Influence of organic amendments, moisture content and temperature on carbon mineralization of forest soils

Abstract

Predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization under changing climatic conditions is complicated by the diversity of SOC composition. We combined incubation experiments with continuous respiration measurements and thermal analysis to investigate the informativeness of SOC thermal stability. Thermogravimetry is used in studies to determine soil properties such as total organic C, nitrogen, and clay content and to investigate the relationships between thermally labile and stable SOC and biodegradability. Soil respiration (SR) was measured in forest soils with added organic materials (wood, litter, and weeds with C contents of 49, 10, and 35%, respectively, and N contents of 0.1, 0.6, and 3%, respectively) at 20°C and 10°C and different soil moisture contents (5, 10, 20, 40, and 75% of field capacity). Wood amendments were further subdivided into pine (Pinus sylvestris) and beech (Fagus sylvatica) with three different particle sizes. We used topsoil samples from a pine forest, a beech forest, and a long-term agricultural experiment with different properties (C in %: 1.5, 2, and 4; clay in %: 5, 9, and 25, respectively). Basal respiration increased with soil C content, while Q10 levels decreased with field capacity 10 > 40 > 75% in forest and agricultural soils. This order changed depending on the sampling location when organic material was added. Decreasing wood particle size significantly increased SR. Weed additions caused the highest increase in soil respiration. After 10 weeks of incubation at different moisture and temperature conditions, organic amendments were mineralized faster in beech forest soils than in soils under pine forests. A multifactorial analysis of variance showed a significant influence (p < 0.01) of the interactions between temperature, moisture, site, and wood particle size on SR. Preliminary results from analysis of changes in thermal mass loss (TML) between 200 and 550 °C (reflecting SOC thermal stability) due to added organic material and incubation will be presented. Approaches to determine relationships between TML and carbon mineralization will be discussed.