Soil geochemistry as a driver of soil organic matter composition: insights from a soil chronosequence

A central question in carbon research is how stabilization mechanisms in soil change over time with soil development and how this is reflected in qualitative changes of soil organic matter (SOM). To address this matter, we assessed the influence of soil geochemistry on bulk SOM composition along a soil chronosequence in California, USA spanning 3 million years. This was done by combining data on soil mineralogy and texture from previous studies with additional measurements on total carbon (C), stable isotope values (δ13C and δ15N), and spectral information derived from Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier-Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS). To assess qualitative shifts in bulk SOM, we analysed the peak areas of simple plant-derived (S-POM), complex plant-derived (C-POM), and predominantly microbially derived OM (MOM) and their changes in abundance across soils varying several millennia to millions of years in weathering and soil development. We observed that SOM became increasingly stabilized and microbially-derived (lower C : N ratio, increasing δ13C and δ15N) as soil weathering progresses. Peak areas of S-POM (i.e. aliphatic root exudates) did not change over time, while peak areas of C-POM (lignin) and MOM (components of microbial cell walls (amides, quinones, and ketones)) increased over time and depth and were closely related to clay content and pedogenic iron oxides. Hence, our study suggests that with progressing soil development, SOM composition co-varies with changes in the mineral matrix. Our study indicates that a discrimination in favour of structurally more complex OM compounds (C-POM, MOM) gains importance as the mineral soil matrix becomes increasingly weathered.

The Sources of Lead Pollution in a Tropical Soil Chronosequence Based on Lead Isotope

Soil is important contributor to global biogeochemical cycles and often receives anthropogenic Pb contamination. Hainan soil chronosequence developed on basalt had provided a good opportunity to identify and quantify the relative contributions of Pb sources in remote tropical areas. The results revealed that Pb concentrations and isotopic ratios of the soils were clearly affected by anthropogenic source. The Pb concentrations and percentage changes of Pb/Th ratios showed significantly Pb enrichment. The low 206Pb/207Pb values of upper soils indicated a significant addition of extraneous Pb, whereas deeper soils showed a dominantly basaltic source. The 208Pb/206Pb vs. 206Pb/207Pb diagram of soils clearly indicated inputs of parent material and anthropogenic Pb sources. We also calculated the mass fractions of anthropogenic-derived Pb (ƒPbanthropogenic) based on isotope mass balance. The ƒPbanthropogenic values showed a generally decreasing trend with soil depth, implying a significant addition of anthropogenic Pb in top soils. The contribution of anthropogenic Pb in Hainan soil chronosequence highlighted the significance of anthropogenic contamination to soils globally.

Carbon Storage along with Soil Profile: An Example of Soil Chronosequence from the Fluvial Terraces on the Pakua Tableland, Taiwan

A well-dated soil chronosequence may allow exploration of the accumulation of soil carbon over time. There are multiple levels of river terraces on the Pakua tableland in Central Taiwan. Unlike many of the reddish or lateritic soils in Taiwan, these soils were recently dated, with absolute ages in the range of 19–400 kyr. This information allowed us to develop an ideal soil chronosequence, with time constraints, through which it is possible to explore soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and its changes over time. In this study, we attempted to establish an SOC time series, and to give an estimate of long-term accumulation of the SOC storage in the red soils of Taiwan. The data on these soils used in this study were taken from the soil profiles presented in our previous studies. Two additional soil profiles were sampled for those soils for which data were not available from the previous studies. The total carbon stock (TCS) for each soil profile was measured and assessed based on the depth categories of 0–30, 30–50, and 50–100 cm. Weighted carbon stock (WCS) measurements were further derived by the total thickness of the soil profile, for better comparison. The overall carbon stocks of the soils in the Pakua tableland were in the range of 2.8–3.2 Tg for TCS and WCS, respectively. In addition, the SOC tended to be highest in the surface soil horizons and decreased with the soil depth. The continuous pattern of the carbon content, in terms of its vertical distribution, was considered in terms of a negative exponential function, which showed that the SOC was highest in the shallowest soil layers and decreased rapidly with the soil depth. This trend was mitigated at a depth of 50–100 cm, which approached a fixed value, denoted as the carbon sequestration value (CSV), below a certain depth. We show here that the values of the CSV, as approximated by exponential fitting, are closely related to soil age. The CSV linearly decreases with age. These findings point to the potential of using carbon storage for chronometric applications.

The impact of landscape evolution on soil physics: evolution of soil physical and hydraulic properties along two chronosequences of proglacial moraines

Soil physical properties highly influence soil hydraulic properties, which define the soil hydraulic behavior. Thus, changes within these properties affect water flow paths and the soil water and matter balance. Most often these soil physical properties are assumed to be constant in time, and little is known about their natural evolution. Therefore, we studied the evolution of physical and hydraulic soil properties along two soil chronosequences in proglacial forefields in the Central Alps, Switzerland: one soil chronosequence developed on silicate and the other on calcareous parent material. Each soil chronosequence consisted of four moraines with the ages of 30, 160, 3000, and 10 000 years at the silicate forefield and 110, 160, 4900, and 13 500 years at the calcareous forefield. We investigated bulk density, porosity, loss on ignition, and hydraulic properties in the form of retention curves and hydraulic conductivity curves as well as the content of clay, silt, sand, and gravel. Samples were taken at three depths (10, 30, 50 cm) at six sampling sites at each moraine. Soil physical and hydraulic properties changed considerably over the chronosequence. Particle size distribution showed a pronounced reduction in sand content and an increase in silt and clay content over time at both sites. Bulk density decreased, and porosity increased during the first 10 millennia of soil development. The trend was equally present at both parent materials, but the reduction in sand and increase in silt content were more pronounced at the calcareous site. The organic matter content increased, which was especially pronounced in the topsoil at the silicate site. With the change in physical soil properties and organic matter content, the hydraulic soil properties changed from fast-draining coarse-textured soils to slow-draining soils with high water-holding capacity, which was also more pronounced in the topsoil at the silicate site. The data set presented in this paper is available at the online repository of the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ; Hartmann et al., 2020b). The data set can be accessed via the DOI https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.4.4.2020.004.

The impact of landscape evolution on soil physics: Evolution of soil physical and hydraulic properties along two chronosequences of proglacial moraines

Soil physical properties highly influence soil hydraulic properties which define the soil hydraulic behavior. Thus, changes within these properties affect water flow paths and the soil water and matter balance. Most often these soil physical properties are assumed to be constant in time and little is known about their natural evolution. Therefore, we studied the evolution of physical and hydraulic soil properties along two soil chronosequences in proglacial forefields in the Central Alps, Switzerland. One soil chronosequence developed on silicate and the other on calcareous parent material. Each soil chronosequence consisted of 4 moraines with the ages of 30, 160, 3000, and 10 000 years at the silicate forefield and 110, 160, 4900, and 13 500 years at the calcareous forefield. We investigated bulk density, porosity, the content of clay, silt, sand, and gravel as well as loss on ignition and hydraulic properties in form of retention curves and hydraulic conductivity curves. Samples were taken in three depths (10, 30, 50 cm) at six sampling sites at each moraine. Soil physical and hydraulic properties change considerably over the chronosequence. Particle size distribution shows a pronounced reduction in sand content and an increase in silt and clay content over time at both sites. Bulk density decreases and porosity increases during the first 10 millenia of soil development. The trend is equally present at both parent materials, but the reduction in sand and increase in silt content was more pronounced at the calcareous site. The organic matter content increases, which is especially pronounced in the top soil at the silicate site. With the change in physical soil properties and organic matter content the hydraulic soil properties change from fast draining coarse textured soils to slow draining soils with high water holding capacity, which is also more pronounced in the top soil at the silicate site. The dataset presented in this paper is available at the online repository of the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ, Hartmann et al. (2020b)). The dataset can be accessed via the link: http://pmd.gfz-potsdam.de/panmetaworks/review/f46bd4d822a0766a9c0baf356bc7e55644d65d62d7ab71527f5d80c35eed11e5 and will be published with the DOI specified under the link.