Recovery rate of organic c in organic matter fractions of Grantsburg soils

2000 ◽  
Vol 31 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 995-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imtiaz Hussain ◽  
Kenneth R. Olson
Soil Research ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Macdonald ◽  
D. V. Murphy ◽  
N. Mahieu ◽  
I. R. P. Fillery

Total C and N were measured in whole soils (0–0.15, 0.15–0.35, and 0.35–0.65 m), light organic matter fractions (<1 g/cm3 (LF 1.0) and 1.0–1.7 g/cm3 (LF 1.7)) in surface soils, and in leaf litter collected from a mixed grass/lucerne pasture and adjacent native bush at Moora, Western Australia. The C content of the plant material and light fractions was characterised by 13C cross-polarisation/magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (13C CP/MAS NMR) spectroscopy. Water-extractable organic C (WEOC) and N (WEON) were measured in soil, and dissolved organic C (DOC) and N (DON) were measured in soil solutions. In addition, both NO3-N and NH4-N (SMN) were measured in soil solutions and water extracts. Total soil C (0–0.65 m) did not differ significantly between land uses, but there was clear evidence of N enrichment under the pasture system, which contained significantly (P < 0.05) more total N in the surface soil (0–0.15 m) compared with that under native bush. The significantly (P < 0.05) smaller C/N ratios of the surface soil, plant litter, and light fractions (LF 1.0 and 1.7) under the pasture provided further evidence of N enrichment. The 13C CP/MAS NMR spectra for plant material and light fractions did not differ greatly between landuses, but in both cases the O-alkyl : alkyl carbon ratio declined with increasing density. The decomposition and subsequent mineralisation of the relatively N-rich organic matter fractions in the pasture system may have contributed to the significantly (P < 0.05) greater DOC, DON, and SMN concentration measured in soil solutions under pasture compared with those under native bush.


Author(s):  
Robervone S. de M. P. do Nascimento ◽  
Maria L. G. Ramos ◽  
Cícero C. de Figueiredo ◽  
Antonio M. M. Silva ◽  
Stefany B. Silva ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the stable and labile fractions of soil organic matter and carbon (C) management index in cultivated areas with conservation and conventional management used by Quilombola farmers in the Goiás state, Brazil. The management systems were studied in the areas of Cerradão: Native Cerrado; Pasture; Conventional grain cultivation; Conservation cultivation of perennial crop; and in the sensu stricto Cerrado: Native Cerrado; Natural pasture; Conventional grain cultivation; Conventional cultivation of perennial crop. The study was considered as observational, with five replicates. Total organic C, fractions of humic substances, labile C and C management index were determined. The Cerradão phytophysiognomy had the highest total organic C values and stable soil organic matter fractions. The native areas had low levels of labile C. The conservation cultivation of perennial crop showed the largest accumulation of total organic C in the different fractions of soil organic matter and the highest rates of C management index.


2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1874-1881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isis Lima dos Santos ◽  
Carla Ferreira Caixeta ◽  
Alex Antônio Torres Cortês de Sousa ◽  
Cícero Célio de Figueiredo ◽  
Maria Lucrécia Gerosa Ramos ◽  
...  

Cover plants are essential for the sustainability of no-tillage systems in tropical regions. However, information on the effects of these plants and N fertilization on soil organic matter fractions is still scarce. This study evaluated the effect of cover crops with different chemical composition and of N topdressing on the labile and humified organic matter fractions of an Oxisol of the Cerrado (savanna-like vegetation). The study in a randomized complete block design was arranged in split-plots with three replications. Four cover species were tested in the plots and the presence or absence of N topdressing in the subplot. The following cover species were planted in succession to corn for eight years: Urochloa ruziziensis; Canavalia brasiliensis M. ex Benth; Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp; and Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. In general, the cultivation of U. ruziziensis increased soil C levels, particularly of C in the humic acid and particulate organic C fractions, which are quality indicators of soil organic matter. The C in humic substances and mineral organic C accounted for the highest proportions of total organic C, demonstrating the strong interaction between organic matter, Fe and Al oxides and kaolinite, which are predominant in these weathered soils of the Cerrado.


Soil Research ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
RC Dalal ◽  
RJ Mayer

The dynamics of total N in particle-size and density fractions of six major soils which have been used for cereal cropping for 20-70 years were studied in order to identify the labile organic matter fractions in soil. For virgin soils, no single particle-size was consistently enriched in N as compared with the whole soil. The clay fraction contained the largest proportion (53% overall) of total N. Silt-size and sand-size N fractions accounted for 26% and 21% of total N, respectively. Upon cultivation, the sand-size fraction lost most of its N (as much as 89% in Langlands-Logie soil). However, N losses also occurred from silt-size and clay-size fractions in most soils. Changes in C : N ratios of different particle-size fractions upon cultivation were not consistent in all soils, possibly because of the transfer of organic C and N among these fractions. Therefore, the separation of labile organic matter fractions from the whole soil based upon particle-size may not be successful in all soils. On the other hand, the density fractionation of soil into a light fraction (<2 Mg m-3) containing relatively labile organic matter (76-96% lost upon cultivation) and a heavy fraction (>2 Mg m-3) containing less labile organic matter appears to be more successful in most soils. It is suggested that the cultural practices that enhance the amount of light fraction would increase the rate of nutrient cycling through microbial biomass and may increase the overall availability of nutrients in soil.


2004 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marietta E. Echeverría ◽  
Daniel Markewitz ◽  
Lawrence A. Morris ◽  
Ronald L. Hendrick

Radiocarbon ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Søren M Kristiansen ◽  
Kristian Dalsgaard ◽  
Mads K Holst ◽  
Bent Aaby ◽  
Jan Heinemeier

Dating of prehistoric anthropogenic earthworks requires either excavation for archaeological artifacts or macroscopic organic matter suitable for 14C analysis. Yet, the former, in many cases, is undesirable and the latter is difficult to obtain. Here we present a soil science procedure, which has the potential to overcome these problems. It includes careful sampling of buried former soil surfaces, acid-alkali-acid fractionation of soil organic matter (SOM), and subsequent 14C AMS dating. To test the procedure, soil from one of the largest known burial mounds in Scandinavia, Hohøj, and 9 other Danish burial mounds were sampled. The 14C dates from extracted SOM fractions were compared to reference ages obtained by other methods. We show that humic acid fractions in 7 of the 10 mounds had the same age as the reference, or were, at maximum, 280 yr older than the reference ages. The best age estimates were derived from an organic-rich layer from the upper cm of buried soil or sod. Differences among SOM fraction ages probably indicate the reliability of the dating. Hohøj dated to approximately 1400 BC and, thus, was up to 500 yr older than other dated Scandinavian mounds of comparable size. The remaining investigated burial mounds were dated to between 1700 and 1250 BC. We conclude that combined sampling of buried soil surfaces, SOM fractionation, and 14C analysis allows for dating of archaeological earthworks when minimal disturbance is required, or if no macroscopic organic remains are found.


1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Angers ◽  
N. Bissonnette ◽  
A. Légère ◽  
N. Samson

Crop rotations and tillage practices can modify not only the total amount of organic matter (OM) in soils but also its composition. The objective of this study was to determine the changes in total organic C, microbial biomass C (MBC), carbohydrates and alkaline phosphatase activity induced by 4 yr of different rotation and tillage combinations on a Kamouraska clay in La Pocatière, Quebec. Two rotations (continuous barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) versus a 2-yr barley–red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) rotation) and three tillage treatments (moldboard plowing (MP), chisel plowing (CP) and no-tillage (NT)) were compared in a split-plot design. Total organic C was affected by the tillage treatments but not by the rotations. In the top soil layer (0–7.5 cm), NT and CP treatments had C contents 20% higher than the MP treatment. In the same soil layer, MBC averaged 300 mg C kg−1 in the MP treatment and up to 600 mg C kg−1 in the NT soil. Hot-water-extractable and acid-hydrolyzable carbohydrates were on average 40% greater under reduced tillage than under MP. Both carbohydrate fractions were also slightly larger in the rotation than in the soil under continuous barley. The ratios of MBC and carbohydrate C to total organic C suggested that there was a significant enrichment of the OM in labile forms as tillage intensity was reduced. Alkaline phosphatase activity was 50% higher under NT and 20% higher under CP treatments than under MP treatment and, on average, 15% larger in the rotation than in the continuous barley treatment. Overall, the management-induced differences were slightly greater in the top layer (0–7.5 cm) than in the lower layer of the Ap horizon (7.5–15 cm). All the properties measured were highly correlated with one another. They also showed significant temporal variations that were, in most cases, independent of the treatments. Four years of conservation tillage and, to a lesser extent, rotation with red clover resulted in greater OM in the top soil layer compared with the more intensive systems. This organic matter was enriched in labile forms. Key words: Soil management, soil quality, organic matter, carbohydrates, microbial biomass, phosphatase


Soil Research ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 345 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Schwenke ◽  
D. R. Mulligan ◽  
L. C. Bell

At Weipa, in Queensland, Australia, sown tree and shrub species sometimes fail to establish on bauxite-mined land, possibly because surface-soil organic matter declines during soil stripping and replacement. We devised 2 field experiments to investigate the links between soil rehabilitation operations, organic matter decline, and revegetation failure. Experiment 1 compared two routinely practiced operations, dual-strip (DS) and stockpile soil, with double-pass (DP), an alternative method, and subsoil only, an occasional result of the DS operation. Other treatments included variations in stripping-time, ripping-time, fertiliser rate, and cultivation. Dilution of topsoil with subsoil, low-grade bauxite, and ironstone accounted for the 46% decline of surface-soil (0–10 cm) organic C in DS compared with pre-strip soil. In contrast, organic C in the surface-soil (0–10 cm) of DP plots (25.0 t/ha) closely resembled the pre-strip area (28.6 t/ha). However, profile (0–60 cm) organic C did not differ between DS (91.5 t/ha), DP (107 t/ha), and pre-strip soil (89.9 t/ha). Eighteen months after plots were sown with native vegetation, surface-soil (0–10 cm) organic C had declined by an average of 9% across all plots. In Experiment 2, we measured the potential for post-rehabilitation decline of organic matter in hand-stripped and replaced soil columns that simulated the DS operation. Soils were incubated in situ without organic inputs. After 1 year’s incubation, organic C had declined by up to 26% and microbial biomass C by up to 61%. The difference in organic C decline between vegetated replaced soils (Expt 1) and bare replaced soils (Expt 2) showed that organic inputs affect levels of organic matter more than soil disturbance. Where topsoil was replaced at the top of the profile (DP) and not ploughed, inputs from volunteer native grasses balanced oxidation losses and organic C levels did not decline.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma Bescansa ◽  
Iñigo Virto ◽  
Oihane Fernández-Ugalde ◽  
María José Imaz ◽  
Alberto Enrique

The behaviour of earthworms, their role in organic matter incorporation into the soil, and the influence of aridity in such processes in arid and semiarid regions have scarcely been studied. In this study, physico-chemical analyses of the casts and the surrounding no-till agricultural soils of three experimental sites representing an aridity gradient in Navarre (NW Spain) were done. The casts were formed by the activity of the only anecic species,Scherotheca gigas(Dugès, 1828), ubiquitous in no-till soils in this region. We observed a significant depletion of clay and higher concentration of total organic C and labile C in the form of particulate organic matter (POM) in the casts as compared to the surrounding soil, suggesting selective ingestion of soil byS. gigas. This, together with the observation of increased concentration in POM with increasing aridity, suggests a major role of this species in the observed progressive gains of organic C stocks in no-till soils in the region.


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