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Grasslands have potential to mitigate against climate change because of their large capacity to store soil organic carbon (SOC). However, the long-term impact of grassland management such as burning, which is still common in many areas of the world, on SOC is still a matter of debate. The objective of this study was to quantify the long-term effects of annual burning on CO2 output from soils and SOC...
Topography has strong effects on microclimates; thus may influence the decomposition of organic matter, a key process determines soil nutrient availability and carbon fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. Yet, little is known if and how topographic factors influence litter decomposition. We studied the effects of slope aspect (south- vs. north-facing slopes) and position (base and middle positions) on...
Are desert ecosystems a stable sink for atmospheric CO2? Although the uptake of atmospheric CO2 by soil during the nighttime is detected in deserts and some semi-deserts, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In order to determine the factors affecting the CO2 fluxes into soil and to reveal the relationship between CO2 fluxes and carbonate formation and recrystallization in saline and alkaline...
Assessment of soil quality index (SQI) using only the surface soil properties provides an incomplete information as the crop productivity is influenced by both surface and subsurface properties, with the latter being inherently linked to pedogenic processes. Two different SQIs were estimated for soil surface (0–15cm) and control section (0–100cm) using soil profile data of six identified soil series...
A growing body of research into the effects of biochar on soil physical characteristics suggests that it is most effective in coarse-textured soils. In this study, we set out to test this theory by comparing the effects of a woodchip biochar on a Chernozem, Cambisol and a coarse-textured Planosol in a pot experiment. We also compared the effect of different biochars on the Planosol, including woodchip...
Wetlands are highly effective systems mitigating the negative effects of N excess, but at the same time they contribute to global warming through greenhouse gas emissions. The present study aimed to ascertain the role of Phragmites australis in N transformations in eutrophic semiarid salt marshes, under low (NO3−=20mgL−1) and high (NO3−=200mgL−1) nutrient level and alternating flooding-drying phases...
Soil degradation has seriously threatened global soil and food security. Biochar application is a promising management option to remediate the degraded soils. However, extensive application of biochar is limited by lack of understanding the effects of biochar on nitrogen (N) mineralization in the degraded coastal wetland soils. Therefore, the individual or combined effects of biochar, reed stem and...
Little is known about soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in permafrost-affected soils in Greenland. Generally, occurrence and stocks of SOC in permafrost-affected soils of the Arctic were underestimated for many years. Compared to the assumed dimension of the influence of carbon dynamics on climate change this knowledge should be substantially widened. A total of 155 soil samples were used to get a...
The organic farming system is reported as having an influence on soil chemical, biological and physical features. The objectives of this study were to examine the physical quality of Stagnic Luvisol soil subject to organic and conventional farming with crop rotations that included root crops and legumes. The experiment was established in 2008 as a split-plot randomised block design to examine the...
Temporal variation in soil enzyme activities has important significance for soil quality after afforestation. This study investigated the temporal variation in soil enzyme activities and their response to changes in soil properties following afforestation. Soil samples were collected during different periods of vegetation growth at sites in the Loess Plateau with different land use types: 40year-old...
This study examines trends in podzolization – both temporally and with depth – as indicated by translocation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) in soil water. Water as saturated flow was captured by zero-tension lysimeters installed below the O, E and B horizons of six Spodosol pedons in Michigan, USA. Over a 2-year timespan, we sampled soil water on 36 different dates,...
Soil neutral sugars are a significant component of labile soil organic carbon (SOC) and are derived from both plant and microbial biomass. While plants synthesize both pentose and hexose neutral sugars, microbes almost exclusively produce hexoses. Hexose to pentose ratios in soil thus potentially indicate the extent to which microbes process labile SOC. In this study, we used the ratio of galactose...
The Critical Zone (CZ) is defined as the outer layer of the solid Earth, extending from the vegetation canopy through the pedosphere and down to the bottom of the weathered bedrock zone. Most biological, chemical and physical interactions take place in the CZ, and it is here that most terrestrial life is found. Being able to predict the thickness of the pedosphere (i.e. soil thickness, from the mineral...
Mollusk shells are commonly present in a broad array of geological and archaeological contexts. The shell carbonate can serve for numerical age determination (Δ14C) and as a paleoenvironmental indicator (δ18O, δ13C). Shell carbonate recrystallization in soils, however, may re-equilibrate the carbon (C) isotopic signature with soil CO2. The equilibration dynamics remain poorly understood because of...
The Athabasca Oil Sands deposit is one of the largest single oil deposits in the world. Following surface mining, companies are required to restore soil-like profiles that can support the previous land capabilities. Re-establishment of nutrient cycles in reconstructed soils is one of the most critical factors in ensuring long-term sustainability of these reconstructed boreal landscapes. We compared...
The Qilian Mountains are generally capped by a productive silty soil layer wherever the environment allows. As Holocene loess is prevalent across the Qilian Mountains, we assume that at least some of these fine sediments are derived from loess deposition and that soils across the region may be genetically linked. To test these hypotheses, nine pedons in different landscapes within a typical alpine...
In the tropical zone, small watersheds are affected by intense meteorological events. These events play an important role in the erosion of soils and therefore on the sources of organic carbon in small tropical rivers. We studied the geochemistry of two soils on Basse-Terre Island (French West Indies, FWI): ferralitic soil and Andosol. The two studied soils are very similar in terms of soil organic...
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