Articles | Volume 12, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2471-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2471-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
29 Apr 2015
Research article |
| 29 Apr 2015
Large fluxes and rapid turnover of mineral-associated carbon across topographic gradients in a humid tropical forest: insights from paired 14C analysis
S. J Hall
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
now at: Global Change and Sustainability Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA
G. McNicol
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
T. Natake
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
W. L. Silver
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
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Nathaniel C. Lawrence and Steven J. Hall
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4065–4078, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4065-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4065-2020, 2020
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Soil emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, are highly variable over space and time. Existing approaches for automated N2O emission measurements are costly and often incompatible with flooded soils. We describe and validate a robust and low-cost apparatus for replicated measurement of soil N2O emissions at subdaily resolution over large spatial gradients (> 100 m). High-frequency measurements are critical for constraining and mitigating the soil N2O source.
D. R. Bowling, J. E. Egan, S. J. Hall, and D. A. Risk
Biogeosciences, 12, 5143–5160, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5143-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5143-2015, 2015
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Soil respiration and its stable isotopes were studied in a subalpine forest. There was strong diel variability in soil efflux but not in the isotope content of soil efflux or CO2 from biological activity in the soil. Following rain, soil efflux increased, but the isotope content of these fluxes did not change. Temporal variation in the isotope content of soil efflux was unrelated to environmental variables. Results confirmed established theory regarding diffusive soil gas transport.
William R. Wieder, Derek Pierson, Stevan Earl, Kate Lajtha, Sara G. Baer, Ford Ballantyne, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Sharon A. Billings, Laurel M. Brigham, Stephany S. Chacon, Jennifer Fraterrigo, Serita D. Frey, Katerina Georgiou, Marie-Anne de Graaff, A. Stuart Grandy, Melannie D. Hartman, Sarah E. Hobbie, Chris Johnson, Jason Kaye, Emily Kyker-Snowman, Marcy E. Litvak, Michelle C. Mack, Avni Malhotra, Jessica A. M. Moore, Knute Nadelhoffer, Craig Rasmussen, Whendee L. Silver, Benjamin N. Sulman, Xanthe Walker, and Samantha Weintraub
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1843–1854, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1843-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1843-2021, 2021
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Data collected from research networks present opportunities to test theories and develop models about factors responsible for the long-term persistence and vulnerability of soil organic matter (SOM). Here we present the SOils DAta Harmonization database (SoDaH), a flexible database designed to harmonize diverse SOM datasets from multiple research networks.
Debjani Sihi, Xiaofeng Xu, Mónica Salazar Ortiz, Christine S. O'Connell, Whendee L. Silver, Carla López-Lloreda, Julia M. Brenner, Ryan K. Quinn, Jana R. Phillips, Brent D. Newman, and Melanie A. Mayes
Biogeosciences, 18, 1769–1786, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1769-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1769-2021, 2021
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Humid tropical soils are important sources and sinks of methane. We used model simulation to understand how different kinds of microbes and observed soil moisture and oxygen dynamics contribute to production and consumption of methane along a wet tropical hillslope during normal and drought conditions. Drought alters the diffusion of oxygen and microbial substrates into and out of soil microsites, resulting in enhanced methane release from the entire hillslope during drought recovery.
Nathaniel C. Lawrence and Steven J. Hall
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4065–4078, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4065-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4065-2020, 2020
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Soil emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, are highly variable over space and time. Existing approaches for automated N2O emission measurements are costly and often incompatible with flooded soils. We describe and validate a robust and low-cost apparatus for replicated measurement of soil N2O emissions at subdaily resolution over large spatial gradients (> 100 m). High-frequency measurements are critical for constraining and mitigating the soil N2O source.
Yang Lin, Ashley N. Campbell, Amrita Bhattacharyya, Nicole DiDonato, Allison M. Thompson, Malak M. Tfaily, Peter S. Nico, Whendee L. Silver, and Jennifer Pett-Ridge
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2020-59, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2020-59, 2020
Manuscript not accepted for further review
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Soils in tropical forests play an important role of breaking down dead plant tissue and returning carbon to the atmosphere. This process is previously thought to be regulated soil oxygen level. However, we found that the break-down of new plant carbon by soils did not depend on oxygen. Even without oxygen, some soil microbes can use plant carbons in the forms like sugar and protein. Once these compounds were exhausted, oxygen limitation became to influence organic matter break-down.
Yang Lin, Avner Gross, Christine S. O'Connell, and Whendee L. Silver
Biogeosciences, 17, 89–101, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-89-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-89-2020, 2020
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Phosphorus (P) is an important soil nutrient that often limits plant growth and microbial activity in humid tropical forests. These ecosystems receive a large amount of rainfall that helps create frequent anoxic events in soils. Our results show that anoxic conditions reduced the strength of soil minerals to bind P even though a large amount of P was still bound to minerals. Our study suggests that anoxic events might serve as hot moments for plants and microbes to acquire P.
Daniel D. Richter, Sharon A. Billings, Peter M. Groffman, Eugene F. Kelly, Kathleen A. Lohse, William H. McDowell, Timothy S. White, Suzanne Anderson, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Steve Banwart, Susan Brantley, Jean J. Braun, Zachary S. Brecheisen, Charles W. Cook, Hilairy E. Hartnett, Sarah E. Hobbie, Jerome Gaillardet, Esteban Jobbagy, Hermann F. Jungkunst, Clare E. Kazanski, Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Daniel Markewitz, Katherine O'Neill, Clifford S. Riebe, Paul Schroeder, Christina Siebe, Whendee L. Silver, Aaron Thompson, Anne Verhoef, and Ganlin Zhang
Biogeosciences, 15, 4815–4832, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4815-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4815-2018, 2018
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As knowledge in biology and geology explodes, science becomes increasingly specialized. Given the overlap of the environmental sciences, however, the explosion in knowledge inevitably creates opportunities for interconnecting the biogeosciences. Here, 30 scientists emphasize the opportunities for biogeoscience collaborations across the world’s remarkable long-term environmental research networks that can advance science and engage larger scientific and public audiences.
Wendy H. Yang and Whendee L. Silver
Biogeosciences, 13, 1705–1715, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1705-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1705-2016, 2016
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Nitrous oxide and methane are potent greenhouse gases that are both produced and consumed in soil. Using stable isotope tracers, we found that 68 % of nitrous oxide produced in soil was emitted to the atmosphere throughout the growing season in a cornfield despite variable soil conditions. Gross methane production and consumption were tightly coupled, resulting in near-zero net fluxes. Our results challenge our understanding of controls on nitrous oxide and methane dynamics in upland soils.
D. R. Bowling, J. E. Egan, S. J. Hall, and D. A. Risk
Biogeosciences, 12, 5143–5160, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5143-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5143-2015, 2015
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Soil respiration and its stable isotopes were studied in a subalpine forest. There was strong diel variability in soil efflux but not in the isotope content of soil efflux or CO2 from biological activity in the soil. Following rain, soil efflux increased, but the isotope content of these fluxes did not change. Temporal variation in the isotope content of soil efflux was unrelated to environmental variables. Results confirmed established theory regarding diffusive soil gas transport.
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The influence of elevated CO2 and soil depth on rhizosphere activity and nutrient availability in a mature Eucalyptus woodland
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Effects of precipitation seasonality, irrigation, vegetation cycle and soil type on enhanced weathering – modeling of cropland case studies across four sites
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Vertical mobility of pyrogenic organic matter in soils: a column experiment
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Ultrasonication with density fractionation of soils is a commonly used method to separate soil organic matter pools, which is, e.g., important to calculate carbon turnover in landscapes. It is shown that the approach that merges soil and dense solution without mixing has a low recovery rate and causes co-extraction of parts of the retained labile pool along with the intermediate pool. An alternative method with high recovery rates and no cross-contamination was recommended.
Tino Peplau, Christopher Poeplau, Edward Gregorich, and Julia Schroeder
Biogeosciences, 20, 1063–1074, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, 2023
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We buried tea bags and temperature loggers in a paired-plot design in soils under forest and agricultural land and retrieved them after 2 years to quantify the effect of land-use change on soil temperature and litter decomposition in subarctic agricultural systems. We could show that agricultural soils were on average 2 °C warmer than forests and that litter decomposition was enhanced. The results imply that deforestation amplifies effects of climate change on soil organic matter dynamics.
Joseph Okello, Marijn Bauters, Hans Verbeeck, Samuel Bodé, John Kasenene, Astrid Françoys, Till Engelhardt, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ralf Kiese, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 20, 719–735, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, 2023
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The increase in global and regional temperatures has the potential to drive accelerated soil organic carbon losses in tropical forests. We simulated climate warming by translocating intact soil cores from higher to lower elevations. The results revealed increasing temperature sensitivity and decreasing losses of soil organic carbon with increasing elevation. Our results suggest that climate warming may trigger enhanced losses of soil organic carbon from tropical montane forests.
Johanna Pihlblad, Louise C. Andresen, Catriona A. Macdonald, David S. Ellsworth, and Yolima Carrillo
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Elevated CO2 in the atmosphere increases forest biomass productivity when growth is not limited by soil nutrients. This study explores how mature trees stimulate soil availability of nitrogen and phosphorus with free-air carbon dioxide enrichment after 5 years of fumigation. We found that both nutrient availability and processes feeding available pools increased in the rhizosphere, and phosphorus increased at depth. This appears to not be by decomposition but by faster recycling of nutrients.
Rodrigo Vargas and Van Huong Le
Biogeosciences, 20, 15–26, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, 2023
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Quantifying the role of soils in nature-based solutions requires accurate estimates of soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. We suggest that multiple GHG fluxes should not be simultaneously measured at a few fixed time intervals, but an optimized sampling approach can reduce bias and uncertainty. Our results have implications for assessing GHG fluxes from soils and a better understanding of the role of soils in nature-based solutions.
Kristine Karstens, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Jan Philipp Dietrich, Marta Dondini, Jens Heinke, Matthias Kuhnert, Christoph Müller, Susanne Rolinski, Pete Smith, Isabelle Weindl, Hermann Lotze-Campen, and Alexander Popp
Biogeosciences, 19, 5125–5149, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, 2022
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Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been depleted by anthropogenic land cover change and agricultural management. While SOC models often simulate detailed biochemical processes, the management decisions are still little investigated at the global scale. We estimate that soils have lost around 26 GtC relative to a counterfactual natural state in 1975. Yet, since 1975, SOC has been increasing again by 4 GtC due to a higher productivity, recycling of crop residues and manure, and no-tillage practices.
Petri Kiuru, Marjo Palviainen, Arianna Marchionne, Tiia Grönholm, Maarit Raivonen, Lukas Kohl, and Annamari Laurén
Biogeosciences, 19, 5041–5058, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, 2022
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Peatlands are large carbon stocks. Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from peatlands may increase due to changes in management and climate. We studied the variation in the gas diffusivity of peat with depth using pore network simulations and laboratory experiments. Gas diffusivity was found to be lower in deeper peat with smaller pores and lower pore connectivity. However, gas diffusivity was not extremely low in wet conditions, which may reflect the distinctive structure of peat.
Rachael Akinyede, Martin Taubert, Marion Schrumpf, Susan Trumbore, and Kirsten Küsel
Biogeosciences, 19, 4011–4028, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, 2022
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Soils will likely become warmer in the future, and this can increase the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. As microbes can take up soil CO2 and prevent further escape into the atmosphere, this study compares the rate of uptake and release of CO2 at two different temperatures. With warming, the rate of CO2 uptake increases less than the rate of release, indicating that the capacity to modulate soil CO2 release into the atmosphere will decrease under future warming.
Giuseppe Cipolla, Salvatore Calabrese, Amilcare Porporato, and Leonardo V. Noto
Biogeosciences, 19, 3877–3896, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, 2022
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Enhanced weathering (EW) is a promising strategy for carbon sequestration. Since models may help to characterize field EW, the present work applies a hydro-biogeochemical model to four case studies characterized by different rainfall seasonality, vegetation and soil type. Rainfall seasonality strongly affects EW dynamics, but low carbon sequestration suggests that an in-depth analysis at the global scale is required to see if EW may be effective to mitigate climate change.
Vao Fenotiana Razanamahandry, Marjolein Dewaele, Gerard Govers, Liesa Brosens, Benjamin Campforts, Liesbet Jacobs, Tantely Razafimbelo, Tovonarivo Rafolisy, and Steven Bouillon
Biogeosciences, 19, 3825–3841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, 2022
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In order to shed light on possible past vegetation shifts in the Central Highlands of Madagascar, we measured stable isotope ratios of organic carbon in soil profiles along both forested and grassland hillslope transects in the Lake Alaotra region. Our results show that the landscape of this region was more forested in the past: soils in the C4-dominated grasslands contained a substantial fraction of C3-derived carbon, increasing with depth.
Katherine E. O. Todd-Brown, Rose Z. Abramoff, Jeffrey Beem-Miller, Hava K. Blair, Stevan Earl, Kristen J. Frederick, Daniel R. Fuka, Mario Guevara Santamaria, Jennifer W. Harden, Katherine Heckman, Lillian J. Heran, James R. Holmquist, Alison M. Hoyt, David H. Klinges, David S. LeBauer, Avni Malhotra, Shelby C. McClelland, Lucas E. Nave, Katherine S. Rocci, Sean M. Schaeffer, Shane Stoner, Natasja van Gestel, Sophie F. von Fromm, and Marisa L. Younger
Biogeosciences, 19, 3505–3522, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, 2022
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Research data are becoming increasingly available online with tantalizing possibilities for reanalysis. However harmonizing data from different sources remains challenging. Using the soils community as an example, we walked through the various strategies that researchers currently use to integrate datasets for reanalysis. We find that manual data transcription is still extremely common and that there is a critical need for community-supported informatics tools like vocabularies and ontologies.
Alessandro Montemagno, Christophe Hissler, Victor Bense, Adriaan J. Teuling, Johanna Ziebel, and Laurent Pfister
Biogeosciences, 19, 3111–3129, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3111-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3111-2022, 2022
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We investigated the biogeochemical processes that dominate the release and retention of elements (nutrients and potentially toxic elements) during litter degradation. Our results show that toxic elements are retained in the litter, while nutrients are released in solution during the first stages of degradation. This seems linked to the capability of trees to distribute the elements between degradation-resistant and non-degradation-resistant compounds of leaves according to their chemical nature.
Laura Sereni, Bertrand Guenet, Charlotte Blasi, Olivier Crouzet, Jean-Christophe Lata, and Isabelle Lamy
Biogeosciences, 19, 2953–2968, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2953-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2953-2022, 2022
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This study focused on the modellisation of two important drivers of soil greenhouse gas emissions: soil contamination and soil moisture change. The aim was to include a Cu function in the soil biogeochemical model DNDC for different soil moisture conditions and then to estimate variation in N2O, NO2 or NOx emissions. Our results show a larger effect of Cu on N2 and N2O emissions than on the other nitrogen species and a higher effect for the soils incubated under constant constant moisture.
Marie Spohn and Johan Stendahl
Biogeosciences, 19, 2171–2186, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2171-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2171-2022, 2022
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We explored the ratios of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) of organic matter in Swedish forest soils. The N : P ratio of the organic layer was most strongly related to the mean annual temperature, while the C : N ratios of the organic layer and mineral soil were strongly related to tree species even in the subsoil. The organic P concentration in the mineral soil was strongly affected by soil texture, which diminished the effect of tree species on the C to organic P (C : OP) ratio.
Moritz Mainka, Laura Summerauer, Daniel Wasner, Gina Garland, Marco Griepentrog, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, and Sebastian Doetterl
Biogeosciences, 19, 1675–1689, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, 2022
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The largest share of terrestrial carbon is stored in soils, making them highly relevant as regards global change. Yet, the mechanisms governing soil carbon stabilization are not well understood. The present study contributes to a better understanding of these processes. We show that qualitative changes in soil organic matter (SOM) co-vary with alterations of the soil matrix following soil weathering. Hence, the type of SOM that is stabilized in soils might change as soils develop.
Jasmin Fetzer, Emmanuel Frossard, Klaus Kaiser, and Frank Hagedorn
Biogeosciences, 19, 1527–1546, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1527-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1527-2022, 2022
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As leaching is a major pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus loss in forest soils, we investigated several potential drivers in two contrasting beech forests. The composition of leachates, obtained by zero-tension lysimeters, varied by season, and climatic extremes influenced the magnitude of leaching. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization varied with soil nutrient status and sorption properties, and leaching from the low-nutrient soil was more sensitive to environmental factors.
Karis J. McFarlane, Heather M. Throckmorton, Jeffrey M. Heikoop, Brent D. Newman, Alexandra L. Hedgpeth, Marisa N. Repasch, Thomas P. Guilderson, and Cathy J. Wilson
Biogeosciences, 19, 1211–1223, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, 2022
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Planetary warming is increasing seasonal thaw of permafrost, making this extensive old carbon stock vulnerable. In northern Alaska, we found more and older dissolved organic carbon in small drainages later in summer as more permafrost was exposed by deepening thaw. Younger and older carbon did not differ in chemical indicators related to biological lability suggesting this carbon can cycle through aquatic systems and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions as warming increases permafrost thaw.
Pengzhi Zhao, Daniel Joseph Fallu, Sara Cucchiaro, Paolo Tarolli, Clive Waddington, David Cockcroft, Lisa Snape, Andreas Lang, Sebastian Doetterl, Antony G. Brown, and Kristof Van Oost
Biogeosciences, 18, 6301–6312, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6301-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6301-2021, 2021
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We investigate the factors controlling the soil organic carbon (SOC) stability and temperature sensitivity of abandoned prehistoric agricultural terrace soils. Results suggest that the burial of former topsoil due to terracing provided an SOC stabilization mechanism. Both the soil C : N ratio and SOC mineral protection regulate soil SOC temperature sensitivity. However, which mechanism predominantly controls SOC temperature sensitivity depends on the age of the buried terrace soils.
Heleen Deroo, Masuda Akter, Samuel Bodé, Orly Mendoza, Haichao Li, Pascal Boeckx, and Steven Sleutel
Biogeosciences, 18, 5035–5051, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, 2021
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We assessed if and how incorporation of exogenous organic carbon (OC) such as straw could affect decomposition of native soil organic carbon (SOC) under different irrigation regimes. Addition of exogenous OC promoted dissolution of native SOC, partly because of increased Fe reduction, leading to more net release of Fe-bound SOC. Yet, there was no proportionate priming of SOC-derived DOC mineralisation. Water-saving irrigation can retard both priming of SOC dissolution and mineralisation.
Frances A. Podrebarac, Sharon A. Billings, Kate A. Edwards, Jérôme Laganière, Matthew J. Norwood, and Susan E. Ziegler
Biogeosciences, 18, 4755–4772, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4755-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4755-2021, 2021
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Soil respiration is a large and temperature-responsive flux in the global carbon cycle. We found increases in microbial use of easy to degrade substrates enhanced the temperature response of respiration in soils layered as they are in situ. This enhanced response is consistent with soil composition differences in warm relative to cold climate forests. These results highlight the importance of the intact nature of soils rarely studied in regulating responses of CO2 fluxes to changing temperature.
Elisa Bruni, Bertrand Guenet, Yuanyuan Huang, Hugues Clivot, Iñigo Virto, Roberta Farina, Thomas Kätterer, Philippe Ciais, Manuel Martin, and Claire Chenu
Biogeosciences, 18, 3981–4004, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3981-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3981-2021, 2021
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Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks is beneficial for climate change mitigation and food security. One way to enhance SOC stocks is to increase carbon input to the soil. We estimate the amount of carbon input required to reach a 4 % annual increase in SOC stocks in 14 long-term agricultural experiments around Europe. We found that annual carbon input should increase by 43 % under current temperature conditions, by 54 % for a 1 °C warming scenario and by 120 % for a 5 °C warming scenario.
Rainer Brumme, Bernd Ahrends, Joachim Block, Christoph Schulz, Henning Meesenburg, Uwe Klinck, Markus Wagner, and Partap K. Khanna
Biogeosciences, 18, 3763–3779, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3763-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3763-2021, 2021
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In order to study the fate of litter nitrogen in forest soils, we combined a leaf litterfall exchange experiment using 15N-labeled leaf litter with long-term element budgets at seven European beech sites in Germany. It appears that fructification intensity, which has increased in recent decades, has a distinct impact on N retention in forest soils. Despite reduced nitrogen deposition, about 6 and 10 kg ha−1 of nitrogen were retained annually in the soils and in the forest stands, respectively.
Lorenz Gfeller, Andrea Weber, Isabelle Worms, Vera I. Slaveykova, and Adrien Mestrot
Biogeosciences, 18, 3445–3465, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3445-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3445-2021, 2021
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Our incubation experiment shows that flooding of polluted floodplain soils may induce pulses of both mercury (Hg) and methylmercury to the soil solution and threaten downstream ecosystems. We demonstrate that mobilization of Hg bound to manganese oxides is a relevant process in organic-matter-poor soils. Addition of organic amendments accelerates this mobilization but also facilitates the formation of nanoparticulate Hg and the subsequent fixation of Hg from soil solution to the soil.
Yao Zhang, Jocelyn M. Lavallee, Andy D. Robertson, Rebecca Even, Stephen M. Ogle, Keith Paustian, and M. Francesca Cotrufo
Biogeosciences, 18, 3147–3171, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3147-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3147-2021, 2021
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Soil organic matter (SOM) is essential for the health of soils, and the accumulation of SOM helps removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. Here we present the result of the continued development of a mathematical model that simulates SOM and its measurable fractions. In this study, we simulated several grassland sites in the US, and the model generally captured the carbon and nitrogen amounts in SOM and their distribution between the measurable fractions throughout the entire soil profile.
Zhongkui Luo, Raphael A. Viscarra-Rossel, and Tian Qian
Biogeosciences, 18, 2063–2073, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2063-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2063-2021, 2021
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Using the data from 141 584 whole-soil profiles across the globe, we disentangled the relative importance of biotic, climatic and edaphic variables in controlling global SOC stocks. The results suggested that soil properties and climate contributed similarly to the explained global variance of SOC in four sequential soil layers down to 2 m. However, the most important individual controls are consistently soil-related, challenging current climate-driven framework of SOC dynamics.
Debjani Sihi, Xiaofeng Xu, Mónica Salazar Ortiz, Christine S. O'Connell, Whendee L. Silver, Carla López-Lloreda, Julia M. Brenner, Ryan K. Quinn, Jana R. Phillips, Brent D. Newman, and Melanie A. Mayes
Biogeosciences, 18, 1769–1786, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1769-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1769-2021, 2021
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Humid tropical soils are important sources and sinks of methane. We used model simulation to understand how different kinds of microbes and observed soil moisture and oxygen dynamics contribute to production and consumption of methane along a wet tropical hillslope during normal and drought conditions. Drought alters the diffusion of oxygen and microbial substrates into and out of soil microsites, resulting in enhanced methane release from the entire hillslope during drought recovery.
Mathieu Chassé, Suzanne Lutfalla, Lauric Cécillon, François Baudin, Samuel Abiven, Claire Chenu, and Pierre Barré
Biogeosciences, 18, 1703–1718, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1703-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1703-2021, 2021
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Evolution of organic carbon content in soils could be a major driver of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations over the next century. Understanding factors controlling carbon persistence in soil is a challenge. Our study of unique long-term bare-fallow samples, depleted in labile organic carbon, helps improve the separation, evaluation and characterization of carbon pools with distinct residence time in soils and gives insight into the mechanisms explaining soil organic carbon persistence.
Melisa A. Diaz, Christopher B. Gardner, Susan A. Welch, W. Andrew Jackson, Byron J. Adams, Diana H. Wall, Ian D. Hogg, Noah Fierer, and W. Berry Lyons
Biogeosciences, 18, 1629–1644, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1629-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1629-2021, 2021
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Water-soluble salt and nutrient concentrations of soils collected along the Shackleton Glacier, Antarctica, show distinct geochemical gradients related to latitude, longitude, elevation, soil moisture, and distance from coast and glacier. Machine learning algorithms were used to estimate geochemical gradients for the region given the relationship with geography. Geography and surface exposure age drive salt and nutrient abundances, influencing invertebrate habitat suitability and biogeography.
Marion Schrumpf, Klaus Kaiser, Allegra Mayer, Günter Hempel, and Susan Trumbore
Biogeosciences, 18, 1241–1257, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1241-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1241-2021, 2021
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A large amount of organic carbon (OC) in soil is protected against decay by bonding to minerals. We studied the release of mineral-bonded OC by NaF–NaOH extraction and H2O2 oxidation. Unexpectedly, extraction and oxidation removed mineral-bonded OC at roughly constant portions and of similar age distributions, irrespective of mineral composition, land use, and soil depth. The results suggest uniform modes of interactions between OC and minerals across soils in quasi-steady state with inputs.
Lena Rohe, Bernd Apelt, Hans-Jörg Vogel, Reinhard Well, Gi-Mick Wu, and Steffen Schlüter
Biogeosciences, 18, 1185–1201, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1185-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1185-2021, 2021
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Total denitrification, i.e. N2O and (N2O + N2) fluxes, of repacked soil cores were analysed for different combinations of soils and water contents. Prediction accuracy of (N2O + N2) fluxes was highest with combined proxies for oxygen demand (CO2 flux) and oxygen supply (anaerobic soil volume fraction). Knowledge of denitrification completeness (product ratio) improved N2O predictions. Substitutions with cheaper proxies (soil organic matter, empirical diffusivity) reduced prediction accuracy.
Severin-Luca Bellè, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Frank Hagedorn, Cristina Santin, Marcus Schiedung, Ilja van Meerveld, and Samuel Abiven
Biogeosciences, 18, 1105–1126, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1105-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1105-2021, 2021
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Controls of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) redistribution under rainfall are largely unknown. However, PyC mobility can be substantial after initial rain in post-fire landscapes. We conducted a controlled simulation experiment on plots where PyC was applied on the soil surface. We identified redistribution of PyC by runoff and splash and vertical movement in the soil depending on soil texture and PyC characteristics (material and size). PyC also induced changes in exports of native soil organic carbon.
Michael Rinderer, Jaane Krüger, Friederike Lang, Heike Puhlmann, and Markus Weiler
Biogeosciences, 18, 1009–1027, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1009-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1009-2021, 2021
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We quantified the lateral and vertical subsurface flow (SSF) and P concentrations of three beech forest plots with contrasting soil properties during sprinkling experiments. Vertical SSF was 2 orders of magnitude larger than lateral SSF, and both consisted mainly of pre-event water. P concentrations in SSF were high during the first 1 to 2 h (nutrient flushing) but nearly constant thereafter. This suggests that P in the soil solution was replenished fast by mineral or organic sources.
Kirsty C. Paterson, Joanna M. Cloy, Robert M. Rees, Elizabeth M. Baggs, Hugh Martineau, Dario Fornara, Andrew J. Macdonald, and Sarah Buckingham
Biogeosciences, 18, 605–620, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-605-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-605-2021, 2021
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Soil organic carbon sequestration across agroecosystems worldwide can contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change by reducing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The maximum carbon sequestration potential is frequently estimated using the linear regression equation developed by Hassink (1997). This work examines the suitability of this equation for use in grasslands across the United Kingdom. The results highlight the need to ensure the fit of equations to the soils being studied.
Hannah Gies, Frank Hagedorn, Maarten Lupker, Daniel Montluçon, Negar Haghipour, Tessa Sophia van der Voort, and Timothy Ian Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 18, 189–205, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-189-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-189-2021, 2021
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Understanding controls on the persistence of organic matter in soils is essential to constrain its role in the carbon cycle. Emerging concepts suggest that the soil carbon pool is predominantly comprised of stabilized microbial residues. To test this hypothesis we isolated microbial membrane lipids from two Swiss soil profiles and measured their radiocarbon age. We find that the ages of these compounds are in the range of millenia and thus provide evidence for stabilized microbial mass in soils.
Frederick Büks, Gilles Kayser, Antonia Zieger, Friederike Lang, and Martin Kaupenjohann
Biogeosciences, 18, 159–167, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-159-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-159-2021, 2021
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Ultrasonication/density fractionation is a common method used to extract particulate organic matter (POM) and, recently, microplastic (MP) from soil samples. In this study, ultrasonic treatment with mechanical stress increasing from 0 to 500 J mL−1 caused comminution and a reduced recovery rate of soil-derived POMs but no such effects with MP particles. In consequence, the extraction of MP from soils is not affected by particle size and recovery rate artifacts.
Hang Wen, Pamela L. Sullivan, Gwendolyn L. Macpherson, Sharon A. Billings, and Li Li
Biogeosciences, 18, 55–75, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-55-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-55-2021, 2021
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Carbonate weathering is essential in regulating carbon cycle at the century timescale. Plant roots accelerate weathering by elevating soil CO2 via respiration. It however remains poorly understood how and how much rooting characteristics modify flow paths and weathering. This work indicates that deepening roots in woodlands can enhance carbonate weathering by promoting recharge and CO2–carbonate contact in the deep, carbonate-abundant subsurface.
Marcus Schiedung, Severin-Luca Bellè, Gabriel Sigmund, Karsten Kalbitz, and Samuel Abiven
Biogeosciences, 17, 6457–6474, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6457-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6457-2020, 2020
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The mobility of pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) in soils is largely unknow, while it is a major and persistent component of the soil organic matter. With a soil column experiment, we identified that only a small proportion of PyOM can migrate through the soil, but its export is continuous. Aging and associated oxidation increase its mobility but also its retention in soils. Further, PyOM can alter the vertical mobility of native soil organic carbon during its downward migration.
Patrick Wordell-Dietrich, Anja Wotte, Janet Rethemeyer, Jörg Bachmann, Mirjam Helfrich, Kristina Kirfel, Christoph Leuschner, and Axel Don
Biogeosciences, 17, 6341–6356, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6341-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6341-2020, 2020
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The release of CO2 from soils, known as soil respiration, plays a major role in the global carbon cycle. However, the contributions of different soil depths or the sources of soil CO2 have hardly been studied. We quantified the CO2 production for different soil layers (up to 1.5 m) in three soil profiles for 2 years. We found that 90 % of CO2 production occurs in the first 30 cm of the soil profile, and that the CO2 originated from young carbon sources, as revealed by radiocarbon measurements.
Antonio Rodríguez, Rosa Maria Canals, Josefina Plaixats, Elena Albanell, Haifa Debouk, Jordi Garcia-Pausas, Leticia San Emeterio, Àngela Ribas, Juan José Jimenez, and M.-Teresa Sebastià
Biogeosciences, 17, 6033–6050, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6033-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6033-2020, 2020
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The novelty of our work is that it presents a series of potential interactions between drivers of soil organic carbon at broad scales in temperate mountain grasslands. The most relevant contribution of our work is that it illustrates the importance of grazing management for soil carbon stocks, indicating that interactions between grazing species and soil nitrogen and herbage quality may be promising paths in order to design further management policies for palliating climate change.
Curt A. McConnell, Jason P. Kaye, and Armen R. Kemanian
Biogeosciences, 17, 5309–5333, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5309-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5309-2020, 2020
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Soil phosphorus (P) management is a critical challenge for agriculture worldwide; yet, simulation models of soil P processes lag those of other essential nutrients. In this review, we identify hindrances to measuring and modeling soil P pools and fluxes. We highlight the need to clarify biological and mineral interactions by defining P pools explicitly and using evolving techniques, such as tracing P in phosphates using oxygen isotopes.
Greta Formaglio, Edzo Veldkamp, Xiaohong Duan, Aiyen Tjoa, and Marife D. Corre
Biogeosciences, 17, 5243–5262, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5243-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5243-2020, 2020
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The intensive management of large-scale oil palm plantations may result in high nutrient leaching losses which reduce soil fertility and potentially pollute water bodies. The reduction in management intensity with lower fertilization rates and with mechanical weeding instead of the use of herbicide results in lower nutrient leaching losses while maintaining high yield. Lower leaching results from lower nutrient inputs from fertilizer and from higher retention by enhanced cover vegetation.
Isabelle Basile-Doelsch, Jérôme Balesdent, and Sylvain Pellerin
Biogeosciences, 17, 5223–5242, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5223-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5223-2020, 2020
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The 4 per 1000 initiative aims to restore carbon storage in soils to both mitigate climate change and contribute to food security. The French National Institute for Agricultural Research conducted a study to determine the carbon storage potential in French soils and associated costs. This paper is a part of that study. It reviews recent advances concerning the mechanisms that controls C stabilization in soils. Synthetic figures integrating new concepts should be of pedagogical interest.
Jolanda E. Reusser, René Verel, Daniel Zindel, Emmanuel Frossard, and Timothy I. McLaren
Biogeosciences, 17, 5079–5095, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5079-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5079-2020, 2020
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Inositol phosphates (IPs) are a major pool of organic P in soil. However, information on their diversity and abundance in soil is limited. We isolated IPs from soil and characterised them using solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. For the first time, we provide direct spectroscopic evidence for the existence of a multitude of lower-order IPs in soil extracts previously not detected with NMR. Our findings will help provide new insight into the cycling of IPs in ecosystems.
Katharina Hildegard Elisabeth Meurer, Claire Chenu, Elsa Coucheney, Anke Marianne Herrmann, Thomas Keller, Thomas Kätterer, David Nimblad Svensson, and Nicholas Jarvis
Biogeosciences, 17, 5025–5042, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5025-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5025-2020, 2020
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We present a simple model that describes, for the first time, the dynamic two-way interactions between soil organic matter and soil physical properties (porosity, pore size distribution, bulk density and layer thickness). The model was able to accurately reproduce the changes in soil organic carbon, soil bulk density and surface elevation observed during 63 years in a field trial, as well as soil water retention curves measured at the end of the experimental period.
Marion Nyberg and Mark J. Hovenden
Biogeosciences, 17, 4405–4420, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4405-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4405-2020, 2020
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Experimental warming increased soil respiration (RS) by more than 25 % in a Tasmanian C-rich soil, but there was no impact on microbial respiration in laboratory experiments. Plant community composition had no effect on RS, suggesting the response is likely due to enhanced belowground plant respiration and C supply through rhizodeposition and root exudates. Results imply we need studies of both C inputs and losses to model net ecosystem C exchange of these crucial, C-dense systems effectively.
Akane O. Abbasi, Alejandro Salazar, Youmi Oh, Sabine Reinsch, Maria del Rosario Uribe, Jianghanyang Li, Irfan Rashid, and Jeffrey S. Dukes
Biogeosciences, 17, 3859–3873, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3859-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3859-2020, 2020
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In this study, we provide a holistic view of soil responses to precipitation changes. A total of 16 meta-analyses focusing on the effects of precipitation changes on 42 soil response variables were compared. A strong agreement was found that the belowground carbon and nitrogen cycling accelerate under increased precipitation and slow under decreased precipitation, while bacterial and fungal communities are relatively resistant to decreased precipitation. Knowledge gaps were also identified.
Isabel Prater, Sebastian Zubrzycki, Franz Buegger, Lena C. Zoor-Füllgraff, Gerrit Angst, Michael Dannenmann, and Carsten W. Mueller
Biogeosciences, 17, 3367–3383, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3367-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3367-2020, 2020
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Large amounts of soil organic matter stored in permafrost-affected soils from Arctic Russia are present as undecomposed plant residues. This large fibrous organic matter might be highly vulnerable to microbial decay, while small mineral-associated organic matter can most probably attenuate carbon mineralization in a warmer future. Labile soil fractions also store large amounts of nitrogen, which might be lost during permafrost collapse while fostering the decomposition of soil organic matter.
Patrick Liebmann, Patrick Wordell-Dietrich, Karsten Kalbitz, Robert Mikutta, Fabian Kalks, Axel Don, Susanne K. Woche, Leena R. Dsilva, and Georg Guggenberger
Biogeosciences, 17, 3099–3113, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3099-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3099-2020, 2020
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We studied the contribution of litter-derived carbon (C) in the formation of subsoil organic matter (OM). Soil core sampling, 13C field labeling, density fractionation, and water extractions were used to track its contribution to different functional OM fractions down to the deep subsoil. We show that while migrating down the soil profile, OM undergoes a sequence of repeated sorption, microbial processing, and desorption. However, the contribution of litter-derived C to subsoil OM is small.
Artem G. Lim, Martin Jiskra, Jeroen E. Sonke, Sergey V. Loiko, Natalia Kosykh, and Oleg S. Pokrovsky
Biogeosciences, 17, 3083–3097, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3083-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3083-2020, 2020
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To better understand the mercury (Hg) content in northern soils, we measured Hg concentration in peat cores across a 1700 km permafrost gradient in Siberia. We demonstrated a northward increase in Hg concentration in peat and Hg pools in frozen peatlands. We revised the 0–30 cm northern soil Hg pool to be 72 Gg, which is 7 % of the global soil Hg pool of 1086 Gg. The results are important for understanding Hg exchange between soil, water, and the atmosphere under climate change in the Arctic.
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Short summary
We used measurements of radiocarbon to model the decomposition of organic matter associated with minerals in tropical rainforest soils, using contemporary and archived samples. Most organic matter decomposed over 11 to 26 years, while a smaller portion decomposed over centuries. Rates were similar among soils with strongly differing physical and chemical properties, but declined with a proxy for oxygen limitation. Previous models based on one time point may underestimate decomposition rates.
We used measurements of radiocarbon to model the decomposition of organic matter associated with...
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