A1 Horizon Research Articles

Thermal diffusivity of plowed leached meadow-chernozemic soils in the Adygeya Republic

Thermal diffusivity of the upper horizons of leached meadow-chernozemic soils varies in dependence on the soil water content within the following limits: 1.20–4.11 × 10−7 m2/s for the Ap horizon, 1.21–3.85 ×10−7 m2/s for the A1 horizon, and 1.35–3.73 × 10−7 m2/s for the A1B horizon. The relationships between the thermal diffusivity and the soil water content are described by S-shape curves with a long gently inclined segment within the range of water contents of 0.30–0.35 cm3/cm3) water contents. The thermal diffusivity of air-dried soil samples correlates with the physical clay (<0.01 mm) content. The Pearson correlation coefficient for these two variables equals −0.67 and is statistically significant at the significance level of 0.05. Regression equations allowing one to calculate the thermal diffusivity of the investigated soil horizons on the basis of data on the soil water content have been obtained.

Influence of antecedent soil moisture on hydraulic conductivity in a series of texture‐contrast soils

AbstractAntecedent soil moisture significantly influenced the hydraulic conductivity of the A1, A2e and B21 horizons in a series of strong texture‐contrast soils. Tension infiltration at six supply potentials demonstrated that in the A1 horizon, hydraulic conductivity was significantly lower in the ‘wet’ treatment than in the ‘dry’ treatment. However in the A2e horizon, micropore and mesopore hydraulic conductivity was lower in the ‘dry’ treatment than the ‘wet’ treatment, which was attributed to the precipitation of soluble amorphous silica. In the B21 horizon, desiccation of vertic clays resulted in the formation of shrinkage cracks which significantly increased near‐saturated hydraulic conductivity and prevented the development of subsurface lateral flow in the ‘dry’ treatment. In the ‘wet’ treatment, the difference between the hydraulic conductivity of the A1 and B21 horizons was reduced; however, lateral flow still occurred in the A1 horizon due to difficulty displacing existing soil water further down the soil profile. Results demonstrate the need to account for temporal variation in soil porosity and hydraulic conductivity in soil‐water model conceptualisation and parameterisation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Effects and Mechanism of Organic Acids on Aluminum Availability of Dark Brown Forest Soil

The effects and mechanism of different concentration organic acids and organic salts solution on Al availability of dark brown forest soil were studied. It was resulted that, oxalic acid/oxalate and citric acid/citrate substantially stimulated soil Al release of dark brown forest soil. The effect of organic acids/salts on Al release would be strengthen with increasing of their concentrations.The contents of Al released from A1 horizon was higher than that from B horizon. Organic salt solutions had much higher effects than organic acid the same in concentration, i.e. citrate&gt;citric acid, oxalate&gt;oxalic acid. Therefore, the mechanism of organic acid/salts triggering release of soil Al was assumed to be dominated by complexation reactions of organic anions. Citric acid/ citrate had much higher effect than oxalic acid/ oxalate at same concentration to A1 and B horizons, i.e. citrate&gt; oxalate, citric acid&gt;oxalic acid, which was primarily related with the greater complexing capacities and dissociation constants of citric acid.

Equilibrium composition and properties of soil solutions

The high dynamics of their composition are a characteristic feature of soil solutions, which hampers the use of data on the concentrations and activities of elements in the physicochemical studies of soils. The chemical potentials of independent components, whose values depend of the dynamics of the solution composition only slightly, are more stable and efficient parameters. The calculation of the equilibriums by physicochemical simulation and the data on the composition of the water extracts and soil solutions indicated that, in the A1 horizon of a leached chernozem, the chemical potential of the calcium varied from −173.8 to −174.3 kcal/mol and that of magnesium varied from −150.9 to −151.5 kcal/mol when the calcium and magnesium concentrations changed by more than 20 times. In the B1 horizon of the crusted solonetz, the chemical potential of the sodium varied from −81.3 to −82.0 kcal/mol when its concentration changed by 2–3 times. The determination of the chemical potentials of the independent components (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Al, and Si) in the relatively simple basis subsystem of the solution and single-component mineral phases with known solubilities allows calculating the standard Gibbs energies of the other soil phases equilibrated with the solution.

Assessment of the microbial biomass using the content of phospholipids in soils of the dry steppe

Microbiological and biochemical investigations of chestnut soils and solonetzes were conducted in the dry steppe of the southern Privolzhskaya and northern Ergeni uplands. The living biomass of the microbial communities in the soils was estimated based on the content of phospholipids in the soils. Significant correlations were revealed between the contents of phospholipids and the main soil properties (the contents of humus, r = 0.66, P = 0.999; clay, r = −0.41, P = 0.95; physical clay, r = −0.57, P = 0.99; and pH, r = −0.59, P = 0.99). The content of phospholipids varied from 69 to 192 nmol/g of soil in the A1 horizons; with depth it decreased down to 36–135 in the B1 horizon and to 26–79 nmol/g of soil in the B2 horizon. The microbial biomass in the solonetzes was lower by 5 to 38% than that in the chestnut soils. A trend of the decreasing of the microbial biomass in the soils from the north to the south was revealed. Based on the content of phospholipids, the number of living microbial cells was assessed; the weighed averages of their number varied from 0.7–3.2 × 1010 to 7.5–13.6 × 1010.

Solods under conditions of excessive surface and ground moisture in Western Siberia: Properties, hydrology, and genesis

Depending on conditions of formation, solods should be differentiated into two groups: solods of ground overmoistening and solods of surface overmoistening. Criteria are offered to distinguish soils according to the ratio between the clay in the B2 horizon and that in the A2 horizon, as well as according to the changes in the soil pH. Formation of gley under conditions of stagnant to percolative water regime is a necessary and sufficient cause for light-colored acid eluvial horizons to form in their profile. In the main properties of the solid phase (acidity, total chemical composition, and distribution of silt), gley solods are identical to soddy-podzolic and chernozem-like podzolic gley soils.

Effect of antecedent soil moisture on preferential flow in a texture-contrast soil

The effect of soil moisture status on preferential flow in a texture-contrast soil was investigated by applying 25 mm Brilliant Blue dye tracer to soil profiles at high and low antecedent soil moisture. Differences in soil morphology and chemistry between soil profiles had little effect on the depth of dye infiltration and dye distribution down the profile. Antecedent soil moisture strongly influenced the type, depth and rate of dye tracer movement. In the wet treatment, the dye tracer infiltrated to depths between 0.24 and 0.40 m, at an average rate of 120 mm h−1. Whilst in the dry treatment, the same volume of dye tracer infiltrated to between 0.85 and 1.19 m depth at an average rate of 1160 mm h−1. In dry antecedent conditions, finger flow developed in the A1 horizon as a result of water repellency. In the wet treatment, the wetting front developed permutations but did not break into fingers. Despite similar particle size distributions, flow in the A2e was slower than the A1 horizon, due to the absence of macropores. In the dry treatment, the dye tracer ponded on the upper surface of the B21 horizon, which then spilled down the sides of the large clay columns as rivulets, at rates of between 2000 and 3000 mm h−1. The dye tracer accumulated at the base of the columns resulting in backfilling of the inter column shrinkage cracks, at an estimated rate of 750 mm h−1. In the subsoil, water movement occurred via shrinkage cracks which resulted in flow by-passing 99% of the soil matrix in the B21 horizon and 94% of the soil matrix in the B22 horizon. Evidence of rapid and deep infiltration in ‘dry’ texture-contrast soils has implications for water and solute management. This knowledge could be used to: (i) improve irrigation and fertilizer efficiency (ii) explain variations in crop yield (iii) reduce salinity through improved leaching practices, (iv) reduce the risk of agrochemicals contaminating shallow groundwater.

Soil structure and soil hydraulic properties of Haplic Luvisol used as arable land and grassland

This study is focused on the comparison of soil structure and soil hydraulic properties within soil profiles of a same soil type under different land management. Study was performed on Haplic Luvisol in Hněvčeves (Czech Republic). Two soil profiles, which were in close distance from each other, were chosen: under the conventional tillage, and under the 30 years ago reestablished permanent grass cover. Soil structure was analyzed using the micromorphological method. Soil hydraulic properties were measured in the laboratory using multistep outflow experiments performed on undisturbed 100-cm3 soil samples. Tension disk infiltrometers and Guelph permeameter were used to measure unsaturated and saturated hydraulic conductivities in the field. While soil properties studied in the deeper Bt2 and C horizons were relatively similar at both sites, properties of the A1, A2 and Bt1 horizons measured at both sites were evidently different. Lower retention ability and slightly lower unsaturated hydraulic conductivities for h0=−2cm (from disk infiltrometers), K(h0=−2cm), were measured at the arable land than those at grassland. This indicated that the fractions of the large capillary pores (pore radii between 20μm and 740μm) and also matrix pores (pore radii lower than 20μm) in the A1, A2 and Bt1 horizons of the soil profile under the conventional tillage were smaller than those in the horizons of the soil profile under the permanent grass. Larger and more variable saturated hydraulic conductivities, Ks (from the Guelph permeameter tests) and differences between the Ks and K(h0=−2cm) values were obtained at arable land than at grassland. This denoted that the fractions of gravitational pores (pore radii larger than 740μm) and connectivity of large pores in the A1, A2 and Bt1 horizons of the soil profile under the conventional tillage were greater than those in the horizons of the soil profile under the permanent grass. Thus grassland soil showed well reestablished stable soil structure with favorable soil hydraulic properties not only in the A horizons, but also in the deeper Bt1 horizon.

Solods of the Baraba Lowland and the Priobskoe Plateau: Their properties and genesis and the methods of their diagnostics

The properties, hydrological features, and genesis of the solods occurring in the Baraba Lowland and Priobskoe Plateau were studied. Methods for determining the hydromorphism degree are considered; the features of the similarity and differences between the solods and other soils with textural profile differentiation are shown. Depending on the reasons for the waterlogging, the solods should be divided into two groups: the solods of groundwater waterlogging and the solods of surface waterlogging. Criteria for their discrimination are suggested: the ratio between the contents of the clay fraction in the parent rock (or in the B2 horizon) and that in the A2 horizon, the changes in the pH values along the soil profiles, and the content of nonsilicate iron compounds. The solods studied are shown to be formed under the conditions of a stagnant-percolative regime and gleying. This circumstance is an obligatory and sufficient reason for the formation of the light-colored acid eluvial (A2) horizons. According to some basic properties of the soil solid phase (the acidity, the total chemical composition, and the clay pattern in the eluvial part), the gleyed solods are close or identical to the gleyed soddy-podzolic and gleyed chernozem-like podzolic soils. At the same time, the solods differ from the gleyed chernozem-like podzolic soils by their thicker A1 (or Ap) horizon and their higher humus content (5–7%).

Soils of slopes and bottomland positions of the small stream valley in the central forest reserve: Chemical properties and clay mineralogy

Pale-podzolic soils occupying slope positions in a small stream valley are more acidic and contain less pedogenic chlorites in the clay fraction than those soils occupying uplands. These characteristics are thought to be caused by more intensive leaching of matter from eluvial horizons due to intensive lateral interflow of soil water. Soddy-gleyic soils of the stream bottomland are rich in organic matter and have a slightly acidic reaction in the A1 horizon and an alkaline reaction in the calcareous subsoil. Both factors lead to accumulation of Feox and Alox supplied to bottomland positions from uplands and slopes and those formed in situ.

Mobile aluminum compounds in soils of the southern taiga (soils of the central forest reserve as an example)

The profile distributions of aluminum extracted by the Tamm and Bascomb reagents and of the exchangeable aluminum were studied in soils of automorphic, transitive, and accumulative positions in the landscapes of the southern taiga. In the mineral horizons of the gleyic peaty-podzolic soils developed on poorly drained flat surfaces and in the floodplain soils, the distribution of oxalate- and pyrophosphate-soluble aluminum has a strongly pronounced accumulative character. In the podzolic soils of the automorphic positions and slopes, an eluvial-illuvial distribution was characteristic with the maximal aluminum content in the podzolic horizons. The strong differentiation of the upper part of the profile in the automorphic podzolic soils in terms of the Al content in the Tamm and Bascomb extracts is mainly related to an increase of the pedogenic chlorite content upon the transition from the AE to the E horizon. In the podzolic horizons of these soils, aluminum can accumulate in the form of proto-imogolite structures. The exchangeable aluminum displays an accumulative type of distribution. On the basis of calculating the reserves of the different aluminum compounds, two main accumulative zones for the mobile compounds of this element were recorded in the soils of the landscapes studied: the E horizon in the automorphic podzolic soils, where Al accumulates as soil chlorite or, probably, as proto-imogolite, and the A1 horizon of the floodplain soils, where Al accumulates in aluminoorganic complexes.

Analyzing the Relation between Loss-on-Ignition and Other Methods of Soil Organic Carbon Determination in a Tropical Cloud Forest (Mexico)

The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between soil organic carbon content, determined by dry combustion (%OCLECO) and the Walkley–Black method (%OCWB), and loss on ignition (LOI). Soil samples were collected from noncalcareous O and A1 horizons within a tropical cloud forest. Linear regression equations were developed to estimate organic carbon from LOI. The applicability of the predictive equations was evaluated by comparison of measured and predicted organic carbon data for independent soil samples. The results showed that the LOI method produced a better linear relationship with the %OCLECO (R 2 = 0.96, P < 0.001) than with the %OCWB (R 2 = 0.88, P <0.001) method. These results also showed that %OCWB and %OCLECO prediction equations underestimate and overestimate soil organic carbon by 0.74% and 0.56%, respectively. This study suggests that LOI may be a good estimator of soil organic carbon for noncalcareous O and A1 horizons in a tropical cloud forest.

Effects of subsoil amendments on soil physical properties, crop response, and soil water quality in a dry year

In southern Australia the ability of field crops to extract soil moisture and nutrients from depth depends on the physical and chemical properties of the subsoil. In texture-contrast soils accumulation of water and nutrients in the E or A2 horizon, immediately above a clay B horizon of much lower hydraulic conductivity (herein called the interface), may generate lateral flows and enhanced nutrient and solute transfer to water bodies. Evidence that deep-ripping with addition of subsoil nutrients can increase crop productivity in regions having hostile, alkaline subsoils led to experiments to test whether this response was related to an increase in the use of water and nutrients in the subsoil. Our study measured the effects of deep-ripping with and without amendments on soil physical and chemical properties of the A and upper B horizons of 2 South Australian soils. Deep-ripping and deep-placement of nutrients increased grain harvest weight even in an exceptionally dry season. The greater yield was accompanied by significantly lower field-penetration resistance to 0.35–0.50 m depth, which we hypothesise enabled the crop to better access stored soil water and deep placed nutrients in the subsoil. Residual effects from deep-ripping were minimal after 4 growing seasons; therefore, ripping will need to be practiced at regular intervals to maintain treatment effects. The ripping and nutrient amendments had no significant effect on exchangeable sodium percentage, electrical conductivity, and readily extractable phosphorus and nitrate-nitrogen, despite changes in these soil properties between spring and harvest sampling.

Clay minerals in chernozem-like soils of mesodepressions in the northern forest-steppe of European Russia

In the northern forest-steppe of European Russia, under the conditions of surface waterlogging (freshwater) and a stagnant-percolative regime, gleyic podzolic chernozem-like soils with thick light-colored eluvial horizons are formed. These horizons are close or similar to the podzolic horizons of bog-podzolic soils in many properties of their solid phase. They are bleached in color and characterized by the removal of Ca, Mg, Fe, Al, and Mn and the relative accumulation of quartz SiO2. These soils differ from leached chernozems in their acid reaction and very low CEC, the presence of Fe-Mn concretions and coatings, and the significant decrease in the clay content in the A2 horizon as compared to the parent rock.

Fire severity effects on soil organic matter from a ponderosa pine forest: a laboratory study

This study investigated the changes in soil organic matter composition by controlling fire severity of laboratory burns on reconstructed surface soil profiles (O, A1 (0–1 cm), and A2 (1–2 cm)). Laboratory burning simulated prescribed burns that would be typical in the understorey of a ponderosa pine forest at low, moderate, and high–moderate severity levels. Soils were analysed for C, N and soil organic matter composition. Soil organic matter was fractionated into humin, humic acid, fulvic acid, soluble non‐humic materials and other hydrophobic compounds. In the O horizon, low‐, moderate‐, and high‐severity treatments consumed an increasing proportion of C and N. Carbon content of the mineral soil was unaffected by burning; however, N content of the A2 horizon decreased after the moderate‐ and high‐severity treatments, likely as a result of N volatilisation. The proportion of non‐soluble material in the O horizon increased with fire severity, whereas the proportion of humin C as total C of the A horizon decreased with fire severity. The decrease in humin was followed by an increase in the other hydrophobic compounds. The higher fire intensity experienced by the burning O horizon created recalcitrant materials while an increase in labile soil organic matter was observed in mineral soil. An increase in labile soil organic matter may cause elevated C and N mineralisation rates often seen after fire.

Seasonal changes in the transformation and transportation of uracyl, glycine, and glucose in soils of podzolic type

The behavior of water-soluble organic compounds arriving in forest litter significantly varies between the warm and cold seasons. Their rapid mineralization occurs in the summer: the removal of introduced compounds from the forest litter and their inclusion into humus substances are almost absent. At the input of water-soluble organic compounds to forest litter during the cold period, the mineralization processes decrease; they recommence only in the next warm period. However, the initial compounds have undergone some transformations by this time, which significantly increases their microbiological stability and decreases their migration capacity. The labeled compounds introduced in the fall are fixed within the forest litter and predominantly enter into the microbial and fungal biomass. Transformed labeled compounds enter into the humus-accumulative A1 horizon due to migration followed by their inclusion into the mineral-humus component of this horizon. Assessing the role of migration in the development of the humus-accumulative horizon in podzolic soils shows the secondary role of migration processes. The major role is played by the formation of the humus-accumulative horizon in accordance with the classical concepts of the soddy process.

Quantitative aspects of heterogeneity in soil organic matter dynamics in a cool‐temperate Japanese beech forest: a radiocarbon‐based approach

AbstractSoil is the largest carbon reservoir in terrestrial ecosystems; it stores twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. It is well documented that global warming can lead to accelerated microbial decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) and enhance the release of CO2 from the soil to the atmosphere; however, the magnitude and timing of this effect remain highly uncertain due to a lack of quantitative data concerning the heterogeneity of SOC biodegradability. Therefore, we sought to identify SOC pools with respect to their specific mean residence times (MRTs), to use those SOC pools to partition soil respiration sources, and to estimate the potential response of the pools to warming. We collected surface soil and litter samples from a cool‐temperate deciduous forest in Japan, chemically separated the samples into SOC fractions, estimated their MRTs based on radiocarbon (14C) isotope measurements, and used the data to construct a model representing the soil as a complex of six SOC pools with different MRT ranges. We estimate that a minor, fast‐cycling SOC pool with an MRT of less than 10 years (corresponding to the O horizon and recognizable plant leaf fragments in the A1 horizon) is responsible for 73% of annual heterotrophic respiration and 44% of total soil respiration. However, the predicted response of these pools to warming demonstrates that the rate of SOC loss from the fast‐cycling SOC pool diminishes quickly (within several decades) because of limited substrate availability. In contrast, warming will continue to accelerate SOC loss from slow‐cycling pools with MRTs of 20–200 years over the next century. Although using a 14C‐based approach has drawbacks, these estimates provide quantitative insights into the potential importance of slow‐cycling SOC dynamics for the prediction of positive feedback to climate change.

Changes in Soil Organic Matter Pools and Carbon Mineralization as Influenced by Fire Severity

Fire transforms soil organic matter (SOM) to recalcitrant forms of C. The degree to which SOM is altered is dependent on fire severity. This study investigated changes in SOM composition and mineralization by controlling the fire severity of laboratory burns on reconstructed soil profiles (O, A1 [0–1 cm], and A2 [1–2 cm] horizons). Burning simulated low‐, moderate‐, and high‐severity fires. Organic and mineral soils were incubated for 180 d and CO2 production was measured with soda lime traps. Soils were analyzed for SOM composition pre‐ and post‐incubation using an alkaline extraction. Higher severity burning resulted in lower O horizon decomposition rates on a C basis. Fulvic acid C in the control and low‐severity O horizons was reduced by 13% by incubation, which was negatively correlated with cumulative C mineralized (r = −0.564). After incubation, the SOM composition of the burned O horizons remained different from the control. Higher severity burning caused mineral soil to initially have higher C mineralization rates, which disappeared by the end of the incubation. Fulvic acid concentration was reduced by 61 and 38% during incubation of the A1 and A2 horizons, respectively, returning the SOM composition to control levels. The sum of alkaline insoluble forms (e.g., humin) of SOM accounted for 74 and 61% of total soil C and N, respectively, which was not significantly different between treatments. The fire severities examined show that the major impacts to SOM occurred to the O horizon and any fire‐related changes to the mineral soil were not persistent.

Age and activation of microbial communities in soils under burial mounds and in recent surface soils of steppe zone

Chestnut paleosols buried under steppe kurgans about 4800, 4000, and 2000 years ago and their background analogues were studied in the dry steppe zone on the Volga-Don interfluve. Morphological, chemical, microbiological, biochemical, and radiocarbon studies were performed. Paleoclimatic conditions in the region were reconstructed on the basis of paleosol data. The ages of microbial fractions isolated from the buried and surface soils were determined using the method of 14C atomic mass-spectrometry. It reached 2100 years in the A1 horizon of the buried paleosol, which corresponded to the archaeological age of the kurgan (1st century AD). The ages of microbial biomass isolated from the B2 horizons of the buried paleosol and the background surface soil comprised 3680 ± 35 and 3300 ± 30 years, respectively. The obtained data confirmed our assumption about preservation of microorganisms of the past epochs in the paleosols buried under archaeological monuments. It is ensured by various mechanisms of adaptation of soil microbial communities to unfavorable environmental conditions (anabiosis, transformation of bacteria into nanoforms, etc.). The possibility to stimulate germination of the ancient dormant microbial pool isolated from the buried paleosols by 2–3 orders of magnitude with the use of β-indolyl-3-acetic acid as a signal substance was demonstrated.

Fractionation of Cu, Pb, Cr, and Zn in a Soil Column Amended with an Anaerobic Municipal Sewage Sludge

The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in the chemical partitioning of Cu, Pb, Cr and Zn within a column of soil incubated with an anaerobic sewage sludge (ANSS) for 2.5 months. The soil was irrigated during the incubation period. A sequential extraction method was used to fractionate these metals into exchangeable, weakly adsorbed, organic, Al oxide, Fe–Mn oxide, and residual, respectively. ANSS was applied at a loading rate of 69 Mg ha−1. The soil is a Dystric Cambisol with low pH (<3.8), low CEC [<10 cmol(+) kg−1 below the first 4 cm depth], and low base saturation (<7%). The addition of the ANSS caused a decrease in concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Cr in the A1 horizon, and an increase in the concentrations with depth. Below the A1 horizon, concentrations of Cu increased uniformly (~1 mg cm−1), and the greatest increases were observed in the residual, Fe–Mn oxides, and weakly adsorbed fractions. Maximum increases in Pb occurred at 4–9 cm of depth (1.6 mg cm−1), and mainly affected the weakly adsorbed fraction. Chromium essentially accumulated at the limit between the A2 and the Bw horizons (1.1–1.5 mg cm−1) as residual and organic bound forms, probably through particulate transport. Zinc mainly accumulated in the A1 horizon (2.9 mg cm−1) as exchangeable Zn. At depth, Zn increments were predominantly observed in the residual fraction. The results of this study thus demonstrate the redistribution of contaminants into different chemical pools and soil layers after sludge amendment.