landscape. Among the factors, rainfall, evapotranspiration, and topography were most important in controlling surface soil moisture distribution.
Severin-Luca Bellè, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Frank Hagedorn, Cristina Santin, Marcus Schiedung, Ilja van Meerveld, and Samuel Abiven
Biogeosciences, 18, 1105–1126, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1105-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1105-2021, 2021
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Controls of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) redistribution under rainfall are largely unknown. However, PyC mobility can be substantial after initial rain in post-fire landscapes. We conducted a controlled simulation experiment on plots where PyC was applied on the soil surface. We identified redistribution of PyC by runoff and splash and vertical movement in the soil depending on soil texture and PyC characteristics (material and size). PyC also induced changes in exports of native soil organic carbon.
Erika Marín-Spiotta, Rebecca T. Barnes, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Meredith G. Hastings, Allison Mattheis, Blair Schneider, and Billy M. Williams
Adv. Geosci., 53, 117–127, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-53-117-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-53-117-2020, 2020
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The geosciences are one of the least diverse disciplines in the United States, despite the field's relevance to people's livelihoods and economies. Bias, discrimination and harassment present serious hurdles to diversifying the field. We summarize research on the factors that contribute to the persistence of hostile climates in the geosciences and other scientific disciplines and provide recommendations for cultural change through the role of mentoring networks and professional associations.
Corey R. Lawrence, Jeffrey Beem-Miller, Alison M. Hoyt, Grey Monroe, Carlos A. Sierra, Shane Stoner, Katherine Heckman, Joseph C. Blankinship, Susan E. Crow, Gavin McNicol, Susan Trumbore, Paul A. Levine, Olga Vindušková, Katherine Todd-Brown, Craig Rasmussen, Caitlin E. Hicks Pries, Christina Schädel, Karis McFarlane, Sebastian Doetterl, Christine Hatté, Yujie He, Claire Treat, Jennifer W. Harden, Margaret S. Torn, Cristian Estop-Aragonés, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Marco Keiluweit, Ágatha Della Rosa Kuhnen, Erika Marin-Spiotta, Alain F. Plante, Aaron Thompson, Zheng Shi, Joshua P. Schimel, Lydia J. S. Vaughn, Sophie F. von Fromm, and Rota Wagai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 61–76, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-61-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-61-2020, 2020
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The International Soil Radiocarbon Database (ISRaD) is an an open-source archive of soil data focused on datasets including radiocarbon measurements. ISRaD includes data from bulk or
whole soils, distinct soil carbon pools isolated in the laboratory by a variety of soil fractionation methods, samples of soil gas or water collected interstitially from within an intact soil profile, CO2 gas isolated from laboratory soil incubations, and fluxes collected in situ from a soil surface.
Teamrat A. Ghezzehei, Benjamin Sulman, Chelsea L. Arnold, Nathaniel A. Bogie, and Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
Biogeosciences, 16, 1187–1209, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1187-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1187-2019, 2019
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Soil water is a medium from which microbes acquire resources and within which they are able to move. Occupancy and availability of water and oxygen gas in soils are mutually exclusive. In addition, as soil dries the remaining water is held with an increasing degree of adhesive energy, which restricts microbes' ability to extract resources from water. We introduce a mathematical model that describes these interacting effects and organic matter decomposition.
Samuel N. Araya, Mercer Meding, and Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
SOIL, 2, 351–366, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-351-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-351-2016, 2016
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Using laboratory heating, we studied effects of fire intensity on important topsoil characteristics. This study identifies critical temperature thresholds for significant physical and chemical changes in soils that developed under different climate regimes. Findings from this study will contribute towards estimating the amount and rate of change in essential soil properties that can be expected from topsoil exposure to different intensity fires under anticipated climate change scenarios.
E. M. Stacy, S. C. Hart, C. T. Hunsaker, D. W. Johnson, and A. A. Berhe
Biogeosciences, 12, 4861–4874, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4861-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4861-2015, 2015
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In the southern parts of the Sierra Nevada in California, we investigated erosion of carbon and nitrogen from low-order catchments. We found that eroded sediments were OM rich, with a potential for significant gaseous and dissolved loss of OM during transport or after depositional in downslope or downstream depositional landform positions.
T. A. Ghezzehei, D. V. Sarkhot, and A. A. Berhe
Solid Earth, 5, 953–962, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-5-953-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-5-953-2014, 2014
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Cover crops improve soil structure and change organic carbon distribution in macroaggregate fractions
Soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus storage in juniper–oak savanna: role of vegetation and geology
Organic matters, but inorganic matters too: column examination of elevated mercury sorption on low organic matter aquifer material using concentrations and stable isotope ratios
Contrasting potential for biological N2 fixation at three polluted central European Sphagnum peat bogs: combining the 15N2-tracer and natural-abundance isotope approaches
Soil organic carbon stocks did not change after 130 years of afforestation on a former Swiss Alpine pasture
Land inclination controls CO2 and N2O fluxes, but not CH4 uptake, in a temperate upland forest soil
Tropical Andosol organic carbon quality and degradability in relation to soil geochemistry as affected by land use
Elemental stoichiometry and Rock-Eval® thermal stability of organic matter in French topsoils
Oil-palm management alters the spatial distribution of amorphous silica and mobile silicon in topsoils
Semantics about soil organic carbon storage: DATA4C+, a comprehensive thesaurus and classification of management practices in agriculture and forestry
Forest liming in the face of climate change: the implications of restorative liming for soil organic carbon in mature German forests
Biotic factors dominantly determine soil inorganic carbon stock across Tibetan alpine grasslands
Effects of returning corn straw and fermented corn straw to fields on the soil organic carbon pools and humus composition
Soil nutrient contents and stoichiometry within aggregate size classes varied with tea plantation age and soil depth in southern Guangxi in China
Land use impact on carbon mineralization in well aerated soils is mainly explained by variations of particulate organic matter rather than of soil structure
Inclusion of biochar in a C dynamics model based on observations from an 8-year field experiment
Synergy between compost and cover crops in a Mediterranean row crop system leads to increased subsoil carbon storage
Phosphorus dynamics during early soil development in a cold desert: insights from oxygen isotopes in phosphate
Transformation of n-alkanes from plant to soil: a review
Heterotrophic soil respiration and carbon cycling in geochemically distinct African tropical forest soils
Soil organic carbon mobility in equatorial podzols: soil column experiments
Microbial activity responses to water stress in agricultural soils from simple and complex crop rotations
The role of geochemistry in organic carbon stabilization against microbial decomposition in tropical rainforest soils
Geogenic organic carbon in terrestrial sediments and its contribution to total soil carbon
Aluminous clay and pedogenic Fe oxides modulate aggregation and related carbon contents in soils of the humid tropics
Continental-scale controls on soil organic carbon across sub-Saharan Africa
Modelling of long-term Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb dynamics from soils fertilised with organic amendments
Stable isotope signatures of soil nitrogen on an environmental–geomorphic gradient within the Congo Basin
Iron and aluminum association with microbially processed organic matter via meso-density aggregate formation across soils: organo-metallic glue hypothesis
Land-use perturbations in ley grassland decouple the degradation of ancient soil organic matter from the storage of newly derived carbon inputs
Switch of fungal to bacterial degradation in natural, drained and rewetted oligotrophic peatlands reflected in δ15N and fatty acid composition
Catchment export of base cations: improved mineral dissolution kinetics influence the role of water transit time
Boreal-forest soil chemistry drives soil organic carbon bioreactivity along a 314-year fire chronosequence
Ramped thermal analysis for isolating biologically meaningful soil organic matter fractions with distinct residence times
Variations in soil chemical and physical properties explain basin-wide Amazon forest soil carbon concentrations
Lithology- and climate-controlled soil aggregate-size distribution and organic carbon stability in the Peruvian Andes
Evaluating the effects of soil erosion and productivity decline on soil carbon dynamics using a model-based approach
Base cations in the soil bank: non-exchangeable pools may sustain centuries of net loss to forestry and leaching
Short-range-order minerals as powerful factors explaining deep soil organic carbon stock distribution: the case of a coffee agroforestry plantation on Andosols in Costa Rica
A new look at an old concept: using 15N2O isotopomers to understand the relationship between soil moisture and N2O production pathways
Assessing the impact of acid rain and forest harvest intensity with the HD-MINTEQ model – soil chemistry of three Swedish conifer sites from 1880 to 2080
Dynamic modelling of weathering rates – the benefit over steady-state modelling
Aluminium and base cation chemistry in dynamic acidification models – need for a reappraisal?
Challenges of soil carbon sequestration in the NENA region
Continental soil drivers of ammonium and nitrate in Australia
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Nitrate retention capacity of milldam-impacted legacy sediments and relict A horizon soils
Norman Gentsch, Florin Laura Riechers, Jens Boy, Dörte Schweneker, Ulf Feuerstein, Diana Heuermann, and Georg Guggenberger
SOIL, 10, 139–150, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-139-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-139-2024, 2024
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Cover crops have substantial impacts on soil properties, but so far it is not clear how long a legacy effect of cover cropping will remain in the soil. We found that cover crops attenuate negative effects on soil structure that come from soil cultivation. The combination of plants with different litter qualities and rhizodeposits in biodiverse cover crop mixtures can improve the positive effects of cover cropping on soil structure amelioration.
Che-Jen Hsiao, Pedro A. M. Leite, Ayumi Hyodo, and Thomas W. Boutton
SOIL, 10, 93–108, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-93-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-93-2024, 2024
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Tree cover has increased in grasslands worldwide, with juniper and oak trees expanding in the southern Great Plains, USA. Here, we examine how these changes interact with geology to affect soil C, N, and P storage. Soil concentrations of these elements were significantly higher under trees than grasslands but increased more under trees growing on Edwards soils. Our results suggest that geology and vegetation change should be considered when predicting soil storage in dryland ecosystems globally.
David S. McLagan, Carina Esser, Lorenz Schwab, Jan G. Wiederhold, Jan-Helge Richard, and Harald Biester
SOIL, 10, 77–92, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-77-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-77-2024, 2024
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Sorption of mercury in soils, aquifer materials, and sediments is primarily linked to organic matter. Using column experiments, mercury concentration, speciation, and stable isotope analyses, we show that large quantities of mercury in soil water and groundwater can be sorbed to inorganic minerals; sorption to the solid phase favours lighter isotopes. Data provide important insights on the transport and fate of mercury in soil–groundwater systems and particularly in low-organic-matter systems.
Marketa Stepanova, Martin Novak, Bohuslava Cejkova, Ivana Jackova, Frantisek Buzek, Frantisek Veselovsky, Jan Curik, Eva Prechova, Arnost Komarek, and Leona Bohdalkova
SOIL, 9, 623–640, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-623-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-623-2023, 2023
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Biological N2 fixation helps to sustain carbon accumulation in peatlands and to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Changes in N2 fixation may affect the dynamics of global change. Increasing inputs of reactive N from air pollution should lead to downregulation of N2 fixation. Data from three N-polluted peat bogs show an interplay of N2-fixation rates with 10 potential drivers of this process. N2 fixation was measurable only at one site characterized by high phosphorus and low sulfate availability.
Tatjana C. Speckert, Jeannine Suremann, Konstantin Gavazov, Maria J. Santos, Frank Hagedorn, and Guido L. B. Wiesenberg
SOIL, 9, 609–621, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-609-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-609-2023, 2023
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Soil organic carbon (SOC) is key player in the global carbon cycle. Afforestation on pastures potentially alters organic matter input and SOC sequestration. We investigated the effects of a Picea abies L. afforestation sequence (0 to 130 years) on a former subalpine pasture on SOC stocks and dynamics. We found no difference in the SOC stock after 130 years of afforestation and thus no additional SOC sequestration. SOC composition was altered due to a modified SOC input following afforestation.
Lauren M. Gillespie, Nathalie Y. Triches, Diego Abalos, Peter Finke, Sophie Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Stephan Glatzel, and Eugenio Díaz-Pinés
SOIL, 9, 517–531, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-517-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-517-2023, 2023
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Forest soil is potentially an important source or sink of greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, and CH4), but this is affected by soil conditions. We studied how land inclination and soil/litter properties influence the flux of these gases. CO2 and N2O were more affected by inclination than CH4; all were affected by soil/litter properties. This study underlines the importance of inclination and soil/litter properties in predicting greenhouse gas fluxes from forest soil and potential source–sink balance.
Sastrika Anindita, Peter Finke, and Steven Sleutel
SOIL, 9, 443–459, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-443-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-443-2023, 2023
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This study investigated how land use, through its impact on soil geochemistry, might indirectly control soil organic carbon (SOC) content in tropical volcanic soils in Indonesia. We analyzed SOC fractions, substrate-specific mineralization, and net priming of SOC. Our results indicated that the enhanced formation of aluminum (hydr)oxides promoted aggregation and physical occlusion of OC, which is consistent with the lesser degradability of SOC in agricultural soils.
Amicie A. Delahaie, Pierre Barré, François Baudin, Dominique Arrouays, Antonio Bispo, Line Boulonne, Claire Chenu, Claudy Jolivet, Manuel P. Martin, Céline Ratié, Nicolas P. A. Saby, Florence Savignac, and Lauric Cécillon
SOIL, 9, 209–229, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-209-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-209-2023, 2023
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We characterized organic matter in French soils by analysing samples from the French RMQS network using Rock-Eval thermal analysis. We found that thermal analysis is appropriate to characterize large set of samples (ca. 2000) and provides interpretation references for Rock-Eval parameter values. This shows that organic matter in managed soils is on average more oxidized and more thermally stable and that some Rock-Eval parameters are good proxies for organic matter biogeochemical stability.
Britta Greenshields, Barbara von der Lühe, Harold J. Hughes, Christian Stiegler, Suria Tarigan, Aiyen Tjoa, and Daniela Sauer
SOIL, 9, 169–188, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-169-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-169-2023, 2023
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Silicon (Si) research could provide complementary measures in sustainably cultivating oil-palm monocultures. Our study shows that current oil-palm management practices and topsoil erosion on oil-palm plantations in Indonesia have caused a spatial distribution of essential Si pools in soil. A lack of well-balanced Si levels in topsoil could negatively affect crop yield and soil fertility for future replanting at the same plantation site. Potential measures are suggested to maintain Si cycling.
Kenji Fujisaki, Tiphaine Chevallier, Antonio Bispo, Jean-Baptiste Laurent, François Thevenin, Lydie Chapuis-Lardy, Rémi Cardinael, Christine Le Bas, Vincent Freycon, Fabrice Bénédet, Vincent Blanfort, Michel Brossard, Marie Tella, and Julien Demenois
SOIL, 9, 89–100, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-89-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-89-2023, 2023
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This paper presents a first comprehensive thesaurus for management practices driving soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. So far, a comprehensive thesaurus of management practices in agriculture and forestry has been lacking. It will help to merge datasets, a promising way to evaluate the impacts of management practices in agriculture and forestry on SOC. Identifying the drivers of SOC stock changes is of utmost importance to contribute to global challenges (climate change, food security).
Oliver van Straaten, Larissa Kulp, Guntars O. Martinson, Dan Paul Zederer, and Ulrike Talkner
SOIL, 9, 39–54, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-39-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-39-2023, 2023
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Across northern Europe, millions of hectares of forest have been limed to counteract soil acidification and restore forest ecosystems. In this study, we investigated how restorative liming affects the forest soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and correspondingly ecosystem greenhouse gas fluxes. We found that the magnitude and direction of SOC stock changes hinge on the inherent site characteristics, namely, forest type, soil texture, initial soil pH, and initial soil SOC stocks (before liming).
Junxiao Pan, Jinsong Wang, Dashuan Tian, Ruiyang Zhang, Yang Li, Lei Song, Jiaming Yang, Chunxue Wei, and Shuli Niu
SOIL, 8, 687–698, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-687-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-687-2022, 2022
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We found that climatic, edaphic, plant and microbial variables jointly affect soil inorganic carbon (SIC) stock in Tibetan grasslands, and biotic factors have a larger contribution than abiotic factors to the variation in SIC stock. The effects of microbial and plant variables on SIC stock weakened with soil depth, while the effects of edaphic variables strengthened. The contrasting responses and drivers of SIC stock highlight differential mechanisms underlying SIC preservation with soil depth.
Yifeng Zhang, Sen Dou, Batande Sinovuyo Ndzelu, Rui Ma, Dandan Zhang, Xiaowei Zhang, Shufen Ye, and Hongrui Wang
SOIL, 8, 605–619, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-605-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-605-2022, 2022
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How to effectively convert corn straw into humic substances and return them to the soil in a relatively stable form is a concerning topic. Through a 360 d field experiment under equal carbon (C) mass, we found that return of the fermented corn straw treated with Trichoderma reesei to the field is more valuable and conducive to increasing easily oxidizable organic C, humus C content, and carbon pool management index than the direct application of corn straw.
Ling Mao, Shaoming Ye, and Shengqiang Wang
SOIL, 8, 487–505, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-487-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-487-2022, 2022
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Soil ecological stoichiometry offers a tool to explore the distribution, cycling, limitation, and balance of chemical elements. This study improved the understanding of soil organic carbon and nutrient dynamics in tea plantation ecosystems and also provided supplementary information for soil ecological stoichiometry in global terrestrial ecosystems.
Steffen Schlüter, Tim Roussety, Lena Rohe, Vusal Guliyev, Evgenia Blagodatskaya, and Thomas Reitz
SOIL, 8, 253–267, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-253-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-253-2022, 2022
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We combined microstructure analysis via X-ray CT with carbon mineralization analysis via respirometry of intact soil cores from different land uses. We found that the amount of particulate organic matter (POM) exerted a dominant control on carbon mineralization in well-aerated topsoils, whereas soil moisture and macroporosity did not play role. This is because carbon mineralization mainly occurs in microbial hotspots around degrading POM, where it is decoupled from conditions of the bulk soil.
Roberta Pulcher, Enrico Balugani, Maurizio Ventura, Nicolas Greggio, and Diego Marazza
SOIL, 8, 199–211, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-199-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-199-2022, 2022
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Biochar, a solid product from the thermal conversion of biomass, can be used as a climate change mitigation strategy, since it can sequester carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the soil. The aim of this study is to assess the potential of biochar as a mitigation strategy in the long term, by modelling the results obtained from an 8-year field experiment. As far as we know, this is the first time that a model for biochar degradation has been validated with long-term field data.
Daniel Rath, Nathaniel Bogie, Leonardo Deiss, Sanjai J. Parikh, Daoyuan Wang, Samantha Ying, Nicole Tautges, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Teamrat A. Ghezzehei, and Kate M. Scow
SOIL, 8, 59–83, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-59-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-59-2022, 2022
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Storing C in subsoils can help mitigate climate change, but this requires a better understanding of subsoil C dynamics. We investigated changes in subsoil C storage under a combination of compost, cover crops (WCC), and mineral fertilizer and found that systems with compost + WCC had ~19 Mg/ha more C after 25 years. This increase was attributed to increased transport of soluble C and nutrients via WCC root pores and demonstrates the potential for subsoil C storage in tilled agricultural systems.
Zuzana Frkova, Chiara Pistocchi, Yuliya Vystavna, Katerina Capkova, Jiri Dolezal, and Federica Tamburini
SOIL, 8, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-1-2022, 2022
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Phosphorus (P) is essential for life. We studied microbial processes driving the P cycle in soils developed on the same rock but with different ages (0–100 years) in a cold desert. Compared to previous studies under cold climate, we found much slower weathering of P-containing minerals of soil development, likely due to aridity. However, microbes dominate short-term dynamics and progressively redistribute P from the rock into more available forms, making it available for plants at later stages.
Carrie L. Thomas, Boris Jansen, E. Emiel van Loon, and Guido L. B. Wiesenberg
SOIL, 7, 785–809, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-785-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-785-2021, 2021
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Plant organs, such as leaves, contain a variety of chemicals that are eventually deposited into soil and can be useful for studying organic carbon cycling. We performed a systematic review of available data of one type of plant-derived chemical, n-alkanes, to determine patterns of degradation or preservation from the source plant to the soil. We found that while there was degradation in the amount of n-alkanes from plant to soil, some aspects of the chemical signature were preserved.
Benjamin Bukombe, Peter Fiener, Alison M. Hoyt, Laurent K. Kidinda, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 639–659, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-639-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-639-2021, 2021
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Through a laboratory incubation experiment, we investigated the spatial patterns of specific maximum heterotrophic respiration in tropical African mountain forest soils developed from contrasting parent material along slope gradients. We found distinct differences in soil respiration between soil depths and geochemical regions related to soil fertility and the chemistry of the soil solution. The topographic origin of our samples was not a major determinant of the observed rates of respiration.
Patricia Merdy, Yves Lucas, Bruno Coulomb, Adolpho J. Melfi, and Célia R. Montes
SOIL, 7, 585–594, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-585-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-585-2021, 2021
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Transfer of organic C from topsoil to deeper horizons and the water table is little documented, especially in equatorial environments, despite high primary productivity in the evergreen forest. Using column experiments with podzol soil and a percolating solution sampled in an Amazonian podzol area, we show how the C-rich Bh horizon plays a role in natural organic matter transfer and Si, Fe and Al mobility after a kaolinitic layer transition, thus giving insight to the genesis of tropical podzol.
Jörg Schnecker, D. Boone Meeden, Francisco Calderon, Michel Cavigelli, R. Michael Lehman, Lisa K. Tiemann, and A. Stuart Grandy
SOIL, 7, 547–561, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-547-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-547-2021, 2021
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Drought and flooding challenge agricultural systems and their management globally. Here we investigated the response of soils from long-term agricultural field sites with simple and diverse crop rotations to either drought or flooding. We found that irrespective of crop rotation complexity, soil and microbial properties were more resistant to flooding than to drought and highly resilient to drought and flooding during single or repeated stress pulses.
Mario Reichenbach, Peter Fiener, Gina Garland, Marco Griepentrog, Johan Six, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 453–475, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-453-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-453-2021, 2021
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In deeply weathered tropical rainforest soils of Africa, we found that patterns of soil organic carbon stocks differ between soils developed from geochemically contrasting parent material due to differences in the abundance of organo-mineral complexes, the presence/absence of chemical stabilization mechanisms of carbon with minerals and the presence of fossil organic carbon from sedimentary rocks. Physical stabilization mechanisms by aggregation provide additional protection of soil carbon.
Fabian Kalks, Gabriel Noren, Carsten W. Mueller, Mirjam Helfrich, Janet Rethemeyer, and Axel Don
SOIL, 7, 347–362, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-347-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-347-2021, 2021
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Sedimentary rocks contain organic carbon that may end up as soil carbon. However, this source of soil carbon is overlooked and has not been quantified sufficiently. We analysed 10 m long sediment cores with three different sedimentary rocks. All sediments contain considerable amounts of geogenic carbon contributing 3 %–12 % to the total soil carbon below 30 cm depth. The low 14C content of geogenic carbon can result in underestimations of soil carbon turnover derived from 14C data.
Maximilian Kirsten, Robert Mikutta, Didas N. Kimaro, Karl-Heinz Feger, and Karsten Kalbitz
SOIL, 7, 363–375, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-363-2021, 2021
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Mineralogical combinations of aluminous clay and pedogenic Fe oxides revealed significant effects on soil structure and related organic carbon (OC) storage.
The mineralogical combination resulting in the largest aggregate stability does not better preserve OC during conversion of forests into croplands.
Structural changes in the direction of smaller mean weight diameters do not cancel out the stabilizing effect of soil minerals.
Sophie F. von Fromm, Alison M. Hoyt, Markus Lange, Gifty E. Acquah, Ermias Aynekulu, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Stephan M. Haefele, Steve P. McGrath, Keith D. Shepherd, Andrew M. Sila, Johan Six, Erick K. Towett, Susan E. Trumbore, Tor-G. Vågen, Elvis Weullow, Leigh A. Winowiecki, and Sebastian Doetterl
SOIL, 7, 305–332, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-305-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-305-2021, 2021
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We investigated various soil and climate properties that influence soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations in sub-Saharan Africa. Our findings indicate that climate and geochemistry are equally important for explaining SOC variations. The key SOC-controlling factors are broadly similar to those for temperate regions, despite differences in soil development history between the two regions.
Claudia Cagnarini, Stephen Lofts, Luigi Paolo D'Acqui, Jochen Mayer, Roman Grüter, Susan Tandy, Rainer Schulin, Benjamin Costerousse, Simone Orlandini, and Giancarlo Renella
SOIL, 7, 107–123, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-107-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-107-2021, 2021
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Application of organic amendments, although considered a sustainable form of soil fertilisation, may cause an accumulation of trace elements (TEs) in the topsoil. In this research, we analysed the concentration of zinc, copper, lead and cadmium in a > 60-year experiment in Switzerland and showed that the dynamic model IDMM adequately predicted the historical TE concentrations in plots amended with farmyard manure, sewage sludge and compost and produced reasonable concentration trends up to 2100.
Simon Baumgartner, Marijn Bauters, Matti Barthel, Travis W. Drake, Landry C. Ntaboba, Basile M. Bazirake, Johan Six, Pascal Boeckx, and Kristof Van Oost
SOIL, 7, 83–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-83-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-83-2021, 2021
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We compared stable isotope signatures of soil profiles in different forest ecosystems within the Congo Basin to assess ecosystem-level differences in N cycling, and we examined the local effect of topography on the isotopic signature of soil N. Soil δ15N profiles indicated that the N cycling in in the montane forest is more closed, whereas the lowland forest and Miombo woodland experienced a more open N cycle. Topography only alters soil δ15N values in forests with high erosional forces.
Rota Wagai, Masako Kajiura, and Maki Asano
SOIL, 6, 597–627, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-597-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-597-2020, 2020
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Global significance of metals (extractable Fe and Al phases) to control organic matter (OM) in recognized. Next key questions include the identification of their localization and mechanism behind OM–metal relationships. Across 23 soils of contrasting mineralogy, Fe and Al phases were mainly associated with microbially processed OM as meso-density microaggregates. OM- and metal-rich nanocomposites with a narrow OM : metal ratio likely acted as binding agents. A new conceptual model was proposed.
Marco Panettieri, Denis Courtier-Murias, Cornelia Rumpel, Marie-France Dignac, Gonzalo Almendros, and Abad Chabbi
SOIL, 6, 435–451, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-435-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-435-2020, 2020
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In the context of global change, soil has been identified as a potential C sink, depending on land-use strategies. This work is devoted to identifying the processes affecting labile soil C pools resulting from changes in land use. We show that the land-use change in ley grassland provoked a decoupling of the storage and degradation processes after the grassland phase. Overall, the study enables us to develop a sufficient understanding of fine-scale C dynamics to refine soil C prediction models.
Miriam Groß-Schmölders, Pascal von Sengbusch, Jan Paul Krüger, Kristy Klein, Axel Birkholz, Jens Leifeld, and Christine Alewell
SOIL, 6, 299–313, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-299-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-299-2020, 2020
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Degradation turns peatlands into a source of CO2. There is no cost- or time-efficient method available for indicating peatland hydrology or the success of restoration. We found that 15N values have a clear link to microbial communities and degradation. We identified trends in natural, drained and rewetted conditions and concluded that 15N depth profiles can act as a reliable and efficient tool for obtaining information on current hydrology, restoration success and drainage history.
Martin Erlandsson Lampa, Harald U. Sverdrup, Kevin H. Bishop, Salim Belyazid, Ali Ameli, and Stephan J. Köhler
SOIL, 6, 231–244, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-231-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-231-2020, 2020
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In this study, we demonstrate how new equations describing base cation release from mineral weathering can reproduce patterns in observations from stream and soil water. This is a major step towards modeling base cation cycling on the catchment scale, which would be valuable for defining the highest sustainable rates of forest harvest and levels of acidifying deposition.
Benjamin Andrieux, David Paré, Julien Beguin, Pierre Grondin, and Yves Bergeron
SOIL, 6, 195–213, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-195-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-195-2020, 2020
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Our study aimed to disentangle the contribution of several drivers to explaining the proportion of soil carbon that can be released to CO2 through microbial respiration. We found that boreal-forest soil chemistry is an important driver of the amount of carbon that microbes can process. Our results emphasize the need to include the effects of soil chemistry into models of carbon cycling to better anticipate the role played by boreal-forest soils in carbon-cycle–climate feedbacks.
Jonathan Sanderman and A. Stuart Grandy
SOIL, 6, 131–144, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-131-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-131-2020, 2020
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Soils contain one of the largest and most dynamic pools of carbon on Earth, yet scientists still struggle to understand the reactivity and fate of soil organic matter upon disturbance. In this study, we found that with increasing thermal stability, the turnover time of organic matter increased from decades to centuries with a concurrent shift in chemical composition. In this proof-of-concept study, we found that ramped thermal analyses can provide new insights for understanding soil carbon.
Carlos Alberto Quesada, Claudia Paz, Erick Oblitas Mendoza, Oliver Lawrence Phillips, Gustavo Saiz, and Jon Lloyd
SOIL, 6, 53–88, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-53-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-53-2020, 2020
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Amazon soils hold as much carbon (C) as is contained in the vegetation. In this work we sampled soils across 8 different Amazonian countries to try to understand which soil properties control current Amazonian soil C concentrations. We confirm previous knowledge that highly developed soils hold C through clay content interactions but also show a previously unreported mechanism of soil C stabilization in the younger Amazonian soil types which hold C through aluminium organic matter interactions.
Songyu Yang, Boris Jansen, Samira Absalah, Rutger L. van Hall, Karsten Kalbitz, and Erik L. H. Cammeraat
SOIL, 6, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-1-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-1-2020, 2020
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Soils store large carbon and are important for global warming. We do not know what factors are important for soil carbon storage in the alpine Andes or how they work. We studied how rainfall affects soil carbon storage related to soil structure. We found soil structure is not important, but soil carbon storage and stability controlled by rainfall is dependent on rocks under the soils. The results indicate that we should pay attention to the rocks when we study soil carbon storage in the Andes.
Samuel Bouchoms, Zhengang Wang, Veerle Vanacker, and Kristof Van Oost
SOIL, 5, 367–382, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-367-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-367-2019, 2019
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Soil erosion has detrimental effects on soil fertility which can reduce carbon inputs coming from crops to soils. Our study integrated this effect into a model linking soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics to erosion and crop productivity. When compared to observations, the inclusion of productivity improved SOC loss predictions. Over centuries, ignoring crop productivity evolution in models could result in underestimating SOC loss and overestimating C exchanged with the atmosphere.
Nicholas P. Rosenstock, Johan Stendahl, Gregory van der Heijden, Lars Lundin, Eric McGivney, Kevin Bishop, and Stefan Löfgren
SOIL, 5, 351–366, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-351-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-351-2019, 2019
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Biofuel harvests from forests involve large removals of available nutrients, necessitating accurate measurements of soil nutrient stocks. We found that dilute hydrochloric acid extractions from soils released far more Ca, Na, and K than classical salt–extracted exchangeable nutrient pools. The size of these acid–extractable pools may indicate that forest ecosystems could sustain greater biomass extractions of Ca, Mg, and K than are predicted from salt–extracted exchangeable base cation pools.
Tiphaine Chevallier, Kenji Fujisaki, Olivier Roupsard, Florian Guidat, Rintaro Kinoshita, Elias de Melo Viginio Filho, Peter Lehner, and Alain Albrecht
SOIL, 5, 315–332, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-315-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-315-2019, 2019
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Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial C stock. Andosols of volcanic areas hold particularly large stocks (e.g. from 24 to 72 kgC m−2 in the upper 2 m of soil) as determined via MIR spectrometry at our Costa Rican study site: a 1 km2 basin covered by coffee agroforestry. Andic soil properties explained this high variability, which did not correlate with stocks in the upper 20 cm of soil. Topography and pedogenesis are needed to understand the SOC stocks at landscape scales.
Katelyn A. Congreves, Trang Phan, and Richard E. Farrell
SOIL, 5, 265–274, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-265-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-265-2019, 2019
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There are surprising grey areas in the precise quantification of pathways that produce nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, as influenced by soil moisture. Here, we take a new look at a classic study but use isotopomers as a powerful tool to determine the source pathways of nitrous oxide as regulated by soil moisture. Our results support earlier research, but we contribute scientific advancements by providing models that enable quantifying source partitioning rather than just inferencing.
Eric McGivney, Jon Petter Gustafsson, Salim Belyazid, Therese Zetterberg, and Stefan Löfgren
SOIL, 5, 63–77, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-63-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-63-2019, 2019
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Forest management may lead to long-term soil acidification due to the removal of base cations during harvest. By means of the HD-MINTEQ model, we compared the acidification effects of harvesting with the effects of historical acid rain at three forested sites in Sweden. The effects of harvesting on pH were predicted to be much smaller than those resulting from acid deposition during the 20th century. There were only very small changes in predicted weathering rates due to acid rain or harvest.
Veronika Kronnäs, Cecilia Akselsson, and Salim Belyazid
SOIL, 5, 33–47, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-33-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-5-33-2019, 2019
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Weathering rates in forest soils are important for sustainable forestry but cannot be measured. In this paper, we have modelled weathering with the commonly used PROFILE model as well as with the dynamic model ForSAFE, better suited to a changing climate with changing human activities but never before tested for weathering calculations. We show that ForSAFE gives comparable weathering rates to PROFILE and that it shows the variation in weathering with time and works well for scenario modelling.
Jon Petter Gustafsson, Salim Belyazid, Eric McGivney, and Stefan Löfgren
SOIL, 4, 237–250, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-237-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-237-2018, 2018
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This paper investigates how different dynamic soil chemistry models describe the processes governing aluminium and base cations in acid soil waters. We find that traditional cation-exchange equations, which are still used in many models, diverge from state-of-the-art complexation submodels such as WHAM, SHM, and NICA-Donnan when large fluctuations in pH or ionic strength occur. In conclusion, the complexation models provide a better basis for the modelling of chemical dynamics in acid soils.
Talal Darwish, Thérèse Atallah, and Ali Fadel
SOIL, 4, 225–235, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-225-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-225-2018, 2018
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This paper is part of the GSP-ITPS effort to produce a global SOC map and update information on C stocks using old and new soil information to assess the potential for enhanced C sequestration in dry land areas of the NENA region. We used the DSMW from FAO-UNESCO (2007), focusing on organic and inorganic content in 0.3 m of topsoil and 0.7 m of subsoil, to discuss the human factors affecting the accumulation of organic C and the fate of inorganic C.
Juhwan Lee, Gina M. Garland, and Raphael A. Viscarra Rossel
SOIL, 4, 213–224, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-213-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-213-2018, 2018
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Soil nitrogen (N) is an essential element for plant growth, but its plant-available forms are subject to loss from the environment by leaching and gaseous emissions. Still, factors controlling soil mineral N concentrations at large spatial scales are not well understood. We determined and discussed primary soil controls over the concentrations of NH4+ and NO3− at the continental scale of Australia while considering specific dominant land use patterns on a regional basis.
Eleanor Ursula Hobley, Brian Murphy, and Aaron Simmons
SOIL, 4, 169–171, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-169-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-169-2018, 2018
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This research evaluates equations to calculate soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Although various equations exist for SOC stock calculations, we recommend using the simplest equation with THE lowest associated errors. Adjusting SOC stock calculations for rock content is essential. Using the mass proportion of rocks to do so minimizes error.
Cora Vos, Angélica Jaconi, Anna Jacobs, and Axel Don
SOIL, 4, 153–167, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-153-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-4-153-2018, 2018
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Soil organic carbon sequestration can be facilitated by agricultural management, but its influence is not the same on all soil carbon pools. We assessed how soil organic carbon is distributed among C pools in Germany, identified factors influencing this distribution and identified regions with high vulnerability to C losses. Explanatory variables were soil texture, C / N ratio, soil C content and pH. For some regions, the drivers were linked to the land-use history as heathlands or peatlands.
Sebastian Rainer Fiedler, Jürgen Augustin, Nicole Wrage-Mönnig, Gerald Jurasinski, Bertram Gusovius, and Stephan Glatzel
SOIL, 3, 161–176, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-161-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-161-2017, 2017
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Injection of biogas digestates (BDs) is suspected to increase losses of N2O and thus to counterbalance prevented NH3 emissions. We determined N2O and N2 losses after mixing high concentrations of BD into two soils by an incubation under an artificial helium–oxygen atmosphere. Emissions did not increase with the application rate of BD, probably due to an inhibitory effect of the high NH4+ content in BD on nitrification. However, cumulated gaseous N losses may effectively offset NH3 reductions.
Ranae Dietzel, Matt Liebman, and Sotirios Archontoulis
SOIL, 3, 139–152, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-139-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-139-2017, 2017
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Roots deeper in the soil are made up of more carbon and less nitrogen compared to roots at shallower depths, which may help explain deep-carbon origin. A comparison of prairie and maize rooting systems showed that in moving from prairie to maize, a large, structural-tissue-dominated root carbon pool with slow turnover concentrated at shallow depths was replaced by a small, nonstructural-tissue-dominated root carbon pool with fast turnover evenly distributed in the soil profile.
Julie N. Weitzman and Jason P. Kaye
SOIL, 3, 95–112, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-95-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-95-2017, 2017
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Prior research found nitrate losses in mid-Atlantic streams following drought but no mechanistic explanation. We aim to understand how legacy sediments influence soil–stream nitrate transfer. We found that surface legacy sediments do not retain excess nitrate inputs well; once exposed, previously buried soils experience the largest drought-induced nitrate losses; and, restoration that reconnects stream and floodplain via legacy sediment removal may initially cause high losses of nitrate.
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Short summary
This research investigates how fires of different intensities affect soil organic matter properties. This study identifies critical temperature thresholds of significant soil organic matter changes. Findings from this study will contribute towards estimating the amount and rate of changes in soil carbon, nitrogen, and other essential soil properties that can be expected from fires of different intensities under anticipated climate change scenarios.
This research investigates how fires of different intensities affect soil organic matter...
