scholarly journals Soil Infrastructure, Interfaces & Translocation Processes in Inner Space ("Soil-it-is"): towards a road map for the constraints and crossroads of soil architecture and biophysical processes

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1485-1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. W. de Jonge ◽  
P. Moldrup ◽  
P. Schjønning

Abstract. Soil functions and their impact on health, economy, and the environment are evident at the macro scale but determined at the micro scale, based on interactions between soil micro-architecture and the transport and transformation processes occurring in the soil infrastructure comprising pore and particle networks and at their interfaces. Soil structure formation and its resilience to disturbance are highly dynamic features affected by management (energy input), moisture (matric potential), and solids composition and complexation (organic matter and clay interactions). In this paper we review and put into perspective preliminary results of the newly started research program "Soil-it-is" on functional soil architecture. To identify and quantify biophysical constraints on soil structure changes and resilience, we claim that new approaches are needed to better interpret processes and parameters measured at the bulk soil scale and their links to the seemingly chaotic soil inner space behavior at the micro scale. As a first step, we revisit the soil matrix (solids phase) and pore system (water and air phases), constituting the complementary and interactive networks of soil infrastructure. For a field-pair with contrasting soil management, we suggest new ways of data analysis on measured soil-gas transport parameters at different moisture conditions to evaluate controls of soil matrix and pore network formation. Results imply that some soils form sponge-like pore networks (mostly healthy soils in terms of agricultural and environmental functions), while other soils form pipe-like structures (agriculturally poorly functioning soils), with the difference related to both complexation of organic matter and degradation of soil structure. The recently presented Dexter et al. (2008) threshold (ratio of clay to organic carbon of 10 kg kg−1) is found to be a promising constraint for a soil's ability to maintain or regenerate functional structure. Next, we show the Dexter et al. (2008) threshold may also apply to hydrological and physical-chemical interface phenomena including soil-water repellency and sorption of volatile organic vapors (gas-water-solids interfaces) as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (water-solids interfaces). However, data for differently-managed soils imply that energy input, soil-moisture status, and vegetation (quality of eluded organic matter) may be equally important constraints together with the complexation and degradation of organic carbon in deciding functional soil architecture and interface processes. Finally, we envision a road map to soil inner space where we search for the main controls of particle and pore network changes and structure build-up and resilience at each crossroad of biophysical parameters, where, for example, complexation between organic matter and clay, and moisture-induced changes from hydrophilic to hydrophobic surface conditions can play a role. We hypothesize that each crossroad (e.g. between organic carbon/clay ratio and matric potential) may control how soil self-organization will manifest itself at a given time as affected by gradients in energy and moisture from soil use and climate. The road map may serve as inspiration for renewed and multi-disciplinary focus on functional soil architecture.

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 2633-2678 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. W. de Jonge ◽  
P. Moldrup ◽  
P. Schjønning

Abstract. Soil functions and their impact on health, economy and the environment are evident at the macro scale but determined at the micro scale, based on interactions between soil micro-architecture and the transport and transformation processes occurring in the pore and particle networks and at their interfaces. Soil structure formation and its resilience to disturbance are highly dynamic features affected by management (energy input), moisture (matric potential), and solids composition and complexation (organic carbon, OC, and clay interactions). In this paper we review and put into perspective preliminary results of the newly started research program ''Soil-it-is'' on functional soil architecture. To identify and quantify biophysical constraints on soil structure changes and resilience, we claim that new paradigms are needed to better interpret processes and parameters measured at the bulk soil scale and their links to the seemingly chaotic soil inner space behavior at the micro scale (soil self-organization). As a first step, we revisit the soil matrix (solids phase) and pore system (water and air phases), constituting the complementary and interactive networks of soil infrastructure. For a field-pair with contrasting soil management, we suggest new ways of data analysis on measured soil-gas transport parameters at different moisture conditions to evaluate controls of soil matrix and pore network formation. Results imply that some soils form sponge-like pore networks (mostly healthy soils in terms of environmental functions), while other soils form pipe-like structures (poorly functioning soils), with the difference related to both complexation of organic matter and degradation of soil structure. The recently presented Dexter threshold (ratio of clay to organic carbon of 10 g g−1) is found to be a promising constraint for a soil's ability to maintain or regenerate functional structure. Next, we show the Dexter threshold may also apply to hydrological and physical-chemical interface phenomena including soil-water repellency and sorption of volatile organic vapors (gas-water-solids interfaces) as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (water-solids interfaces). However, data for differently-managed soils imply that energy input, soil-moisture status, and vegetation (quality of eluded organic matter) may be equally important constraints together with the complexation and degradation of organic carbon in deciding functional soil architecture and interface processes. Finally, we envision a road map to soil inner space where we search for the main controls of particle and pore network changes and structure build-up and resilience at each crossroad of biophysical parameters, where, for example, complexation between organic matter and clay, and moisture-induced changes from hydrophilic to hydrophobic surface conditions can play a role. We hypothesize that each crossroad (e.g. between OC/clay ratio and matric potential) may initiate breakdown or activation of soil self-organization at a given time as affected by gradients in energy and moisture from soil use and climate. The road map may serve as inspiration for renewed and multi-disciplinary focus on functional soil architecture.


Soil Research ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Oades ◽  
AG Waters ◽  
AM Vassallo ◽  
MA Wilson ◽  
GP Jones

Samples were obtained from the same red-brown earth: (a) in an undisturbed state, (b) after 60 years of an exploitive wheat-fallow rotation and (c) after 40 years under a fertilized mixed grass-legume pasture. Organic materials were concentrated in various fractions which enabled comparative chemical composition of the organic materials in the three soils by 13C CPMAS n.m.r. spectroscopy. Despite more than twofold differences in the organic carbon content of the soils, the chemistry of the organic matter in the soils was similar, particularly organic matter associated with clay fractions. Most of the differences detected were associated with plant debris in particles > 20 �m which contained most of the aromatic carbon. The results indicate a rapid disappearance of phenolic-carbon which originates in lignins. The composition of sodium hydroxide extracts reflects quite well the composition of the organic matter in the soil. It is concluded that in a particular soil type, changes in amounts and nature of added photosynthate do not change the composition of the organic matter which is controlled by the microbial biomass and interactions of the biomass and its decomposition products with the soil matrix. Implications of this conclusion for the turnover of organic carbon in soil and stability of soil structure are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Witzgall ◽  
Alix Vidal ◽  
David Schubert ◽  
Carmen Höschen ◽  
Steffen Schweizer ◽  
...  

Abstract The largest terrestrial organic carbon pool, carbon in soils, is regulated by the intricate connection between plant carbon inputs, microbial activity, and soil matrix. This is manifested by how microorganisms, the key players in transforming plant-derived carbon into soil organic carbon, are controlled by the physical arrangement of organic and inorganic soil particles. We studied the role of soil structure on the fate of litter-derived organic matter and we propose that the persistence of soil carbon pools is directly determined at plant–soil interfaces. We show that while microbial activity and fungal growth is controlled by soil structure, occlusion of organic matter into aggregates and formation of organo-mineral associations occur in concert on litter surfaces regardless of soil structure. These two mechanisms—the two most prominent processes contributing to the persistence of organic matter—occur directly at fresh litter that constitutes a key nucleus in the build-up of soil carbon persistence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Witzgall ◽  
Alix Vidal ◽  
David I. Schubert ◽  
Carmen Höschen ◽  
Steffen A. Schweizer ◽  
...  

AbstractThe largest terrestrial organic carbon pool, carbon in soils, is regulated by an intricate connection between plant carbon inputs, microbial activity, and the soil matrix. This is manifested by how microorganisms, the key players in transforming plant-derived carbon into soil organic carbon, are controlled by the physical arrangement of organic and inorganic soil particles. Here we conduct an incubation of isotopically labelled litter to study effects of soil structure on the fate of litter-derived organic matter. While microbial activity and fungal growth is enhanced in the coarser-textured soil, we show that occlusion of organic matter into aggregates and formation of organo-mineral associations occur concurrently on fresh litter surfaces regardless of soil structure. These two mechanisms—the two most prominent processes contributing to the persistence of organic matter—occur directly at plant–soil interfaces, where surfaces of litter constitute a nucleus in the build-up of soil carbon persistence. We extend the notion of plant litter, i.e., particulate organic matter, from solely an easily available and labile carbon substrate, to a functional component at which persistence of soil carbon is directly determined.


2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávio Adriano Marques ◽  
Márcia Regina Calegari ◽  
Pablo Vidal-Torrado ◽  
Peter Buurman

The occurrence of Umbric Ferralsols with thick umbric epipedons (> 100 cm thickness) in humid Tropical and Subtropical areas is a paradox since the processes of organic matter decomposition in these environments are very efficient. Nevertheless, this soil type has been reported in areas in the Southeast and South of Brazil, and at some places in the Northeast. Aspects of the genesis and paleoenvironmental significance of these Ferralsols still need a better understanding. The processes that made the umbric horizons so thick and dark and contributed to the preservation of organic carbon (OC) at considerable depths in these soils are of special interest. In this study, eight Ferralsols with a thick umbric horizon (UF) under different vegetation types were sampled (tropical rain forest, tropical seasonal forest and savanna woodland) and their macromorphological, physical, chemical and mineralogical properties studied to detect soil characteristics that could explain the preservation of high carbon amounts at considerable depths. The studied UF are clayey to very clayey, strongly acidic, dystrophic, and Al-saturated and charcoal fragments are often scattered in the soil matrix. Kaolinites are the main clay minerals in the A and B horizons, followed by abundant gibbsite and hydroxyl-interlayered vermiculite. The latter was only found in UFs derived from basalt rock in the South of the country. Total carbon (TC) ranged from 5 to 101 g kg-1 in the umbric epipedon. Dichromate-oxidizable organic carbon represented nearly 75 % of TC in the thick A horizons, while non-oxidizable C, which includes recalcitrant C (e.g., charcoal), contributed to the remaining 25 % of TC. Carbon contents were not related to most of the inorganic soil variables studied, except for oxalate-extractable Al, which individually explained 69 % (P < 0.001) of the variability of TC in the umbric epipedon. Clay content was not suited as predictor of TC or of the other studied C forms. Bulk density, exchangeable Al3+, Al saturation, ECEC and other parameters obtained by selective extraction were not suitable as predictors of TC and other C forms. Interactions between organic matter and poorly crystalline minerals, as indicated by oxalate-extractable Al, appear to be one of the possible organic matter protection mechanisms of these soils.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Jörg Vogel ◽  
Mar­ia Balseiro-Romero ◽  
Philippe C. Baveye ◽  
Alexandra Kravchenko ◽  
Wilfred Otten ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;Soil structure, lately referred to as the ''architecture'' is a key to explain and understand all soil functions. The development of sophisticated imaging techniques over the last decades has led to significant progress in the description of this architecture and in particular of the geometry of the hierarchically-branched pore space in which transport of water, gases, solutes and particles occurs and where myriads of organisms live. Moreover, there are sophisticated tools available today to also visualize the spatial structure of the solid phase including mineral grains and organic matter. Hence, we do have access to virtually all components of soil architecture.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unfortunately, it has so far proven very challenging to study the dynamics of soil architecture over time, which is of critical importance for soil as habitat and the turnover of organic matter. Several largely conflicting theories have been proposed to account for this dynamics, especially the formation of aggregates. We review these theories, and we propose a conceptual approach to reconcile them based on a consistent interpretation of experimental observations and by integrating known physical and biogeochemical processes. A key conclusion is that rather than concentrating on aggregate formation in the sense of how particles and organic matter reorganize to form aggregates as distinct functional units we should focus on biophysical processes that produce a porous, heterogeneous organo-mineral soil matrix that breaks into fragments of different size and stability when exposed to mechanical stress.&amp;#160; The unified vision we propose for soil architecture and the mechanisms that determine its temporal evolution, should pave the way towards a better understanding of soil processes and functions.&lt;/p&gt;


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ni Tang ◽  
Nina Siebers ◽  
Erwin Klumpp

&lt;p&gt;Nanosized mineral particles and organic matter (&lt;100 nm) ,as well as their associations, belong to the most important ingredients for the formation of the soil aggregate structure being a hierarchically organized system. Colloids (&lt; 220 nm) including nanoparticles can be occluded as primary building units of soil aggregates. Nevertheless, a large proportion of these colloids is mobile and presents in the solution phase (as &amp;#8220;free&amp;#8221;) within the soil matrix. However, the differences between &amp;#8220;free&amp;#8221; and occluded colloids remain unclear.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here, both occluded and free colloids were isolated from soil samples of an arable field with different clay contents (19% and 34%) using wet sieving and centrifugation. The release of occluded colloids from soil macroaggregates (&gt;250 &amp;#181;m) was carried out with ultrasonic treatment at 1000 J mL&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;. The free and occluded colloidal fractions were then characterized for their size-resolved elemental composition using flow field-flow fractionation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and organic carbon detector (FFF-ICP-MS/OCD). In addition, selected samples were also subjected to transmission electron microscopy as well as pyrolysis field ionization mass spectrometry (Py-FIMS).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Both, free and occluded colloids were composed of three size fractions: nanoparticles &lt;20 nm, medium-sized nanoparticles (20 nm&amp;#8211;60 nm), and, fine colloids (60 nm&amp;#8211;220 nm). The fine colloid fraction was the dominant size fraction in both free and occluded colloids, which mainly consist of organic carbon, Al, Si, and Fe, probably present as phyllosilicates and associations of Fe- and Al- (hydr)oxides and organic matter. However, the organic matter contents for all three size fractions were higher for the occluded colloids than for the free ones. The role of OM concentration and composition in these colloids will be discussed in the paper.&lt;/p&gt;


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genoveva Burca ◽  
Stephen Hillier ◽  
Pawala Ariyathilaka ◽  
Jumpei Fukumasu ◽  
Anke Herrmann ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;Soil organic carbon (SOC) is of key importance for soil functioning. It strongly impacts soil fertility, greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient retention, and contaminant degradation. The soil pore network determines how oxygen, water and nutrients are transported and exchanged in soil, and the architecture of the soil is therefore equally fundamental to soil functions. For a thorough understanding of the microbial habitat, the soil pore network architecture needs to be evaluated alongside with the spatial distribution of SOC, but the challenge ahead is the 3-D visualization of organic carbon at the micro-scale. At present, such visualizations are undertaken using staining agents, but their non-specific binding to other features in the soil aggravates evaluation of organic carbon at the micro-scale.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the present study, we investigated the potential and limitations of using joint white-beam neutron and X-ray imaging for mapping the 3-dimensional organic carbon distribution in soil. This approach is viable because neutron and X-ray beams have complementary attenuation properties. Soil minerals consist to a large part of silicon and aluminium, elements which are relatively translucent to neutrons but attenuate X-rays. In contrast, attenuation of neutrons is strong for hydrogen, which is abundant in SOC, while hydrogen barely attenuates X-rays. When considering dried soil samples, the complementary attenuation for neutrons and X-rays may be used to quantify the fractions of air, SOC and minerals for any imaged voxel in a bi-modal 3-dimensional image, i.e. a combined neutron and X-ray image.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We collected neutron data at the IMAT beamline at the ISIS facility and X-ray data at the I12 beamline at the Diamond Light source, both located within the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, UK. The neutron image clearly showed variations in neutron attenuation within soil aggregates at approximately constant X-ray attenuations. This indicates a constant bulk density with varying organic matter and/or mineralogy. For samples with identical mineral composition, neutron attenuation data of sieved and repacked soil samples exhibited a large coefficient of determination (R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;) in a regression between volumetric SOC content and neutron attenuation (0.9). Even larger R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; (0.93) were obtained when the volumetric clay content was also included into the regression. However, when comparing soil samples with different mineralogy, R&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; dropped to 0.24 and 0.37, depending whether the clay content was considered or not. To improve the method, it is necessary to include specifics of the soil mineralogy. Here, analysing the time-of-flight neutron attenuation data collected at the IMAT beamline will provide further insights. In summary, our approach yielded promising results. We anticipate that quantitative 3-D imaging of organic carbon contents in soil will be possible in the near future.&lt;/p&gt;


Soil Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liesbeth Bouckaert ◽  
Steven Sleutel ◽  
Denis Van Loo ◽  
Loes Brabant ◽  
Veerle Cnudde ◽  
...  

Soil pore network effects on organic matter turnover have, until now, been studied indirectly because of lack of data on the 3D structure of the pore network. Application of X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) to quantify the distribution of pore neck size and related pore sizes from undisturbed soil cores, with simultaneous assessment of carbon (C) mineralisation, could establish a relationship between soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition and soil pore volumes. Eighteen miniature soil cores (diameter 1.2 cm, height 1.2 cm) covering a range of bulk densities were incubated at 20°C for 35 days. Respiration was modelled with a parallel first- and zero-order kinetic model. The cores were scanned at 9.44 µm resolution using an X-ray CT scanner developed in-house. Correlation analysis between the slow pool C mineralisation rate, ks, and pore volume per pore neck class yielded significant (P < 0.05) positive correlations: r = 0.572, 0.598, and 0.516 for the 150–250, 250–350, and >350 µm pore neck classes, respectively. Because larger pores are most probably mainly air-filled, a positive relation with ks was ascribed to enhanced aeration of smaller pores surrounding large pores. The weak and insignificant relationship between the smallest pore neck class (<9.44 µm) and ks could be explained by obstructed microbial activity and mobility or diffusion of exo-enzymes and hydrolysis products as a result of limited oxygen availability. This study supports the hypothesis that the impact of soil structure on microbial processes occurs primarily via its determination of soil water distribution, which is possibly the main driver for the location of C mineralisation in the soil matrix.


Soil Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alla Marchuk ◽  
Pichu Rengasamy ◽  
Ann McNeill

The high proportion of adsorbed monovalent cations in soils in relation to divalent cations affects soil structural stability in salt-affected soils. Cationic effects on soil structure depend on the ionic strength of the soil solution. The relationships between CROSS (cation ratio of soil structural stability) and the threshold electrolyte concentration (TEC) required for the prevention of soil structural problems vary widely for individual soils even within a soil class, usually attributed to variations in clay mineralogy, organic matter, and pH. The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that clay dispersion influenced by CROSS values depends on the unique association of soil components, including clay and organic matter, in each soil affecting the net charge available for clay–water interactions. Experiments using four soils differing in clay mineralogy and organic carbon showed that clay dispersion at comparable CROSS values depended on the net charge (measured as negative zeta potential) of dispersed clays rather than the charge attributed to the clay mineralogy and/or organic matter. The effect of pH on clay dispersion was also dependent on its influence on the net charge. Treating the soils with NaOH dissolved the organic carbon and increased the pH, thereby increasing the negative zeta potential and, hence, clay dispersion. Treatment with calgon (sodium hexametaphosphate) did not dissolve organic carbon significantly or increase the pH. However, the attachment of hexametaphosphate with six charges on each molecule greatly increased the negative zeta potential and clay dispersion. A high correlation (R2 = 0.72) was obtained between the relative clay content and relative zeta potential of all soils with different treatments, confirming the hypothesis that clay dispersion due to adsorbed cations depends on the net charge available for clay–water interactions. The distinctive way in which clay minerals and organic matter are associated and the changes in soil chemistry affecting the net charge cause the CROSS–TEC relationship to be unique for each soil.


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