The consensus for mechanisms controlling soil organic matter (SOM) persistence has shifted from traditional views based on SOM recalcitrance to a new paradigm based on SOM stabilization controlled by ...soil minerals and aggregates. Recent studies indicate that the origin, composition and molecular diversity of SOM are crucial to the decomposition and stabilization of SOM. However, it is not fully understood how the decomposition and stabilization of SOM are controlled at the molecular level. The objectives of this study were to investigate whether soil organic carbon (SOC) contents and mineralization are controlled by the composition, origin and molecular diversity of SOM. Soil samples were collected from contrasting bedrocks with different precipitation levels at tropical alpine grasslands of the Peruvian Andes. We applied a combination of a 76-day soil incubation experiment and pyrolysis-GC/MS assisted by thermochemolysis to investigate SOM decomposition and stabilization at the molecular level. The results indicated that soil samples with high SOC contents (92.6 ± 7.6 g kg−1 soil) and low SOC mineralization had abundant derivates of lignin, polysaccharides and n-alkanes. After the incubation, we observed neither a selective decomposition of any compound groups nor a decline of molecular diversity. In contrast, soil samples with low SOC contents (30.7 ± 2.8 g kg−1 soil) and higher SOC mineralization showed a depletion of plant-derived compounds, an accumulation of microbial-derived compounds and declined molecular diversity after the incubation. Furthermore, the SOC mineralization of these samples was positively correlated to the depletion of unsaturated fatty acids and the decrease in molecular diversity after the incubation. Therefore, we proposed that SOC contents and mineralization in our soils are (1) controlled by selective preservation of SOM molecular groups (e.g. plant-derived compounds), and (2) associated with changes in molecular diversity of SOM during microbial decomposition. Due to the selective preservation of organic compounds under different environmental conditions, we propose that environmental factors should be considered for the management of ecosystem services such as SOC sequestration in the studied region.
•A combination of a 76-day soil incubation and a TMAH-pyrolysis-GC/MS was performed.•High SOC was associated with abundant lignin, polysaccharides and n-alkanes.•No selective depletion of plant-OM in high SOC samples after the incubation.•Low SOC was related to abundant unsaturated fatty acids and less-stabilized SOM.•Decline in plant-OM and molecular diversity in low SOC samples after the incubation.
Biota are major drivers of geomorphological development. Vegetation and soil fauna act as ecosystem engineers, changing the environment through physical structures and individual activities such as ...litter layering, tree uprooting, and animal mounding. Furthermore, through varying litter quality triggering different degrees of animal bioturbation, they jointly drive soil and landscape development heterogeneously in space over time. Soil-landscape evolution models succeed in incorporating soil development with landscape evolution. However, the roles of biota and biotic interactions in these models are still underexposed. We cannot fully understand changes in environmental and soil-landscape systems without a proper appreciation of biotic processes. In this contribution, we first review the role of biota in pedological and geomorphological processes. Then we compare the coverage of soil and landscape processes of soil-landscape evolution models and outline the role of biota in current soil-landscape evolution models. Finally, we define five levels of soil-landscape evolution model complexity that allow increased detail in biota-soil-landscape interactions. The results show how vegetation characteristics and animal bioturbation in current models are simplified compared with geomorphological processes, and that the geomorphological impact of litter quality and quantity and interactions between vegetation and animals are not taken into consideration at all. As understanding the complex soil-landscape-biota system is fundamental in exploring the coevolution of ecosystem and landscape, it deserves more efforts to develop a biota-soil-landscape evolution model that does more justice to the manifold impacts of biota.
•We reviewed biota's roles in hydrology, soil-landscape processes.•19 soil-landscape evolution models (SLEMs) were identified through scoping review.•Biotic processes are simplified in SLEMs.•Geomorphic impact of leaf litter and vegetation-animal interactions need inclusion.•Suggest improve SLEMs in vertical discretization, state variables.
•Over 93% of the total N was associated with minerals at eroding and depositional sites.•Deposition of eroded soil particles leads to N enrichment throughout entire soil profiles.•Macroaggregate ...associated and mineral associated N increased in the depositional site.•Depositional sites had more inorganic N than eroded sites, which was predominant nitrate N.•Glucose addition significantly reduced net N nitrification and mineralization rates.
Soil erosion strongly influences the transport and fate of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in hillslope soils. However, in dynamic landscapes, erosional effects on soil N cycling and primary controls on N bioavailability are not well understood: particularly with respect to differences between topsoil and subsoil. Here we aim to explore the influence of erosion on (i) spatial distributions of soil N fractions and (ii) controls on N bioavailability in eroding vs. depositional sites within the Belgian Loess Belt. Soil samples were fractionated by aggregate size and density. In addition, intact soil samples were incubated to determine the influence of oxygen status (0, 5, and 20%) and labile organic matter on mineralization and nitrification of N in the context of erosion. The results showed that the deposition of eroded upslope soil materials led to N enrichment throughout entire soil profiles. Across both eroding and depositional sites, more than 93% of the total N was associated with minerals. Increased macro-aggregate- and mineral-associated N at the depositional site indicated that aggregation and N stabilized by minerals contribute to N enrichment in the depositional soils. Inorganic N, mostly NO3−-N, was also larger at the depositional site. Oxygen concentrations were positively related to net N nitrification and mineralization rates regardless of geomorphic position. Glucose addition significantly reduced net N mineralization and nitrification rates. In conclusion, our results indicate that soil erosion might not only lead to spatial variations of N pools but also potentially affect the transformation and bioavailability of N along eroding hillslopes. Future research should consider the fate of different N species in eroding landscapes and consequences for both carbon sequestration and N leaching.
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•SOC content was homogenized at hillslope positions in burned Mediterranean soils.•Burned soils have different distributions of aggregate mass (size and density) and SOC ...(density).•Four rains mobilised high sediment and SOC amounts (role of soil erosion as C sink).•OC was initially transported as non-protected (FLF > OLF > HF) and later as protected (HF > FLF > OLF).
Forest fires cause many changes in the physical, chemical and biological soil properties such as aggregation and soil organic carbon contents (SOC) as well as on soil hydrology and erosion processes. Most studies on post-fire soil erosion in Mediterranean environments have been plot-based and research at hillslope or broader scale is scarce. Understanding SOC nature, distribution and modifications, as produced by forest fires and erosion, has become crucial to model and define the role of soil erosion as source or sink of C, and to sustainably manage ecosystem services related to the soil resource. This research provides data about the loss and redistribution of soil and SOC in a Mediterranean forest hillslope burned with high severity, at the Natural Park of Sierra de Espadán, Spain. Soil was sampled in coupled hillslopes (ca. 0.25 ha) (BU: burned, CO: control) at bottom (depositional), middle (transport) and top positions (eroding) at two depths (0–2 cm, 2–5 cm), and under two environments (UC: under canopy soil, BS: bare soil). Sediments were collected after each erosive event along one year, and yields were calculated. Samples were analysed to assess aggregate stability (AS), size and density fractionations, SOC contents and stocks. The main hypothesis is that fire affects soil characteristics related to aggregation and SOC stabilization and, together with erosion processes, may modify SOC distribution within aggregates and the burned hillslope.
Soils were in general very stable, but some differences in the results of the methods used were observed. Significant differences were found for the environment (under canopy vs bare) and soil depth but not for slope position. SOC content was high both at BU and CO with no significant differences. In the BU hillslope, a homogenization of SOC contents was observed along the hillslope, while in the CO, a higher SOC content was measured in the depositional and transport sites than in the eroding one. Similar trends were observed for SOC stocks. Only four erosive rain events were registered in this study, which generated no sediment yields in CO hillslope. In the BU one, sediment yields were measured (0.05–0.58 Mg ha−1, total 0.925 Mg ha y−1), which mobilised OC amounts ranging between 0.005 and 0.04 MgC ha−1. When samples were fractioned, changes were observed in the mass distribution of soil and sediment aggregates by size and density, and in the OC content between density fractions of BU soils with regard to sediment and CO soils.
According to the results, effective post-fire management should be oriented to control and reduce the erosion of aggregates < 2 mm, which present the highest SOC content and are very prone to be transported off-site. This fraction should include all the partially burned biomass (free light material), which acts as a first mulching and contains high amounts of OC that should be kept within the burned hillslope to increase soil fertility, promote vegetation recovery and act as a C sink. In the BU hillslope, eroded free light material might be buried at the depositional site and if the conditions are favourable for its conservation, SOC accumulation would be promoted, which may have implications for its stabilization, and the role of soil erosion as a C sink.
Alpine grasslands of the Neotropical Andes have high soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and provide crucial ecosystem services. However, stability of the SOC in these grasslands is not well-studied. ...Having insights into SOC stability contributes to a better understanding of ecosystem vulnerability and maintaining of ecosystem services. The objectives were to get a first insight into organic matter (OM) stabilization in soils from different bedrocks of Andean alpine grasslands near Cajamarca, Peru (7° 11″ S, 78° 35″ W) and how this controls SOC stocks. Samples were collected from soils formed on limestone and acid igneous rocks. Stabilization mechanisms of OM were investigated using selective extraction methods separating active Fe, Al and Ca fractions and determined SOC stocks. In both soil types, the results showed important contributions of complexation with and/or adsorption on Fe and Al (oxides) to OM stabilization. Exclusively in the limestone soils, Ca induced OM stabilization by promoting the formation of Ca
2+
bridges between OM and mineral surfaces. Furthermore, no evidence showed that OM stabilization was controlled by crystalline Fe oxides, clay contents, allophones, Al toxicity or aggregate stability. Limestone soils had significantly higher SOC stocks (405 ± 42 Mg ha
−1
) compared to the acid igneous rock soils (226 ± 6 Mg ha
−1
), which is likely explained by OM stabilization related to Ca
2+
bridges in addition to the stabilization related to Fe and Al (oxides) in the limestone soils. Our results suggest a shift from OM stabilization dominated by Fe and Al (oxides) to that with the presence of Ca-related cation bridges, with increasing pH values driven by lithology.
Land degradation and soil erosion are perceived as important problems in the dryland zones of the Mediterranean. Three-year measurements of hydrological and soil erosion data from a series of nested ...experimental watersheds in a semi-arid area of SE Spain are discussed. The aim was to study the role and effects of thresholds on the spatial connections between different system compartments, such as response units and sub-catchments that act at different levels of scale (plot to watershed scale). It was also the aim to quantify runoff and erosion at these different scales. Several types of thresholds are described and these are related to vegetation type and pattern, soil surface roughness, distance to the main channel, land use and tillage effects (intrinsic properties of the landscape) as well as rainfall intensity, duration and depth (external influence). The expansion of runoff generating areas under Hortonian overland flow is discussed in relation to vegetation structure and rainfall. Results showed that runoff and sediment yield results highly depend on the vegetation structure. The relation between rainfall intensity and rainfall depth and the hydrological response were established at five levels of scale. Three spatio-temporal process domains were analysed: the spot- and plot-processes at the finest scale, the hillslope, micro- and sub-catchment processes at the intermediate scale and catchment scale and main channel network processes at the broadest scale. An event with a 5-year recurrence period is discussed to illustrate the importance of scale related thresholds, explaining the relative importance of high intensity rainfalls. Soil erosion was found to be a magnitude larger on terraced valley bottoms (2500–3000
g
m
−2) when compared to the semi-natural hillslopes, where erosion figures were less than 10
g
m
−2. This indicated that the contribution of sediment from terraced cultivated lands is important and are an underestimated part of the sediment budget of semi-arid catchments.
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•Dutch legislation allows bodies donated to science to use for taphonomic research.•Europe’s first human taphonomic research facility is realized in The Netherlands.•Lessons learned ...from realizing HTRFs should be capitalized to raise new initiatives.
A taphonomic research facility for the study of human remains was recently realized in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to systematically investigate the decomposition of the human body under known conditions. Governmental authorization was obtained to make use of the body donation program of the Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location Academic Medical Center, for this specific purpose. In contrast to the small number of comparable initiatives elsewhere, this facility specifically allows for the study of buried bodies e.g. with the use of telemetry and remote sensing. Here, we discuss the concept of body donation in the Netherlands, its role in taphonomic research, and the sequence of events that preceded the realization of this facility, which is the first of its kind in Europe. In addition to offering novel research options to the scientific community, we hope that it will also pave the way for the successful realization of similar initiatives in other locations.
Afforestation is an important strategy that can decrease atmospheric carbon by sequestering carbon in biomass and soil. In Spain, an active afforestation programme was adopted in the 1950s when the ...soil was severely eroded after widespread abandonment of arable land. The Araguás catchment (Central Spanish Pyrenees) is a good example of this programme because it was afforested with both Pinus sylvestris L. (PS) and Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold (PN). The soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and lignin content (based on the vanillyl, syringyl and cinnamyl contents) of these afforested soils were examined and compared to those of bare soil, secondary succession and meadow soils. Both the SOC stock and lignin content were used to evaluate the effects of land‐use changes on soil. Curie‐point pyrolysis with tetramethylammonium hydroxide was used to assess the lignin content. In the bare soil, there was none of the lignin compounds. The largest SOC stock and lignin content occurred under PN and secondary succession sites. A decreasing trend for the lignin content, related to the limited organic matter input and the longer degradation period, was observed at deeper horizons in all soils except meadows. These meadow soils also showed increased SOC stocks in deeper horizons. Land abandonment reduced the SOC stock although no significant differences were observed in the organic carbon incorporation assessed through lignin content (and if this was so it was restricted to the top centimetre or so). According to the results, PN was the best afforestation practice for increasing SOC stock and lignin content in soil. Pinus sylvestris afforestation was less successful than secondary succession at increasing SOC sequestration and lignin content.
Highlights
Effects of long‐term afforestation and land abandonment assessed in Mediterranean humid mountain soils.
Soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and lignin content were used as indicators.
Bare soil had the smallest SOC stock and lignin content.
Afforestation with Pinus nigra was the best practice, increasing SOC stock and lignin content.
A better process understanding of how water erosion influences the redistribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) is sorely needed to unravel the role of soil erosion for the carbon (C) budget from ...local to global scales. The main objective of this study was to determine SOC redistribution and the complete C budget of a loess soil affected by water erosion. We measured fluxes of SOC, dissolved organic C (DOC) and CO2 in a pseudo-replicated rainfall-simulation experiment. We characterized different C fractions in soils and redistributed sediments using density fractionation and determined C enrichment ratios (CER) in the transported sediments. Erosion, transport and subsequent deposition resulted in significantly higher CER of the sediments exported ranging between 1.3 and 4.0. In the exported sediments, C contents (mg per g soil) of particulate organic C (POC, C not bound to soil minerals) and mineral-associated organic C (MOC) were both significantly higher than those of non-eroded soils indicating that water erosion resulted in losses of C-enriched material both in forms of POC and MOC. The averaged SOC fluxes as particles (4.7 g C m(-2) yr(-1)) were 18 times larger than DOC fluxes. Cumulative emission of soil CO2 slightly decreased at the erosion zone while increased by 56% and 27% at the transport and depositional zone, respectively, in comparison to non-eroded soil. Overall, CO2 emission is the predominant form of C loss contributing to about 90.5% of total erosion-induced C losses in our 4-month experiment, which were equal to 18 g C m(-2). Nevertheless, only 1.5% of the total redistributed C was mineralized to CO2 indicating a large stabilization after deposition. Our study also underlines the importance of C losses by particles and as DOC for understanding the effects of water erosion on the C balance at the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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