Biogeosciences
Biogeosciences
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Articles | Volume 13, issue 4
Articles | Volume 13, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1269-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1269-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Articles | Volume 13, issue 4
Research article
 | 
01 Mar 2016
Research article |  | 01 Mar 2016

Unambiguous evidence of old soil carbon in grass biosilica particles

Paul E. Reyerson, Anne Alexandre, Araks Harutyunyan, Remi Corbineau, Hector A. Martinez De La Torre, Franz Badeck, Luigi Cattivelli, and Guaciara M. Santos

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Short summary
We characterize the origin of carbon (C) in phytoliths (biosilica of higher plants) by a multi-isotope approach. We show that phytoliths occlude soil organic C adsorbed through the roots, making them unsuitable for paleo-proxy studies, 14C dating or atmospheric CO2 sequestration. Our findings are in parallel with recent soil paradigm shifts showing that soil microbes access old C and therefore call for further investigations on the role of old C in root–plant interactions and biomineralization.
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