Articles | Volume 6, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-131-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-131-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Ramped thermal analysis for isolating biologically meaningful soil organic matter fractions with distinct residence times
Jonathan Sanderman
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA 02540, USA
A. Stuart Grandy
Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
Related authors
Carolyn J. Ewers Lewis, Mary A. Young, Daniel Ierodiaconou, Jeffrey A. Baldock, Bruce Hawke, Jonathan Sanderman, Paul E. Carnell, and Peter I. Macreadie
Biogeosciences, 17, 2041–2059, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2041-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2041-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Blue carbonecosystems – tidal marsh, mangrove, and seagrass – serve as important organic carbon sinks, mitigating impacts of climate change. We utilized a robust regional carbon stock dataset to identify ecological, geomorphological, and anthropogenic drivers of carbon stock variability and create high-spatial-resolution predictive carbon stock maps. This work facilitates strategic conservation and restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems to contribute to climate change mitigation.
Jonathan Sanderman, Courtney Creamer, W. Troy Baisden, Mark Farrell, and Stewart Fallon
SOIL, 3, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-1-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-1-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of how soil carbon stocks and flows change in response to agronomic management decisions is a critical step in devising management strategies that best promote food security while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Here, we present 40 years of data demonstrating that increasing productivity both leads to greater carbon stocks and accelerates the decomposition of soil organic matter, thus providing more nutrients back to the crop.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
William R. Wieder, Derek Pierson, Stevan Earl, Kate Lajtha, Sara G. Baer, Ford Ballantyne, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Sharon A. Billings, Laurel M. Brigham, Stephany S. Chacon, Jennifer Fraterrigo, Serita D. Frey, Katerina Georgiou, Marie-Anne de Graaff, A. Stuart Grandy, Melannie D. Hartman, Sarah E. Hobbie, Chris Johnson, Jason Kaye, Emily Kyker-Snowman, Marcy E. Litvak, Michelle C. Mack, Avni Malhotra, Jessica A. M. Moore, Knute Nadelhoffer, Craig Rasmussen, Whendee L. Silver, Benjamin N. Sulman, Xanthe Walker, and Samantha Weintraub
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1843–1854, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1843-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1843-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Data collected from research networks present opportunities to test theories and develop models about factors responsible for the long-term persistence and vulnerability of soil organic matter (SOM). Here we present the SOils DAta Harmonization database (SoDaH), a flexible database designed to harmonize diverse SOM datasets from multiple research networks.
Emily Kyker-Snowman, William R. Wieder, Serita D. Frey, and A. Stuart Grandy
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 4413–4434, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4413-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4413-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Microbes drive carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) transformations in soil, and soil models have started to include explicit microbial physiology and functioning to try to reduce uncertainty in soil–climate feedbacks. Here, we add N cycling to a microbially explicit soil C model and reproduce C and N dynamics in soil during litter decomposition across a range of sites. We discuss model-generated hypotheses about soil C and N cycling and highlight the need for landscape-scale model evaluation data.
Carolyn J. Ewers Lewis, Mary A. Young, Daniel Ierodiaconou, Jeffrey A. Baldock, Bruce Hawke, Jonathan Sanderman, Paul E. Carnell, and Peter I. Macreadie
Biogeosciences, 17, 2041–2059, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2041-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2041-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Blue carbonecosystems – tidal marsh, mangrove, and seagrass – serve as important organic carbon sinks, mitigating impacts of climate change. We utilized a robust regional carbon stock dataset to identify ecological, geomorphological, and anthropogenic drivers of carbon stock variability and create high-spatial-resolution predictive carbon stock maps. This work facilitates strategic conservation and restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems to contribute to climate change mitigation.
Jonathan Sanderman, Courtney Creamer, W. Troy Baisden, Mark Farrell, and Stewart Fallon
SOIL, 3, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-1-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-1-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of how soil carbon stocks and flows change in response to agronomic management decisions is a critical step in devising management strategies that best promote food security while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Here, we present 40 years of data demonstrating that increasing productivity both leads to greater carbon stocks and accelerates the decomposition of soil organic matter, thus providing more nutrients back to the crop.
Marshall D. McDaniel and A. Stuart Grandy
SOIL, 2, 583–599, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-583-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-583-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Modern agriculture is dominated by monoculture crop production, having negative effects on soil biology. We used a 12-year crop rotation experiment to examine the effects of increasing crop diversity on soil microorganisms and their activity. Crop rotations increased microbial biomass by up to 112 %, and increased potential ability to supply nitrogen as much as 58 %, compared to monoculture corn. Collectively, our findings show that soil health is increased when crop diversity is increased.
W. R. Wieder, A. S. Grandy, C. M. Kallenbach, P. G. Taylor, and G. B. Bonan
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 1789–1808, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1789-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1789-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Projecting biogeochemical responses to environmental change requires multi-scaled perspectives. However, microbes, the drivers of soil organic matter decomposition and stabilization, remain notably absent from models used to project carbon cycle–climate feedbacks. Here, we apply and evaluate representations of microbial functional diversity across scales and find that such representations may be critical to accurately project soil carbon dynamics in a changing world.
W. R. Wieder, A. S. Grandy, C. M. Kallenbach, and G. B. Bonan
Biogeosciences, 11, 3899–3917, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-3899-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-3899-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Soils and biogeochemical cycling
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
Elemental stoichiometry and Rock-Eval® thermal stability of organic matter in French topsoils
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
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
Comment on “Soil organic stocks are systematically overestimated by misuse of the parameters bulk density and rock fragment content” by Poeplau et al. (2017)
Hot regions of labile and stable soil organic carbon in Germany – Spatial variability and driving factors
Potential short-term losses of N2O and N2 from high concentrations of biogas digestate in arable soils
A deeper look at the relationship between root carbon pools and the vertical distribution of the soil carbon pool
Nitrate retention capacity of milldam-impacted legacy sediments and relict A horizon soils
Process-oriented modelling to identify main drivers of erosion-induced carbon fluxes
Thermal alteration of soil organic matter properties: a systematic study to infer response of Sierra Nevada climosequence soils to forest fires
Timescales of carbon turnover in soils with mixed crystalline mineralogies
Greater soil carbon stocks and faster turnover rates with increasing agricultural productivity
Three-dimensional soil organic matter distribution, accessibility and microbial respiration in macroaggregates using osmium staining and synchrotron X-ray computed tomography
Long-term elevation of temperature affects organic N turnover and associated N2O emissions in a permanent grassland soil
Soil fauna: key to new carbon models
Tillage-induced short-term soil organic matter turnover and respiration
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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).
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
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-1130, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-1130, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We characterized organic matter in French soils by analyzing the samples of the French RMQS using Rock-Eval thermal analysis. This study demonstrates that thermal analysis is appropriate to characterize large set of samples (~2000) and provides interpretation references for Rock-Eval parameter values. It 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 of organic matter biogeochemical stability.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Florian Wilken, Michael Sommer, Kristof Van Oost, Oliver Bens, and Peter Fiener
SOIL, 3, 83–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-83-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-83-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Model-based analyses of the effect of soil erosion on carbon (C) dynamics are associated with large uncertainties partly resulting from oversimplifications of erosion processes. This study evaluates the need for process-oriented modelling to analyse erosion-induced C fluxes in different catchments. The results underline the importance of a detailed representation of tillage and water erosion processes. For water erosion, grain-size-specific transport is essential to simulate lateral C fluxes.
Samuel N. Araya, Marilyn L. Fogel, and Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
SOIL, 3, 31–44, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-31-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-31-2017, 2017
Short summary
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.
Lesego Khomo, Susan Trumbore, Carleton R. Bern, and Oliver A. Chadwick
SOIL, 3, 17–30, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-17-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-17-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluated mineral control of organic carbon dynamics by relating the content and age of carbon stored in soils of varied mineralogical composition found in the landscapes of Kruger National Park, South Africa. Carbon associated with smectite clay minerals, which have stronger surface–organic matter interactions, averaged about a thousand years old, while most soil carbon was only decades to centuries old and was associated with iron and aluminum oxide minerals.
Jonathan Sanderman, Courtney Creamer, W. Troy Baisden, Mark Farrell, and Stewart Fallon
SOIL, 3, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-1-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-1-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of how soil carbon stocks and flows change in response to agronomic management decisions is a critical step in devising management strategies that best promote food security while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Here, we present 40 years of data demonstrating that increasing productivity both leads to greater carbon stocks and accelerates the decomposition of soil organic matter, thus providing more nutrients back to the crop.
Barry G. Rawlins, Joanna Wragg, Christina Reinhard, Robert C. Atwood, Alasdair Houston, R. Murray Lark, and Sebastian Rudolph
SOIL, 2, 659–671, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-659-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-659-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We do not understand processes by which soil bacteria and fungi feed on soil organic matter (SOM). Previous research suggests the location of SOM in aggregates may influence whether bacteria can feed on it more easily. We did an experiment to identify the distribution of SOM on very small scales within nine soil aggregates. There was no clear evidence that the distribution of organic matter influenced how easily the organic matter was fed upon by bacteria.
Anne B. Jansen-Willems, Gary J. Lanigan, Timothy J. Clough, Louise C. Andresen, and Christoph Müller
SOIL, 2, 601–614, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-601-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-601-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Legacy effects of increased temperature on both nitrogen (N) transformation rates and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from permanent temperate grassland soil were evaluated. A new source-partitioning model showed the importance of oxidation of organic N as a source of N2O. Gross organic (and not inorganic) N transformation rates decreased in response to the prior soil warming treatment. This was also reflected in reduced N2O emissions associated with organic N oxidation and denitrification.
Juliane Filser, Jack H. Faber, Alexei V. Tiunov, Lijbert Brussaard, Jan Frouz, Gerlinde De Deyn, Alexei V. Uvarov, Matty P. Berg, Patrick Lavelle, Michel Loreau, Diana H. Wall, Pascal Querner, Herman Eijsackers, and Juan José Jiménez
SOIL, 2, 565–582, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-565-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-565-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Soils store more than 3 times as much carbon than the atmosphere, but global carbon models still suffer from large uncertainty. We argue that this may be due to the fact that soil animals are not taken into account in such models. They dig, eat and distribute dead organic matter and microorganisms, and the quantity of their activity is often huge. Soil animals affect microbial activity, soil water content, soil structure, erosion and plant growth – and all of this affects carbon cycling.
Sebastian Rainer Fiedler, Peter Leinweber, Gerald Jurasinski, Kai-Uwe Eckhardt, and Stephan Glatzel
SOIL, 2, 475–486, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-475-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-475-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We applied Py-FIMS, CO2 measurements and hot-water extraction on farmland to investigate short-term effects of tillage on soil organic matter (SOM) turnover. SOM composition changed on the temporal scale of days and the changes varied significantly under different types of amendment. Particularly obvious were the turnover of lignin-derived substances and depletion of carbohydrates due to soil respiration. The long-term impact of biogas digestates on SOM stocks should be examined more closely.
Cited articles
Baisden, W. T., Parfitt, R. L., Ross, C., Schipper, L. A., and Canessa, S.:
Evaluating 50 years of time-series soil radiocarbon data: Towards routine calculation of robust C residence times,
Biogeochemistry,
112, 129–137, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-011-9675-y, 2013.
Baldock, J. A., Oades, J. M., Nelson, P. N., Skene, T. M., Golchin, A., and Clarke, P.:
Assessing the extent of decomposition of natural organic materials using solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy,
Aust. J. Soil Res.,
35, 1061–1084, 1997.
Baldock, J. A., Sanderman, J., Macdonald, L. M., Puccini, A., Hawke, B. A., Szarvas, S., and Mcgowan, J.:
Quantifying the allocation of soil organic carbon to biologically significant fractions,
Soil Res.,
51, 561–576, 2013.
Buurman, P., Peterse, F., and Almendros Martin, G.:
Soil organic matter chemistry in allophanic soils: a pyrolysis-GC/MS study of a Costa Rican Andosol catena,
Eur. J. Soil Sci.,
58, 1330–1347, 2007.
Cécillon, L., Baudin, F., Chenu, C., Houot, S., Jolivet, R., Kätterer, T., Lutfalla, S., Macdonald, A., van Oort, F., Plante, A. F., Savignac, F., Soucémarianadin, L. N., and Barré, P.: A model based on Rock-Eval thermal analysis to quantify the size of the centennially persistent organic carbon pool in temperate soils, Biogeosciences, 15, 2835–2849, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2835-2018, 2018.
Christensen, B. T.:
Physical fractionation of soil and structural and functional complexity in organic matter turnover,
Eur. J. Soil Sci.,
52, 345–353, 2001.
Cotrufo, M. F., Wallenstein, M. D., Boot, C. M., Denef, K., and Paul, E.:
The Microbial Efficiency-Matrix Stabilization (MEMS) framework integrates plant litter decomposition with soil organic matter stabilization: do labile plant inputs form stable soil organic matter?,
Glob. Change Biol.,
19, 988–995, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12113, 2013.
Currie, K. I., Brailsford, G., Nichol, S., Gomez, A., Sparks, R., Lassey, K. R., and Riedel, K.:
Tropospheric 14CO2 at Wellington, New Zealand: the world's longest record,
Biogeochemistry,
104, 5–22, 2011.
de Assis, C. P., González-Pérez, J. A., de la Rosa, J. M., Jucksch, I., Mendonça, E. de S., and González-Vila, F. J.:
Analytical pyrolysis of humic substances from a Latosol (Typic Hapludox) under different land uses in Minas Gerais, Brazil,
J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol.,
93, 120–128, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JAAP.2011.10.005, 2012.
Elliott, E. T. and Cambardella, C. A.:
Physical separation of soil organic matter,
Agr. Ecosyst. Environ.,
34, 407–419, 1991.
Golchin, A., Oades, J. M., Skjemstad, J. O., and Clarke, P.:
Soil structure and carbon cycling,
Soil Res.,
32, 1043–1068, 1994.
González-Pérez, J. A., González-Vila, F. J., Almendros, G., and Knicker, H.:
The effect of fire on soil organic mattera review,
Environ. Int.,
30, 855–870, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENVINT.2004.02.003, 2004.
Grace, P., Oades, J., Keith, H., and Hancock, T.:
Trends in wheat yields and soil organic carbon in the Permanent Rotation Trial at the Waite Agricultural Research Institute, South Australia,
Aust. J. Exp. Agr.,
35, 857, https://doi.org/10.1071/EA9950857, 1995.
Grandy, A. S. and Neff, J. C.:
Molecular C dynamics downstream: the biochemical decomposition sequence and its impact on on soil organic matter structure and function,
Sci. Total Environ.,
404, 221–446, 2008.
Grandy, A. S. and Robertson, G. P.:
Land-Use Intensity Effects on Soil Organic Carbon Accumulation Rates and Mechanisms,
Ecosystems,
10, 59–74, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-006-9010-y, 2007.
Grandy, A. S., Neff, J. C., and Weintraub, M. N.:
Carbon structure and enzyme activities in alpine and forest ecosystems,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
39, 2701–2711, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOILBIO.2007.05.009, 2007.
Grandy, A. S., Strickland, M. S., Lauber, C. L., Bradford, M. A., and Fierer, N.:
The influence of microbial communities, management, and soil texture on soil organic matter chemistry,
Geoderma,
150, 278–286, 2009.
Grant, K. E., Galy, V. V., Chadwick, O. A., and Derry, L. A.:
Thermal oxidation of carbon in organic matter rich volcanic soils: insights into SOC age differentiation and mineral stabilization,
Biogeochemistry,
144, 291–304, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-019-00586-1, 2019.
Hatcher, P. G., Dria, K. J., Kim, S., and Frazier, S. W.:
Modern analytical studies of humic substances,
Soil Sci.,
166, 770–794, 2001.
Helfrich, M., Flessa, H., Dreves, A., and Ludwig, B.:
Is thermal oxidation at different temperatures suitable to isolate soil organic carbon fractions with different turnover?,
J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sc.,
173, 61–66, 2010.
Hemingway, J. D., Rothman, D. H., Rosengard, S. Z., and Galy, V. V.: Technical note: An inverse method to relate organic carbon reactivity to isotope composition from serial oxidation, Biogeosciences, 14, 5099–5114, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5099-2017, 2017a.
Hemingway, J. D., Galy, V. V., Gagnon, A. R., Grant, K. E., Rosengard, S. Z., Soulet, G., Zigah, P. K., and McNichol, A. P.:
Assessing the blank carbon contribution, isotope mass balance, and kinetic isotope fractionation of the ramped pyrolysis/oxidation instrument at NOSAMS,
Radiocarbon,
59, 179–193, 2017b.
Hempfling, R. and Schulten, H.-R.:
Chemical characterization of the organic matter in forest soils by Curie point pyrolysis-GC/MS and pyrolysis-field ionization mass spectrometry,
Org. Geochem.,
15, 131–145, 1990.
IUSS Working Group WRB: World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014, update 2015, International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps, World Soil Resources Reports No. 106. FAO, Rome, 2015.
Jastrow, J. D., Miller, R. M., and Boutton, T. W.:
Carbon dynamics of aggregate-associated organic matter estimated by carbon-13 natural abundance,
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.,
60, 801–807, 1996.
Kallenbach, C. M., Grandy, A. S., Frey, S. D., and Diefendorf, A. F.:
Microbial physiology and necromass regulate agricultural soil carbon accumulation,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
91, 279–290, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.09.005, 2015.
Kallenbach, C. M., Frey, S. D., and Grandy, A. S.:
Direct evidence for microbial-derived soil organic matter formation and its ecophysiological controls,
Nat. Commun.,
7, 13630, https://doi.org//10.1038/ncomms13630, 2016.
Knicker, H.:
Soil organic N – An under-rated player for C sequestration in soils?,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
43, 1118–1129, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.02.020, 2011.
Kramer, M. G., Sanderman, J., Chadwick, O. A., Chorover, J., and Vitousek, P. M.:
Long-term carbon storage through retention of dissolved aromatic acids by reactive particles in soil,
Glob. Change Biol., 18, 2594–2605,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02681.x, 2012.
Lehmann, J. and Kleber, M.:
The contentious nature of soil organic matter,
Nature,
528, 60–68, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16069, 2015.
Leinweber, P., Kruse, J., Baum, C., Arcand, M., Knight, J. D., Farrell, R., Eckhardt, K.-U., Kiersch, K., and Jandl, G.:
Chapter Two – Advances in Understanding Organic Nitrogen Chemistry in Soils Using State-of-the-art Analytical Techniques,
Advances in Agronomy, Academic Press, Volume 119, 83–151, 2013.
Lopez-Capel, E., Sohi, S. P., Gaunt, J. L., and Manning, D. A. C.:
Use of thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry to characterize modelable soil organic matter fractions,
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.,
69, 136–140, 2005.
Manzoni, S. and Porporato, A.:
Soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization: Theory and models across scales,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
41, 1355–1379, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.02.031, 2009.
McNichol, A. P., Jones, G. A., Hutton, D. L., Gagnon, A. R., and Key, R. M.:
The rapid preparation of seawater 14CO2 for radiocarbon analysis at the National Ocean Sciences AMS facility,
Radiocarbon,
36, 237–246, 1994a.
McNichol, A. P., Osborne, E. A., Gagnon, A. R., Fry, B., and Jones, G. A.:
TIC, TOC, DIC, DOC, PIC, POC unique aspects in the preparation of oceanographic samples for 14C-AMS,
Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B,
92, 162–165, 1994b.
Miltner, A., Bombach, P., Schmidt-Brücken, B., and Kästner, M.:
SOM genesis: Microbial biomass as a significant source,
Biogeochemistry,
111, 41–55, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-011-9658-z, 2012.
Paul, E. A.:
The nature and dynamics of soil organic matter: Plant inputs, microbial transformations, and organic matter stabilization,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
98, 109–126, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.04.001, 2016.
Paul, E. A., Collins, H. P., and Leavitt, S. W.:
Dynamics of resistant soil carbon of Midwestern agricultural soils measured by naturally occurring 14C abundance,
Geoderma,
104, 239–256, 2001.
Peltre, C., Fernández, J. M., Craine, J. M., and Plante, A. F.:
Relationships between Biological and Thermal Indices of Soil Organic Matter Stability Differ with Soil Organic Carbon Level,
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.,
77, 2020, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2013.02.0081, 2013.
Plante, A. F., Fernández, J. M., and Leifeld, J.:
Application of thermal analysis techniques in soil science,
Geoderma,
153, 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2009.08.016, 2009.
Plante, A. F., Beaupré, S. R., Roberts, M. L., and Baisden, T.:
Distribution of radiocarbon ages in soil organic matter by thermal fractionation,
Radiocarbon,
55, 1077–1083, 2013.
Poeplau, C., Don, A., Six, J., Kaiser, M., Benbi, D., Chenu, C., Cotrufo, M. F., Derrien, D., Gioacchini, P., Grand, S., Gregorich, E., Griepentrog, M., Gunina, A., Haddix, M., Kuzyakov, Y., Kuhnel, A., Macdonald, L. M., Soong, J., Trigalet, S., Vermeire, M.-L., Rovira, P., van Wesemael, B., Wiesmeier, M., Yeasmin, S., Yevdokimov, I., and Nieder, R.:
Isolating organic carbon fractions with varying turnover rates in temperate agricultural soils–A comprehensive method comparison,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
125, 10–26, 2018.
Rosenheim, B. E., Day, M. B., Domack, E., Schrum, H., Benthien, A., and Hayes, J. M.:
Antarctic sediment chronology by programmed-temperature pyrolysis: Methodology and data treatment,
Geochem. Geophy. Geosy.,
9, Q04005, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GC001816, 2008.
Rothstein, D. E., Toosi, E. R., Schaetzl, R. J., and Grandy, A. S.:
Translocation of Carbon from Surface Organic Horizons to the Subsoil in Coarse-Textured Spodosols: Implications for Deep Soil C Dynamics,
Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.,
82, 969–982, https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2018.01.0033, 2018.
Rovira, P., Kurz-Besson, C., Coûteaux, M.-M., and Ramón Vallejo, V.:
Changes in litter properties during decomposition: A study by differential thermogravimetry and scanning calorimetry,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
40, 172–185, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.07.021, 2008.
Ruamps, L. S., Nunan, N., Pouteau, V., Leloup, J., Raynaud, X., Roy, V., and Chenu, C.:
Regulation of soil organic C mineralisation at the pore scale,
FEMS Microbiol. Ecol.,
86, 26–35, https://doi.org/10.1111/1574-6941.12078, 2013.
Saiz-Jimenez, C. and De Leeuw, J. W.:
Chemical characterization of soil organic matter fractions by analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry,
J. Anal. Appl. Pyrol.,
9, 99–119, https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-2370(86)85002-1, 1986.
Saiz-Jimenez, C., Haider, K., and Meuzelaar, H. L. C.:
Comparisons of soil organic matter and its fractions by pyrolysis mass-spectrometry,
Geoderma,
22, 25–37, https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7061(79)90037-5, 1979.
Sanderman, J., Fillery, I. R. P., Jongepier, R., Massalsky, A., Roper, M. M., MacDonald, L. M., Maddern, T., Murphy, D. V., and Baldock, J. A.:
Carbon sequestration under subtropical perennial pastures II: Carbon dynamics,
Soil Res.,
51, 771–780, https://doi.org/10.1071/SR12351, 2013.
Sanderman, J., Rakesh, D., Moore, A., Keith, H., Farquharson, R.: Waite Permanent Rotation Trial. v4. CSIRO, Data Collection, https://doi.org/10.4225/08/55E5165EC0D29, 2015.
Sanderman, J., Baisden, W. T., and Fallon, S.:
Redefining the inert organic carbon pool,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
92, 149–152, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.10.005, 2016.
Sanderman, J., Creamer, C., Baisden, W. T., Farrell, M., and Fallon, S.: Greater soil carbon stocks and faster turnover rates with increasing agricultural productivity, SOIL, 3, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-3-1-2017, 2017.
Schädel, C., Luo, Y., Evans, R. D., Fei, S., and Schaeffer, S. M.:
Separating soil CO2 efflux into C-pool-specific decay rates via inverse analysis of soil incubation data,
Oecologia,
171, 721–732, 2013.
Schiedung, M., Don, A., Wordell-Dietrich, P., Alcántara, V., Kuner, P., and Guggenberger, G.:
Thermal oxidation does not fractionate soil organic carbon with differing biological stabilities,
J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sc.,
180, 18–26, 2017.
Schmidt, M. W. I., Torn, M. S., Abiven, S., Dittmar, T., Guggenberger, G., Janssens, I. A., Kleber, M., Kögel-Knabner, I., Lehmann, J., Manning, D. A. C., Nannipieri, P., Rasse, D. P., Weiner, S., and Trumbore, S. E.:
Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property,
Nature,
478, 49–56, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10386, 2011.
Schulten, H.-R. and Leinweber, P.:
Pyrolysis-field ionization mass spectrometry of agricultural soils and humic substances: Effect of cropping systems and influence of the mineral matrix,
Plant Soil,
151, 77–90, 1993.
Schulten, H.-R. and Leinweber, P.:
New insights into organic-mineral particles: composition, properties and models of molecular structure,
Biol. Fert. Soils,
30, 399–432, https://doi.org/10.1007/s003740050020, 2000.
Schulten, H. R. and Schnitzer, M.:
The chemistry of soil organic nitrogen: a review,
Biol. Fert. Soils,
26, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1007/s003740050335, 1997.
Skjemstad, J. O., Spouncer, L. R., Cowie, B., and Swift, R. S.:
Calibration of the Rothamsted organic carbon turnover model (RothC ver. 26.3), using measurable soil organic carbon pools,
Aust. J. Soil Res.,
42, 79–88, https://doi.org/10.1071/SR03013, 2004.
Sokol, N. W., Sanderman, J., and Bradford, M. A.:
Pathways of mineral-associated soil organic matter formation: Integrating the role of plant carbon source, chemistry, and point of entry,
Glob. Change Biol.,
25, 12–24, 2019.
Soil Survey Staff: Soil taxonomy: A basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys, 2nd edition, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 436, 1999.
Sollins, P., Kramer, M. G., Swanston, C., Lajtha, K., Filley, T., Aufdenkampe, A. K., Wagai, R., and Bowden, R. D.:
Sequential density fractionation across soils of contrasting mineralogy: evidence for both microbial- and mineral-controlled soil organic matter stabilization,
Biogeochemistry,
96, 209–231, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-009-9359-z, 2009.
Soucémarianadin, L., Cécillon, L., Chenu, C., Baudin, F., Nicolas, M., Girardin, C., and Barré, P.:
Is Rock-Eval 6 thermal analysis a good indicator of soil organic carbon lability?–A method-comparison study in forest soils,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
117, 108–116, 2018.
Stuiver, M. and Polach, H. A.:
Discussion reporting of 14C data,
Radiocarbon,
19, 355–363, 1977.
Torn, M. S., Kleber, M., Zavaleta, E. S., Zhu, B., Field, C. B., and Trumbore, S. E.: A dual isotope approach to isolate soil carbon pools of different turnover times, Biogeosciences, 10, 8067–8081, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-8067-2013, 2013.
Trumbore, S.:
Radiocarbon and soil carbon dynamics,
Annu. Rev. Earth Pl. Sc.,
37, 47–66, 2009.
Trumbore, S. E., Chadwick, O. A., and Amundson, R.:
Rapid exchange between soil carbon and atmospheric carbon dioxide driven by temperature change,
Science,
272, 393–396, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.272.5260.393, 1996.
von Lützow, M., Kögel-Knabner, I., Ekschmitt, K., Flessa, H., Guggenberger, G., Matzner, E., and Marschner, B.:
SOM fractionation methods: Relevance to functional pools and to stabilization mechanisms,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
39, 2183–2207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.03.007, 2007.
Wickings, K., Grandy, A. S., Reed, S., and Cleveland, C.:
Management intensity alters decomposition via biological pathways,
Biogeochemistry,
104, 365–379, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-010-9510-x, 2011.
Williams, E. K. and Plante, A. F.:
A bioenergetic framework for assessing soil organic matter persistence,
Front. Earth Sci.,
6, 143, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2018.00143, 2018.
Williams, E. K., Rosenheim, B. E., McNichol, A. P., and Masiello, C. A.:
Charring and non-additive chemical reactions during ramped pyrolysis: Applications to the characterization of sedimentary and soil organic material,
Org. Geochem.,
77, 106–114, 2014.
Williams, E. K., Fogel, M. L., Berhe, A. A., and Plante, A. F.:
Distinct bioenergetic signatures in particulate versus mineral-associated soil organic matter,
Geoderma,
330, 107–116, 2018.
Yang, H., Yan, R., Chen, H., Zheng, C., Lee, D. H., and Liang, D. T.:
In-depth investigation of biomass pyrolysis based on three major components: hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin,
Energ. Fuel.,
20, 388–393, 2006.
Zelles, L., Bai, Q. Y., Beck, T., and Beese, F.:
Signature fatty-acids in phospholipids and lipopolysaccharides as indicators of microbial biomass and community structure in agricultural soils,
Soil Biol. Biochem.,
24, 317–323, https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(92)90191-y, 1992.
Zimmermann, M., Leifeld, J., Schmidt, M. W. I., Smith, P., and Fuhrer, J.:
Measured soil organic matter fractions can be related to pools in the RothC model,
Eur. J. Soil Sci.,
58, 658–667, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2006.00855.x, 2007.
Short summary
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.
Soils contain one of the largest and most dynamic pools of carbon on Earth, yet scientists still...