Sulfur dynamics in mineral horizons of two northern hardwood soils. A column study with 35S

Abstract

Sulfur dynamics of two Spodosols were ascertained using soil columns constructed from homogenized mineral soil from nothern hardwood ecosystems at the Huntington Forest (HF) in the Adirondack Mountains of New York and Bear Brook Watershed in Maine (BBWM). Columns were leached for 20 weeks with a simulated throughfall solution with35SO42-. Sulfur constituents were similar to those of other Spodosols, with the organic S fractions (C-bonded S and ester sulfate) constituting over 90% of total S. HF soil columns had higher total S (14.9 μmol S g-1) than that for the BBWM soil columns (7.4 μmol g-1) primarily due to higher C-bonded S in the former.