Articles | Volume 9, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-9-39-2023
© Author(s) 2023. 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-9-39-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Original research article
| 
12 Jan 2023
Original research article |
| 12 Jan 2023
| 12 Jan 2023
Forest liming in the face of climate change: the implications of restorative liming for soil organic carbon in mature German forests
Oliver van Straaten
Northwest German Forest Research Institute, Grätzelstr. 2, 37079 Göttingen, Germany
Larissa Kulp
Northwest German Forest Research Institute, Grätzelstr. 2, 37079 Göttingen, Germany
Guntars O. Martinson
Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Dan Paul Zederer
Northwest German Forest Research Institute, Grätzelstr. 2, 37079 Göttingen, Germany
Saxon State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology, Department of Agriculture, Waldheimer Str. 219, 01683 Nossen, Germany
Ulrike Talkner
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Northwest German Forest Research Institute, Grätzelstr. 2, 37079 Göttingen, Germany
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Joseph Tamale, Roman Hüppi, Marco Griepentrog, Laban Frank Turyagyenda, Matti Barthel, Sebastian Doetterl, Peter Fiener, and Oliver van Straaten
SOIL, 7, 433–451, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-433-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-433-2021, 2021
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Soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes were measured monthly from nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), N and P, and control plots of the first nutrient manipulation experiment located in an African pristine tropical forest using static chambers. The results suggest (1) contrasting soil GHG responses to nutrient addition, hence highlighting the complexity of the tropical forests, and (2) that the feedback of tropical forests to the global soil GHG budget could be altered by changes in N and P availability.
Najeeb Al-Amin Iddris, Marife D. Corre, Martin Yemefack, Oliver van Straaten, and Edzo Veldkamp
Biogeosciences, 17, 5377–5397, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5377-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5377-2020, 2020
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We quantified the changes in stem and soil nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes with forest conversion to cacao agroforestry in the Congo Basin, Cameroon. All forest and cacao trees consistently emitted N2O, contributing 8–38 % of the total (soil and stem) emissions. Forest conversion to extensively managed (>–20 years old) cacao agroforestry had no effect on stem and soil N2O fluxes. Our results highlight the importance of including tree-mediated fluxes in the ecosystem-level N2O budget.
Syahrul Kurniawan, Marife D. Corre, Amanda L. Matson, Hubert Schulte-Bisping, Sri Rahayu Utami, Oliver van Straaten, and Edzo Veldkamp
Biogeosciences, 15, 5131–5154, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5131-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5131-2018, 2018
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Our study generates information to aid policies and improve soil management practices for minimizing the negative impacts of forest conversion to rubber and oil palm plantations while maintaining production. Compared to forests, the fertilized areas of oil palm plantations had higher leaching of N, organic C, and base cations, whereas the unfertilized rubber plantations showed lower leaching of dissolved P and organic C. These signaled a decrease in extant soil fertility and groundwater quality.
H. C. Hombegowda, O. van Straaten, M. Köhler, and D. Hölscher
SOIL, 2, 13–23, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-13-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-13-2016, 2016
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Incorporating trees into agriculture systems provides numerous environmental services. In this chronosequence study conducted across S. India, we found that agroforestry systems (AFSs), specifically home gardens, coffee, coconut and mango, can cause soil organic carbon (SOC) to rebound to forest levels. We established 224 plots in 56 clusters and compared the SOC between natural forests, agriculture and AFSs. SOC sequestered depending on AFS type, environmental conditions and tree diversity.
S. Vicca, M. Bahn, M. Estiarte, E. E. van Loon, R. Vargas, G. Alberti, P. Ambus, M. A. Arain, C. Beier, L. P. Bentley, W. Borken, N. Buchmann, S. L. Collins, G. de Dato, J. S. Dukes, C. Escolar, P. Fay, G. Guidolotti, P. J. Hanson, A. Kahmen, G. Kröel-Dulay, T. Ladreiter-Knauss, K. S. Larsen, E. Lellei-Kovacs, E. Lebrija-Trejos, F. T. Maestre, S. Marhan, M. Marshall, P. Meir, Y. Miao, J. Muhr, P. A. Niklaus, R. Ogaya, J. Peñuelas, C. Poll, L. E. Rustad, K. Savage, A. Schindlbacher, I. K. Schmidt, A. R. Smith, E. D. Sotta, V. Suseela, A. Tietema, N. van Gestel, O. van Straaten, S. Wan, U. Weber, and I. A. Janssens
Biogeosciences, 11, 2991–3013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2991-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2991-2014, 2014
Joseph Tamale, Roman Hüppi, Marco Griepentrog, Laban Frank Turyagyenda, Matti Barthel, Sebastian Doetterl, Peter Fiener, and Oliver van Straaten
SOIL, 7, 433–451, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-433-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-433-2021, 2021
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Soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes were measured monthly from nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), N and P, and control plots of the first nutrient manipulation experiment located in an African pristine tropical forest using static chambers. The results suggest (1) contrasting soil GHG responses to nutrient addition, hence highlighting the complexity of the tropical forests, and (2) that the feedback of tropical forests to the global soil GHG budget could be altered by changes in N and P availability.
Najeeb Al-Amin Iddris, Marife D. Corre, Martin Yemefack, Oliver van Straaten, and Edzo Veldkamp
Biogeosciences, 17, 5377–5397, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5377-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5377-2020, 2020
Short summary
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We quantified the changes in stem and soil nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes with forest conversion to cacao agroforestry in the Congo Basin, Cameroon. All forest and cacao trees consistently emitted N2O, contributing 8–38 % of the total (soil and stem) emissions. Forest conversion to extensively managed (>–20 years old) cacao agroforestry had no effect on stem and soil N2O fluxes. Our results highlight the importance of including tree-mediated fluxes in the ecosystem-level N2O budget.
Syahrul Kurniawan, Marife D. Corre, Amanda L. Matson, Hubert Schulte-Bisping, Sri Rahayu Utami, Oliver van Straaten, and Edzo Veldkamp
Biogeosciences, 15, 5131–5154, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5131-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5131-2018, 2018
Short summary
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Our study generates information to aid policies and improve soil management practices for minimizing the negative impacts of forest conversion to rubber and oil palm plantations while maintaining production. Compared to forests, the fertilized areas of oil palm plantations had higher leaching of N, organic C, and base cations, whereas the unfertilized rubber plantations showed lower leaching of dissolved P and organic C. These signaled a decrease in extant soil fertility and groundwater quality.
H. C. Hombegowda, O. van Straaten, M. Köhler, and D. Hölscher
SOIL, 2, 13–23, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-13-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-2-13-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Incorporating trees into agriculture systems provides numerous environmental services. In this chronosequence study conducted across S. India, we found that agroforestry systems (AFSs), specifically home gardens, coffee, coconut and mango, can cause soil organic carbon (SOC) to rebound to forest levels. We established 224 plots in 56 clusters and compared the SOC between natural forests, agriculture and AFSs. SOC sequestered depending on AFS type, environmental conditions and tree diversity.
S. Vicca, M. Bahn, M. Estiarte, E. E. van Loon, R. Vargas, G. Alberti, P. Ambus, M. A. Arain, C. Beier, L. P. Bentley, W. Borken, N. Buchmann, S. L. Collins, G. de Dato, J. S. Dukes, C. Escolar, P. Fay, G. Guidolotti, P. J. Hanson, A. Kahmen, G. Kröel-Dulay, T. Ladreiter-Knauss, K. S. Larsen, E. Lellei-Kovacs, E. Lebrija-Trejos, F. T. Maestre, S. Marhan, M. Marshall, P. Meir, Y. Miao, J. Muhr, P. A. Niklaus, R. Ogaya, J. Peñuelas, C. Poll, L. E. Rustad, K. Savage, A. Schindlbacher, I. K. Schmidt, A. R. Smith, E. D. Sotta, V. Suseela, A. Tietema, N. van Gestel, O. van Straaten, S. Wan, U. Weber, and I. A. Janssens
Biogeosciences, 11, 2991–3013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2991-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2991-2014, 2014
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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
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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
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Phosphorus dynamics during early soil development in a cold desert: insights from oxygen isotopes in phosphate
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Base cations in the soil bank: non-exchangeable pools may sustain centuries of net loss to forestry and leaching
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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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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-645, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-645, 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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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.
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
Cited articles
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Andersson, S. and Nilsson, S. I.: Influence of pH and temperature on microbial activity, substrate availability of soil-solution bacteria and leaching of dissolved organic carbon in a mor humus, Soil Biol. Biochem., 33, 1181–1191, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(01)00022-0, 2001.
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Marschner, B. and Wilczynski, W. A.: The effect of liming on quantity and chemical composition of soil organic matter in a pine forest in Berlin, Germany, Plant Soil, 137, 229–236, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011201, 1991.
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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).
Across northern Europe, millions of hectares of forest have been limed to counteract soil...
