Soil Organic Matter Decay Research Articles

Soil warming, carbon–nitrogen interactions, and forest carbon budgets

Soil warming has the potential to alter both soil and plant processes that affect carbon storage in forest ecosystems. We have quantified these effects in a large, long-term (7-y) soil-warming study in a deciduous forest in New England. Soil warming has resulted in carbon losses from the soil and stimulated carbon gains in the woody tissue of trees. The warming-enhanced decay of soil organic matter also released enough additional inorganic nitrogen into the soil solution to support the observed increases in plant carbon storage. Although soil warming has resulted in a cumulative net loss of carbon from a New England forest relative to a control area over the 7-y study, the annual net losses generally decreased over time as plant carbon storage increased. In the seventh year, warming-induced soil carbon losses were almost totally compensated for by plant carbon gains in response to warming. We attribute the plant gains primarily to warming-induced increases in nitrogen availability. This study underscores the importance of incorporating carbon-nitrogen interactions in atmosphere-ocean-land earth system models to accurately simulate land feedbacks to the climate system.

Interactions between metals and soil organic matter in various particle size fractions of soil contaminated with waste water

Only scarce field studies concern the consequences of natural soil organic matter (SOM) and metal interactions on SOM dynamics in soils. We investigated the interactions of four metals (Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd) with the SOM associated to five different size fractions (between 2000 µm and < 2 µm) of a sandy top soil contaminated by waste water. Metal, organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations were measured and chemical extractions (with Na 4P 2O 7 and EDTA) were also performed to assess the variations of SOM–metal interactions irrespective of the size fraction. In addition, as in that selected contaminated site, maize (C 4 plant), replaced C 3 crops 15 years ago, natural isotopic 13C labelling gave new insights into SOM turnover. First, the results suggest that metals influence the SOM dynamics in that sandy soil: a C 3 “old carbon” enrichment was observed in the small or clay size fractions, while the “new” C 4 carbon associated with sandy soil particles presents a rapid turnover. Metal accumulation in the clay fraction is attributed to particulate organic matter (poorly associated) and SOM decay which overtime accumulated metals and eventually these metal–SOM associations prevent the biological decomposition of such carbon pools. Moreover, the δ 13C signals, C/N ratios and results from chemical extractions clearly showed differences in the origin, nature and reactivity of the SOM as a function of the size fraction with consequences on the metal behaviour. Differences were observed between metals studied: Zn seems to be mainly bound to SOM associated with clay particles, while Pb seems to prefer to interact directly with the mineral surfaces versus the SOM.

CBM-CFS3: A model of carbon-dynamics in forestry and land-use change implementing IPCC standards

The scientific community, forest managers, environmental organizations, carbon-offset trading systems and policy-makers require tools to account for forest carbon stocks and carbon stock changes. In this paper we describe updates to the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) implemented over the past years. This model of carbon-dynamics implements a Tier 3 approach of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Good Practice Guidance for reporting on carbon stocks and carbon stock changes resulting from Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). The CBM-CFS3 is a generic modelling framework that can be applied at the stand, landscape and national levels. The model provides a spatially referenced, hierarchical system for integrating datasets originating from different forest inventory and monitoring programs and includes a structure that allows for tracking of land areas by different land-use and land-use change classes. Ecosystem pools in CBM-CFS3 can be easily mapped to IPCC-defined pools and validated against field measurements. The model uses sophisticated algorithms for converting volume to biomass and explicitly simulates individual annual disturbance events (natural and anthropogenic). Several important scientific updates have been made to improve the representation of ecosystem structure and processes from previous versions of CBM-CFS. These include: (1) an expanded representation of dead organic matter and soil carbon, particularly standing dead trees, and a new algorithm for initializing these pools prior to simulation, (2) a change in the input data requirement for simulating growth from biomass to readily available merchantable volume curves, and new algorithms for converting volume to biomass, (3) improved prediction of belowground biomass, and (4) improved parameters for soil organic matter decay, fire, insect disturbances, and forest management. In addition, an operational-scale version of CBM-CFS3 is freely available and includes tools to import data in standard formats, including the output of several timber supply models that are commonly used in Canada. Although developed for Canadian forests, the flexible nature of the model has enabled it to be adapted for use in several other countries.

Addition of nitrogen had no effect on yield and quality of apples in an high density orchard carrying a dwarf rootstock

The effect of N addition on apple yield and quality may vary according to the tree vigor. Apple trees developed over vigorous rootstocks had shown no response to N application in Brazil. In this study it was evaluated the effect of N addition to the soil on yield and quality of ´Royal Gala´ apples grafted on a dwarf rootstock (M.9). The orchard was planted in 1995 (2,857 trees ha-1) on an Oxisol containing 40 g kg-1 of organic matter and pH 6.0. The experiment was carried out from 1998 up to 2005. Treatments consisted of rates of N (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg ha-1 year-1 from 1998 to 2001, and respectively 0, 100, 200 and 300 kg ha-1 afterwards), all broadcasted within the tree row in two equal splits, at bud break and after harvest, as ammonium sulfate. Addition of N to the soil had no effect on fruit yield over the six years regardless of the applied rate. Averaged across treatments and years, fruit yield was 52.3 t ha-1. Nitrogen in the leaves (average of 24 g kg-1) or in the fruits (average of 346 mg kg-1) as well as some attributes related to fruit quality (color, firmness, acidity, soluble solids, physiological disorders) were unaffected by N addition. Some plant parameters related to tree vigor, however, grew higher with the increase on N rate. Thus, it is not necessary to apply N to deep Brazilian soils containing high organic matter in order to assure good fruit quality and yield on high-density orchards carrying dwarf rootstocks probably because the N required for tree growth and fruit production is supplied from soil organic matter decay.

Temperature responses of individual soil organic matter components

Temperature responses of soil organic matter (SOM) remain unclear partly due to its chemical and compositional heterogeneity. In this study, the decomposition of SOM from two grassland soils was investigated in a 1‐year laboratory incubation at six different temperatures. SOM was separated into solvent extractable compounds, suberin‐ and cutin‐derived compounds, and lignin‐derived monomers by solvent extraction, base hydrolysis, and CuO oxidation, respectively. These SOM components have distinct chemical structures and stabilities and their decomposition patterns over the course of the experiment were fitted with a two‐pool exponential decay model. The stability of SOM components was also assessed using geochemical parameters and kinetic parameters derived from model fitting. Compared with the solvent extractable compounds, a low percentage of lignin monomers partitioned into the labile SOM pool. Suberin‐ and cutin‐derived compounds were poorly fitted by the decay model, and their recalcitrance was shown by the geochemical degradation parameter (ω − C16/∑C16), which was observed to stabilize during the incubation. The temperature sensitivity of decomposition, expressed as Q10, was derived from the relationship between temperature and SOM decay rates. SOM components exhibited varying temperature responses and the decomposition of lignin monomers exhibited higher Q10 values than the decomposition of solvent extractable compounds. Our study shows that Q10 values derived from soil respiration measurements may not be reliable indicators of temperature responses of individual SOM components.

Quantifying Uncertainty in the Biospheric Carbon Flux for England and Wales

SummaryA crucial issue in the current global warming debate is the effect of vegetation and soils on carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in the atmosphere. Vegetation can extract CO2 through photosynthesis, but respiration, decay of soil organic matter and disturbance effects such as fire return it to the atmosphere. The balance of these processes is the net carbon flux. To estimate the biospheric carbon flux for England and Wales, we address the statistical problem of inference for the sum of multiple outputs from a complex deterministic computer code whose input parameters are uncertain. The code is a process model which simulates the carbon dynamics of vegetation and soils, including the amount of carbon that is stored as a result of photosynthesis and the amount that is returned to the atmosphere through respiration. The aggregation of outputs corresponding to multiple sites and types of vegetation in a region gives an estimate of the total carbon flux for that region over a period of time. Expert prior opinions are elicited for marginal uncertainty about the relevant input parameters and for correlations of inputs between sites. A Gaussian process model is used to build emulators of the multiple code outputs and Bayesian uncertainty analysis is then used to propagate uncertainty in the input parameters through to uncertainty on the aggregated output. Numerical results are presented for England and Wales in the year 2000. It is estimated that vegetation and soils in England and Wales constituted a net sink of 7.55 Mt C (1 Mt C = 1012 g of carbon) in 2000, with standard deviation 0.56 Mt C resulting from the sources of uncertainty that are considered.

Chloroacetic acids—Degradation intermediates of organic matter in forest soil

Chloroacetic acids (CAA), especially trichloroacetic acid (TCA), were considered phytotoxic secondary air pollutants of anthropogenic origin affecting conifers and were therefore intensively studied. However, another source of CAA has been then found: a forest soil in which humic substances are degraded by microbial processes to CAA and chloroform. This new aspect—formation of CAA in the soil—means that CAA are continuously produced and also biodegraded by other microorganisms in the soil and contribute thereby to the degradation of soil organic matter (SOM). Here we show for the first time the formation of dichloroacetic acid (DCA) and TCA in the forest soil by chlorination of SOM using 36Cl labeled chloride. We suggest that CAA are both formed and biodegraded in the forest soil and thus represent intermediates in one of the processes of SOM decay.

Soil Warming and Carbon-Cycle Feedbacks to the Climate System

In a decade-long soil warming experiment in a mid-latitude hardwood forest, we documented changes in soil carbon and nitrogen cycling in order to investigate the consequences of these changes for the climate system. Here we show that whereas soil warming accelerates soil organic matter decay and carbon dioxide fluxes to the atmosphere, this response is small and short-lived for a mid-latitude forest, because of the limited size of the labile soil carbon pool. We also show that warming increases the availability of mineral nitrogen to plants. Because plant growth in many mid-latitude forests is nitrogen-limited, warming has the potential to indirectly stimulate enough carbon storage in plants to at least compensate for the carbon losses from soils. Our results challenge assumptions made in some climate models that lead to projections of large long-term releases of soil carbon in response to warming of forest ecosystems.

Simulating the dynamics of glucose and NH4+ in alkaline saline soils of the former Lake Texcoco with the Detran model

SummaryThe turnover of organic matter determines the availability of plant nutrients in unfertilized soils, and this applies particularly to the alkaline saline soil of the former Lake Texcoco in Mexico. We investigated the effects of alkalinity and salinity on dynamics of organic material and inorganic N added to the soil. Glucose labelled with 14C was added to soil of the former Lake Texcoco drained for different lengths of time, and dynamics of 14C, C and N were investigated with the Detran model. Soil was sampled from an undrained plot and from three drained for 1, 5 and 8 years, amended with 1000 mg 14C‐labelled glucose kg−1 and 200 mg NH4+‐N kg−1, and incubated aerobically. Production of 14CO2 and CO2, dynamics of NH4+, NO2– and NO3–, and microbial biomass 14C, C and N were monitored and simulated with the Detran model. A third stable microbial biomass fraction had to be introduced in the model to simulate the dynamics of glucose, because &gt; 90 mg 14C kg−1 soil persisted in the soil microbial biomass after 97 days. The observed priming effect was mostly due to an increased decay of soil organic matter, but an increased turnover of the microbial biomass C contributed somewhat to the phenomenon. The dynamics of NH4+ and NO3– in the NH4+‐amended soil could not be simulated unless an immobilization of NH4+ into the microbial biomass occurred in the first day of the incubation without an immediate incorporation of it into microbial organic material. The dynamics of C and a priming effect could be simulated satisfactorily, but the model had to be adjusted to simulate the dynamics of N when NH4+ was added to alkaline saline soils.

A aplicação de nitrogênio ao solo em diferentes estádios não afetou o rendimento de frutos de cultivares de macieira

Tanto o excesso quanto a deficiência de N causam efeitos negativos na produtividade e na qualidade dos frutos de macieira. Como a taxa de absorção de N pelas árvores de macieira é afetada pela demanda das mesmas, dentro da estação de crescimento, e pelo N disponível no solo, é importante conhecer a necessidade da adição suplementar desse nutriente e a melhor época para aplicá-lo. O presente trabalho objetivou avaliar o efeito da época de aplicação de N ao solo na produtividade de frutos de duas cultivares de macieira. Os experimentos, um para a Gala e outro para a Fuji, foram conduzidos de 1990 a 1996, em Vacaria, RS, num pomar plantado em 1988, na densidade de1481 árvores ha-1, sobre um Latossolo bruno com 4,0% de matéria orgânica, 60% de argila e pH 6,9. Os tratamentos constaram de 50kg de N ha-1 nos três primeiros anos, e 60kg de N ha-1 nas outras três safras, aplicados no inchamento das gemas (IG), ou na queda de pétalas (QP), ou dividido 2/3 no IG + 1/3 na QP, ou 2/3 na QP + 1/3 trinta dias após. O N foi sempre aplicado sobre a superfície do solo, sem incorporação, numa faixa de 2,0m ao longo da fila de plantio. Houve também um tratamento sem a aplicação de N. A produtividade média anual de frutos variou de 40 a 112t ha-1 para a cultivar Gala e de 38 a 76t ha-1 para a Fuji, e a produtividade média da Gala, no período, foi 35% superior à da Fuji. A aplicação de N ao solo, independentemente da época, não teve efeito na produtividade de frutos, no tamanho das brotações, na concentração de N nas folhas e no diâmetro do tronco das duas cultivares. Presume-se, portanto, que a quantidade de N liberada a partir da decomposição da matéria orgânica do solo foi suficiente para atender à demanda das plantas e permitir uma alta produtividade de frutos de macieira.

Soil nitrogen application in the spring did not increase apple yield

Since there is no chemical method to assess N availability from field soil samples, this nutrient is still recommended based on regional field trials. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of spring application of N to the soil on fruit yield of apple cultivars. Two experiments were carried out, respectively for ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’. The trees, grafted on MM 106 rootstock, were planted in 1987, spaced 4.50 x 1.80m, in a clayed Oxisol (Hapludox) with 4.0% of organic matter, in Vacaria (RS), Southern Brazil. Treatments were applied annually, from the spring of 1990, in the tree row, over a 1.5-m-wide strip, as urea, and consisted of four rates of N corresponding to 0, 27.5, 55.0 and 82.5kg ha-1 in the first three years, and respectively 0, 50, 100 and 120kg ha-1 in the remaining two years. Data were collected for four years, starting at the 91/92 growing season. Application of increasing rates of N to the soil during five years had no effect on fruit yield and on concentration of N in the leaves regardless of year and cultivar. Average annual fruit yield varied from 50 to 70t ha-1 for ‘Gala’ and from 39 to 89t ha-1 for ‘Fuji’, but in the entire period the average yield was similar for both cultivars, approximately 56t ha-1. Concentration of N in the leaves was always in the normal range (2.0 to 2.5%) for ‘Fuji’, and slightly lower for ‘Gala’, but above 1.9%. Total N requirement for tree growth and fruiting, thus, came from soil organic matter decay.

Estimated increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide due to worldwide decrease in soil organic matter1

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have risen from 260 to 340 mg kg‐1(ppm) over the last 150 years, largely attributed to worldwide industrialization and continual change in land use. Conventional tillage practices have also added to the atmospheric CO2 pool via the accelerated decay of soil organic matter. The objective of this work was to derive a simple estimate of CO2 in the atmosphere that could be attributed to tillage and decomposition of soil organic matter from arable land. The percent increase in atmospheric CO2due to a worldwide decrease of 3,2, and 1% in soil organic matter of arable land was estimated to be 20 mg kg‐1,12.5 mg kg‐1, and 5 mg kg‐1, respectively. This decrease in soil organic matter would have accounted for 6 to 25% of the 80 mg kg‐1 (340–260) increase in atmospheric CO2 over the last 150 years.

LINEAR ANALYSIS OF SOIL DECOMPOSITION: INSIGHTS FROM THE CENTURY MODEL

All terrestrial ecosystem models track the decay of soil organic matter (SOM). Most current models use SOM modules that closely follow the Century model, a powerful but complicated model of decomposition and other terrestrial ecosystem processes that was originally designed for temperate grasslands but has since been extended to many terrestrial ecosystems. Using the linearity property of Century’s SOM model, we can simplify it to a set of differential equations with little loss of generality. The simplified model can estimate the equilibrium state of the Century model in closed form, or, using a numerical algorithm, can reproduce its seasonal patterns; it also gives us a framework for making SOM models less complex and producing parsimonious, statistically defensible models of decomposition processes in terrestrial ecosystems.

Controls on Natural Nitrogen‐15 and Carbon‐13 Abundances in Forest Soil Organic Matter

AbstractWe used δ15N and δ13C measurements to study formation and decay of soil organic matter in surface soils of two oak (Quercus spp.) forests in Wisconsin. There were two controls of soil isotopic compositions: new litter inputs and overall isotopic fractionation during decomposition. Litter inputs lowered soil δ15N and δ13C values while decomposition increased δ15N and δ13C values. Leaf and root litter inputs averaged −3.8 and −1.6‰ δ15N and −27.3 and −28.2‰ δ13C, respectively. Field experiments showed that low surface soil δ15N and δ13C values resulted when litter inputs were high. Laboratory experiments showed that overall isotopic fractionation during decomposition left residual soil N and C enriched in 15N and 13C, and could explain the high δ15N and δ13C values observed in deeper forest soils (+5.9‰ δ15N and −23.6‰ δ13C for 10 to 20 cm soils). Our results suggest two pools of naturally labeled N in forest soils: surface N with low δ15N values and subsoil N with high δ15N values. Natural abundance measurements of soil N may be useful for following the importance of these two N pools in forest N cycles. We found no evidence for selective preservation of 13C depleted litter components, such as lignin, during long‐term decomposition in forest soils.