Multi-elemental scanning transmission X-ray microscopy–near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy assessment of organo–mineral associations in soils from reduced environments

Environmental context Organo–mineral associations represent a fundamental process for stabilising organic carbon in soils. In this study, we employed scanning transmission X-ray microscopy–near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (STXM-NEXAFS) spectroscopy at C, Al and Si K-edges as well as Ca and Fe L-edges to conduct submicrometre-level investigations of the associations of C with mineral components in soils from reduced environments. This study provides the first insights into organo–mineral associations in reduced environments and shows progress towards examining, at the submicrometre level, compositional chemistry and associative interactions between organic matter and soil mineral components. Abstract Organo–mineral associations represent a fundamental process for stabilising organic carbon (OC) in soils. However, direct investigation of organo–mineral associations has been hampered by a lack of methods that can simultaneously characterise organic matter (OM) and soil minerals, and most investigations have focussed only on well drained soils. In this study, we employed scanning transmission X-ray microscopy–near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (STXM-NEXAFS) spectroscopy at C, Al and Si K-edges as well as Ca and Fe L-edges to conduct submicrometre-level investigations of the associations of C with mineral components in soils from reduced environments. Soils were collected from a forest footslope that is periodically poorly drained as well as a waterlogged wetland. OM was coated on mineral particles as thin films. Part of the mineral surface did not show detectable OM coverage with OC loadings of ≥1.3mg C m–2 determined for the clay fractions from these soils. C was not preferentially associated with Fe oxides in the footslope soil. A generally good C–Ca association was found in the anoxic wetland soil, which is free of Fe oxides. It was demonstrated for the first time that OM composition varied spatially at the submicrometre scale in the reduced soils free of Fe oxides. The composition of OM in the organo–mineral interface in the anoxic environments was highly complex and composed of aromatic, phenolic, aliphatic, carboxyl, carboxylamide and O-alkyl C functional groups. There was no consistent pattern for the association of certain types of organics with specific mineral components in both soils. The anoxic conditions resulted in the reduction of Fe in the aluminosilicates. This study provides the first insights into organo–mineral associations in reduced environments.