Effect of plant communities on aggregate composition and organic matter stabilisation in young soils

Abstract

Objectives Carbon (C) content in pools of very young soils that developed during 45 years from loess was analysed in relation to vegetation: deciduous and coniferous forests and cropland. We hypothesised that variations in the amount of particulate organic matter (POM) can explain the C accumulation and also affects the C bound to mineral surfaces in soil under various vegetation.Methods Soil samples were collected under three vegetation types of a 45-year-old experiment focused on initial soil development. Aggregate and density fractionations were combined to analyse C accumulation in large and small macro-and microaggregates as well as in free and occluded POM and mineral factions. Results Deciduous forest soil accumulated the highest C content in the 0-5 cm layer (43 g C kg −1 ), whereas values in coniferous forest and arable soils were lower (30 and 12 g C kg −1 , respectively). The highest portion of C in arable soil was accumulated in the mineral fraction (80 %), whereas 50-60 % of the C in forest soils were in POM. More C was associated with minerals in deciduous forest soil (16 g C kg −1 soil) than under coniferous forest and arable land (8-10 g C kg −1 soil). Conclusions Particulate organic matter explains most of the differences in organic C accumulation in soils Plant Soil developed during 45 years under the three vegetation types on identical parent material. The C content of the mineral soil fraction was controlled by plant cover and contributed the most to differences in C accumulation in soils developed under similar vegetation type (forest).

Recovery of organic matter and microbial biomass after abandonment of degraded agricultural soils: the influence of climate

“…The same patterns in the shift of SOM quality were previously demonstrated during post‐agricultural successions in forest regions (Erokhova, Makarov, Morgun, & Ryzhova, ; Kalinina et al, ; Kalinina et al, ; Kalinina et al, ) and steppes (Jastrow, ; Kalinina, Barmin, et al, ; Lopes de Gerenyu et al, ). The post‐agricultural dynamics of SOM fractions (Figure ) mostly followed the total C org after cropland abandonment (Del Galdo et al, ; Erokhova et al, ; Gunina, Ryzhova, Dorodnikov, & Kuzyakov, ; Lima et al, ). The ratio between various SOM fractions is regulated by plant residue quality, which is responsible for the difference in C org content in soils under contrasting land use, for example, forest versus arable (Gunina & Kuzyakov, ).…”

Changes in the heavy metal distributions in whole soil and aggregates affected by the application of alkaline materials and phytoremediation

“…The growth of plants might, through increasing the amount of litter and ne roots and through changing the structure of soil aggregates, further lead to an increase in the SOC content. [33][34][35] This means that the plant growth could effectively increase the nutrient supply for microbial activities. No signicant changes in the total N and K were observed between different treatments, but the application of apatite could signicantly improve the concentration of the total phosphorus in the soil.…”

Effects of Invasive Spartina alterniflora Loisel. and Subsequent Ecological Replacement by Sonneratia apetala Buch.-Ham. on Soil Organic Carbon Fractions and Stock

“…The proportions of labile and recalcitrant carbon are important in the turnover and decomposition rate of total soil organic carbon and can influence long-term carbon sequestration and storage [16,17]. Soil particulate organic carbon (POC), water-soluble carbon (DOC), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) are important fractions of soil labile organic matter [17,30,31]. DOC is the direct reservoir of nutrients that are available for soil microbial metabolism [17,30].…”