Quantification of biomarkers as an estimation of soil organic matter turnover and sources under a crop rotation

Lipid biomarker analysis is an efficient tool for tracing organic matter sources in diverse environments. The quantification of biomarkers facilitates the location of soil organic carbon (SOC) from different sources in a soil profile. According to their structure, biomarkers from total lipid extracts (TLE) would exhibit different degrees of susceptibility to degradation, affecting thus their preservation in soils. Hence, it is crucial to better identify these biomarkers according to diverse stability scales. The aim of this study is to assess SOC contributions from aboveground and to develop a wider approach based on the allocation of C to quantitatively assess the sources of organic matter in low SOM content, highly weathered Mediterranean soils, following a C3-C4 rotation experiment.Soil samples were taken from three depth intervals (0-5, 5-20, 20-40 cm) from a Mediterranean agricultural soil at &#8220;La Hampa&#8221; experimental station used for a crop rotation experiment with wheat (C3 plant) and maize (C4 plant). Lipids were extracted and quantified as described in [1].The total lipid extracts were dominated by a homologous series of n-alkanols (saturated alcohols), short-, mid- and long-chain fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), branched FAME, unsaturated (mono- and polyunsaturated) FAME and sterols. Short-chain FAME, monounsaturated FAME were the most abundant fractions of free lipids. Mono-unsaturated alkanoic acids (Cn:1 FA) were detected in considerable amounts in all samples, namely various isomers of C16:1, C18:1, C20:1 and C22:1; these are believed to be mainly synthesised by soil bacteria. A significant increase of these compounds in rotation plots leads to an effective microbial consumption of labile organic matter in the surface soil [2]. Regarding FAME, the observed chain lengths ranged from C13 to C32, showing a unimodal distribution maximising at C16 and C18. These compounds are attributed also to microbial products, supporting our findings from the high proportion of the monounsaturated compounds found. In general, and in relation with all compounds, the abundances increased up to 20% compared with the control plots representing the initial content.These results indicate that, only after three years of crop rotation, a considerable contribution of soil organic carbon is inherited from bacterial activity. The combination of extractable lipids has been shown to validate the use of TLE as a proxy for source and other information on vegetation change and soil processes. This work will bring a discussion on the use of these compounds for tracing the impact of crop rotation on carbon storage.Acknowledgement: Ministerio de Ciencia Innovaci&#243;n y Universidades (MICIU) for INTERCARBON project (CGL2016-78937-R). L. San Emeterio also thanks MICIU for funding FPI research grants (BES-2017-07968). Mrs Desir&#233; Monis is acknowledged for technical assistance.[1] M. San-Emeterio, L., Bull, I. D., Holtvoeth, J., and Gonz&#225;lez-P&#233;rez, J. A.: Compound-specific isotopic analysis of fatty acids in three soil profiles to estimate organic matter turnover in agricultural soils., EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4&#8211;8 May 2020, EGU2020-18526, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18526, 2020.[2] Tu, T. T. N., Egasse, C., Anquetil, C., Zanetti, F., Zeller, B., Huon, S., & Derenne, S. (2017). Leaf lipid degradation in soils and surface sediments: A litterbag experiment.&#160;Organic Geochemistry,&#160;104, 35-41.

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The impact of pine self-afforestation on podzolization process in semi-natural grassland areas of Volyn Polissya (Ukraine)

Studia Biologica ◽

10.30970/sbi.1502.651 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 47-62

Author(s):

V. Kozlovskyy ◽

◽

N. Romanyuk ◽

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Base Cation ◽

Illuvial Horizon ◽

Short Period ◽

Diagnostic Horizons ◽

The Impact ◽

Natural Grassland

Background. Several theories have been proposed to explain the podzolization process. Currently, the role of organic matter in both weathering and immobilization in the illuvial horizon is clearly stated. The origin of soil organic matter and, accordingly, the various mechanisms of its influence on the soil material, create the basis of these theories. We assume that in the base-poor sandy soils under rich herbaceous vegetation with a well developed sod layer, the process of podzolization may also depend on CO2 soil formation agent . Materials and Methods. Four localities along a Pinus sylvestris L. self-afforestation chronosequence with pine stands of 10, 20, 40 yrs and an adjacent semi-natural grassland area were investigated in order to determine the patterns of podzolization process on sandy glacial till deposits. Soil pH, exchangeable base, soil cation exchange capacity, total content of soil organic carbon, amorphous Fe, Si and Al and total contents of Al, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd, Pb, Cu, Co, Ni, Na, K were determined. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using LibreOffice for Linux. Results. During the pine succession, a previously well differentiated into horizons podzolic soil under the grassland vegetation community gradually degrades. Previously well-defined albic and spodic diagnostic horizons disappear, the soil profile becomes more acidic, the soil organic carbon, the base cation content and the base cation saturation decrease, the leaching rate of aluminium and iron increases. Secondary podzolization features in the soil profiles were detected 40 years after the onset of afforestation. The podzolization has not been intensive enough to develop fully fledged albic and spodic diagnostic horizons over such a short period. Conclusions. Based on the obtained soil morphological, physical and chemical properties, three most important agents of podzolization are proposed as principal for the studied area. The main gent under pine forest is fulvic acids that are produced during coniferous litter decomposition. Low molecular weight organic acids and carbon dioxide produced to the rhizosphere by roots and a root associated microbiota are mainly involved in the podzolization process under the grassland ecosystem.

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Influences of repeated application of organic waste products on soil organic carbon content and stability assessed using Rock-Eval 6® thermal analysis

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9794 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Amicie Delahaie ◽

Pierre Barré ◽

Lauric Cécillon ◽

François Baudin ◽

Camille Resseguier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Analysis ◽

Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Organic Waste ◽

Waste Products ◽

Clear Effect ◽

Wide Range ◽

Rock Eval ◽

The Impact

The term Organic Waste Products (OWPs) encompasses a wide range of byproducts such as manure, sewage sludge or green waste compost. The use of OWPs impacts soil quality and functioning, agricultural yields, carbon (C) sequestration, biogeochemical cycles of nutrients like nitrogen (N) or phosphorus, and organic matter (OM) dynamics. These impacts likely depend on the considered OWP.Taking advantage of 3 mid to long-term experimental trials (6 to 20 years) located in the Northern part of France (Paris region; Brittany; Alsace), we investigated the impact of 16 different OWPs on C content and stability. To do so, surface soil samples from replicated plots amended with the different OWPs used either alone or in addition with mineral N fertilization and appropriated control treatments were analyzed using Rock-Eval 6&#174; thermal analyses. Samples taken up at the onset of the experiment and after 6, 18 and 20 years for the 3 sites respectively were analyzed. It resulted in the analyses of 248 different samples whose Rock-Eval 6&#174; (RE6) signature can be used as a proxy for soil organic carbon (SOC) biogeochemical stability. In particular, we determined 2 RE6 parameters that were related to SOC biogeochemical stability in previous studies (e.g. Barr&#233; et al., 2016): HI (the amount of hydrogen-rich effluents formed during the pyrolysis phase of RE6; mgCH.g-1 SOC), and T50 CO2 oxidation (the temperature at which 50% of the residual organic C was oxidized to CO2 during the RE6 oxidation phase; &#176;C). We also computed the amount of centennially stable SOC from RE6 parameters using the model developed in C&#233;cillon et al. (2018). &#160;&#160;Our results showed that no clear effect of OWPs addition can be established for the youngest site (6 years). On the contrary, OWPs amendments had a clear effect on SOC quantity and quality at the sites having experienced 18 and 20 years of OWPs addition. For these sites, OWPs amendments increased SOC content, decreased SOC thermal stability (T50 CO2 oxidation) and increased the Rock-Eval 6&#174; Hydrogen Index (HI) compared to control plots. OWPs amendments tended to increase slightly the amount of centennially stable SOC at the sites having experienced 20 years of repeated OWPs application. Our results suggest that if OWPs addition does increase SOC content, at least in the long run, the majority of this additional SOC is labile and may be quickly lost if OWPs additions are stopped.&#160;References:Barr&#233; P., Plante A.F., C&#233;cillon L., Lutfalla S., Baudin F., Bernard S., Christensen B.T., Eglin T., Fernandez J.M., Houot S., K&#228;tterer T., Le Guillou C., Macdonald A., van Oort F. & Chenu C. (2016) The energetic and chemical signatures of persistent soil organic matter. Biogeochemistry, 130: 1-12.C&#233;cillon L., Baudin F., Chenu C., Houot S., Jolivet R., K&#228;tterer T., Lutfalla S., Macdonald A.J., van Oort F., Plante A.F., Savignac F., Souc&#233;marianadin L.N. & Barr&#233; P. (2018) A model based on Rock-Eval thermal analysis to quantify the size of the centennially persistent organic carbon pool in temperate soils. Biogeosciences, 15, 2835-2849.

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The Contribution of Some Soil and Crop Management Practice on Soil Organic Carbon Reserves: Review

JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN AGRICULTURE ◽

10.24297/jaa.v3i3.4293 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 267-274

Author(s):

Agegnehu Shibabaw ◽

Melkamu Alemeyehu

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Crop Rotation ◽

Management Practices ◽

Management Practice ◽

Crop Management ◽

Residue Management ◽

Agricultural Sustainability ◽

Important Indicator

Soil organic carbon is the most important attribute and chosen as the most important indicator of soil and environment quality and agricultural sustainability. Maintaining of soil carbon stocks and other nutrient proved as the most important challenge of arable lands. It depends on soil type, surrounding climate and long term land use. Studies of various research reports indicates that agricultural management practice; crop rotation, residue management, reduced tillage, green manuring and organic matter amendment has identified for its contribution to the improvement of soil organic matter stocks and some other nutrients.Implementing of reduced or no tillage operation has underlined in increasing organic carbon stock of the soil through delaying of organic matter decomposition and N mineralization.Long term adoption of legume based crop rotation notably increases soil organic carbon and N contents, helped with natural gift of atmospheric nitrogen fixation. Organic sources of fertilizer are reservoirs of plant nutrients and organic carbon, and hence amendment with adequate and quality manure ultimately enhances the soil nutrients and SOC stocks of the soil. In general, soil and crop management practices allow the soil to sequester more atmospheric carbon in to the soil.The circumstances ultimately contribute to agricultural sustainability, environmental and soil quality and mitigation of climate change at large.

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Effect of crop residue management on soil organic carbon, soil organic matter and crop yield: An overview

Journal of Applied and Natural Science ◽

10.31018/jans.v11i3.2152 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 712-717

Author(s):

Renu Kumari ◽

Ranbir Singh ◽

Neeraj Kumar

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Crop Yield ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Residue Management ◽

Important Indicator ◽

Crop Residue Management ◽

The Impact

Soil is a very important factor of the plant growth and crop yield. But now a days, very small area of the soil can actually be fertile for agriculture, and if we manage improperly it can be depleted. So the big problem, how we manage and increase the fertility of soil. It has been reported that soil organic carbon and soil matter is the most important indicator of soil quality and soil health. It is also beneficial for agricultural sustainability. In this review, we summarized how crop residue management affects soil organic carbon (SOC), soil organic matter (SOM), soil aggregation, effect of residue burning and crop productivity in different cropping system. Proper use of crop residue can increase or maintain the physical and chemical properties of SOM and improve the quality of soil. Manure or crop residue alone may not be adequate to maintain SOC levels. Knowledge and assessment of changes (positive or negative) in SOC and SOM with time is still needed to evaluate the impact of different management practices.

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Soil organic carbon stability of urban soils and of floodplain soils under different hydrothermal conditions

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-663 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Inna Brianskaia ◽

Vyacheslav Vasenev ◽

Ramilla Brykova

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Urban Soils ◽

Hydrothermal Conditions ◽

Floodplain Soil ◽

Sand Mixture ◽

C 30 ◽

Moisture Conditions ◽

The Impact

&#1055;&#1086;&#1078;&#1072;&#1083;&#1091;&#1081;&#1089;&#1090;&#1072;, &#1074;&#1089;&#1090;&#1072;&#1074;&#1100;&#1090;&#1077; &#1089;&#1074;&#1086;&#1081; &#1072;&#1073;&#1089;&#1090;&#1088;&#1072;&#1082;&#1090;&#1085;&#1099;&#1081; HTHigh anthropogenic impact and the rate of urbanization result in a decrease of urban soils&#8217; capacity to perform ecosystem services. Carbon sequestration is an important soil-based ecosystem service, which can be assessed through quantity and quality soil carbon stocks. The stability of soil organic matter (SOM) is characterized by the resistance of its constituent components to biological, chemical and physical destruction. In the study, SOME stability in peat-sand mixture used for urban soils&#8217; construction; floodplain soil was analyzed in response to temperature-moisture conditions. The decomposition rate of various soils was assessed. Decomposition was assessed through studying microbial production of CO2. In the research the CO2 emissions were studied under following temperatures and moisture conditions: temperature &#8211; 7&#176;C, 22&#176;C, 30&#176;C and 40&#176;C and moisture &#8211; 0.2 WHC, 0.4 WHC, 0.6 WHC, 0.8 WHC, 1 WHC. Moisture affects the amount and activity of microbial biomass, controls the availability of oxygen to microorganisms, causes periods of water microbial stress and also can destabilize organic matter, resulting in increased availability of carbon to soil microorganisms. Different patterns of moisture and temperature impacts on the soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition rates were observed. It was concluded that, depending on the qualitative composition of carbon, the impact of hydrothermal conditions on the emission of carbon dioxide changed.ML &#1079;&#1076;&#1077;&#1089;&#1100;.

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From the Ground Up: Prairies on Reclaimed Mine Land—Impacts on Soil and Vegetation

Land ◽

10.3390/land9110455 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 455

Author(s):

Rebecca M. Swab ◽

Nicola Lorenz ◽

Nathan R. Lee ◽

Steven W. Culman ◽

Richard P. Dick

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Properties ◽

Plant Community ◽

Prairie Restoration ◽

Native Plant ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Prairie Restorations ◽

Mine Lands ◽

The Impact

After strip mining, soils typically suffer from compaction, low nutrient availability, loss of soil organic carbon, and a compromised soil microbial community. Prairie restorations can improve ecosystem services on former agricultural lands, but prairie restorations on mine lands are relatively under-studied. This study investigated the impact of prairie restoration on mine lands, focusing on the plant community and soil properties. In southeast Ohio, 305 ha within a ~2000 ha area of former mine land was converted to native prairie through herbicide and planting between 1999–2016. Soil and vegetation sampling occurred from 2016–2018. Plant community composition shifted with prairie age, with highest native cover in the oldest prairie areas. Prairie plants were more abundant in older prairies. The oldest prairies had significantly more soil fungal biomass and higher soil microbial biomass. However, many soil properties (e.g., soil nutrients, β-glucosoidase activity, and soil organic carbon), as well as plant species diversity and richness trended higher in prairies, but were not significantly different from baseline cool-season grasslands. Overall, restoration with prairie plant communities slowly shifted soil properties, but mining disturbance was still the most significant driver in controlling soil properties. Prairie restoration on reclaimed mine land was effective in establishing a native plant community, with the associated ecosystem benefits.

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Organic mulching promotes soil organic carbon accumulation to deep soil layer in an urban plantation forest

Forest Ecosystems ◽

10.1186/s40663-020-00278-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaodan Sun ◽

Gang Wang ◽

Qingxu Ma ◽

Jiahui Liao ◽

Dong Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Carbon Content ◽

Fine Roots ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Carbon Accumulation ◽

Bulk Soil ◽

Organic Mulch ◽

The Impact ◽

Soc Fractions

Abstract Background Soil organic carbon (SOC) is important for soil quality and fertility in forest ecosystems. Labile SOC fractions are sensitive to environmental changes, which reflect the impact of short-term internal and external management measures on the soil carbon pool. Organic mulching (OM) alters the soil environment and promotes plant growth. However, little is known about the responses of SOC fractions in rhizosphere or bulk soil to OM in urban forests and its correlation with carbon composition in plants. Methods A one-year field experiment with four treatments (OM at 0, 5, 10, and 20 cm thicknesses) was conducted in a 15-year-old Ligustrum lucidum plantation. Changes in the SOC fractions in the rhizosphere and bulk soil; the carbon content in the plant fine roots, leaves, and organic mulch; and several soil physicochemical properties were measured. The relationships between SOC fractions and the measured variables were analysed. Results The OM treatments had no significant effect on the SOC fractions, except for the dissolved organic carbon (DOC). OM promoted the movement of SOC to deeper soil because of the increased carbon content in fine roots of subsoil. There were significant correlations between DOC and microbial biomass carbon and SOC and easily oxidised organic carbon. The OM had a greater effect on organic carbon fractions in the bulk soil than in the rhizosphere. The thinnest (5 cm) mulching layers showed the most rapid carbon decomposition over time. The time after OM had the greatest effect on the SOC fractions, followed by soil layer. Conclusions The frequent addition of small amounts of organic mulch increased SOC accumulation in the present study. OM is a potential management model to enhance soil organic matter storage for maintaining urban forest productivity.

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Dynamics of soil organic carbon in the steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan under past and future climate and land use

Regional Environmental Change ◽

10.1007/s10113-021-01799-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Susanne Rolinski ◽

Alexander V. Prishchepov ◽

Georg Guggenberger ◽

Norbert Bischoff ◽

Irina Kurganova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Arable Land ◽

Future Climate ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Climate Scenarios ◽

The Impact

AbstractChanges in land use and climate are the main drivers of change in soil organic matter contents. We investigated the impact of the largest policy-induced land conversion to arable land, the Virgin Lands Campaign (VLC), from 1954 to 1963, of the massive cropland abandonment after 1990 and of climate change on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in steppes of Russia and Kazakhstan. We simulated carbon budgets from the pre-VLC period (1900) until 2100 using a dynamic vegetation model to assess the impacts of observed land-use change as well as future climate and land-use change scenarios. The simulations suggest for the entire VLC region (266 million hectares) that the historic cropland expansion resulted in emissions of 1.6⋅ 1015 g (= 1.6 Pg) carbon between 1950 and 1965 compared to 0.6 Pg in a scenario without the expansion. From 1990 to 2100, climate change alone is projected to cause emissions of about 1.8 (± 1.1) Pg carbon. Hypothetical recultivation of the cropland that has been abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union until 2050 may cause emissions of 3.5 (± 0.9) Pg carbon until 2100, whereas the abandonment of all cropland until 2050 would lead to sequestration of 1.8 (± 1.2) Pg carbon. For the climate scenarios based on SRES (Special Report on Emission Scenarios) emission pathways, SOC declined only moderately for constant land use but substantially with further cropland expansion. The variation of SOC in response to the climate scenarios was smaller than that in response to the land-use scenarios. This suggests that the effects of land-use change on SOC dynamics may become as relevant as those of future climate change in the Eurasian steppes.

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Analyses of depositional environments of the Marcellus formation in New York using biomarker and trace metal proxies

Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology ◽

10.1007/s13202-021-01237-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Reilly M. Blocho ◽

Richard W. Smith ◽

Mark R. Noll

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

New York ◽

Organic Matter ◽

New York State ◽

Depositional Environments ◽

Average Chain Length ◽

Lipid Biomarker ◽

Two Samples ◽

Biomarker Analysis ◽

Marcellus Formation

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to observe how the composition of organic matter (OM) and the extent of anoxia during deposition within the Marcellus Formation in New York varied by distance from the sediment source in eastern New York. Lipid biomarkers (n-alkanes and fatty acids) in the extractable organic component (bitumen) of the shale samples were analyzed, and proxies such as the average chain length (ACL), aquatic to terrestrial ratio (ATR) and carbon preference index (CPI) of n-alkanes were calculated. Fatty acids were relatively non-abundant due to the age of the shale bed, but n-alkane distributions revealed that the primary component of the OM was terrigenous plants. The presence of shorter n-alkane chain lengths in the samples indicated that there was also a minor component of phytoplankton and algal (marine) sourced OM. Whole rock analyses were also conducted, and cerium anomalies were calculated as a proxy for anoxia. All samples had a negative anomaly value, indicating anoxic conditions during deposition. Two samples, however, contained values close to zero and thus were determined to have suboxic conditions. Anoxia and total organic matter (TOM) did not show any spatial trends across the basin, which may be caused by varying depths within the basin during deposition. A correlation between nickel concentrations and TOM was observed and indicates that algae was the primary source of the marine OM, which supports the lipid biomarker analysis. It was determined that the kerogen type of the Marcellus Formation in New York State is type III, consistent with a methane-forming shale bed.

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