Abstract
Soil organic matter of bulk samples and size fractions (by dry sieving) of chernozems with a rather with different history of use (from intact steppe to permanent bare fallow) was studied by TGA under pyrolysis conditions in an inert atmosphere to approach its transformation depending on the type of use. For the first time, thermal properties of samples of Kursk chernozem (Kursk Research Institute of Agricultural Production and V.V. Alekhin Tsentralno-Chernozemny Nature Reserve of Russia) were studied for a continuous 55-year field experiment with a well-documented history of use and showed that long-term agricultural use significantly changes the thermal parameters of soil organic matter, and this is manifested for aggregates of various sizes. The minimum representative weight for the thermal analysis of bulk soils is ca. 1 g (when grinding samples to 100 μm). The paper proposes a new parameter to assess the degree of organic matter degradation, the ratio of the mass loss in the 380–600 to 170–380 °C temperature ranges that is referred to as two-range thermal stability ratio. It is shown that this relative index discriminates soil samples depending on the land use type and does not require the knowledge on carbon content.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call