Abstract. Salt-affected soils will become increasingly important in the next decades as arid and semi-arid ecosystems are predicted to expand as a result of climate change. Nevertheless, little is known about organic matter (OM) dynamics in these soils, though OM is largely controlling soil fertility and represents an important C sink. We aimed at investigating OM dynamics along a salinity and sodicity gradient in soils of the south-western Siberian Kulunda steppe (Kastanozem, Non-sodic Solonchak, Sodic Solonchak) by assessing the organic carbon (OC) stocks, the quantity and quality of particulate and mineral-associated OM in terms of non-cellulosic neutral sugar contents and carbon isotopes (δ13C, 14C activity), and the microbial community composition based on phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) patterns. Our hypotheses were that (i) soil OC stocks decrease along the salinity gradient, (ii) the proportion and stability of particulate OM is larger in salt-affected Solonchaks as compared to non-salt-affected Kastanozems, and (iii) sodicity reduces the proportion and stability of mineral-associated OM. Against our first hypothesis, OC stocks increased along the salinity gradient with most pronounced differences between topsoils. In contrast to our second hypothesis, the proportion of particulate OM was unaffected by salinity, thereby accounting for only 90 %. Isotopic data (δ13C, 14C activity) and neutral sugars in the OM fractions indicated a comparable degree of OM transformation along the salinity gradient, thus particulate OM was not more persistent under saline conditions. This we attribute to a resilient microbial community composition and function, which was nearly unaffected by salt occurrence, and capable of decomposing OM at a similar rate in salt-affected and non-salt-affected soils. Also our third hypothesis was rejected, as saline-sodic soils contained more than twice as much mineral-bound OC than non-salt-affected soils, what we ascribe to the flocculation of OM and mineral components under higher ionic strength conditions. We conclude that salt-affected soils contribute significantly to the OC storage in the semi-arid soils of the Kulunda steppe while most of the OC is associated to minerals and therefore effectively sequestered in the long-term.
The responses of extracellular enzyme activities and microbial community composition under nitrogen addition in an upland soil
