When studying carbon (C) sequestration in soil, it is necessary to recognize the maximal storage potential and the main influencing factors, including the climate, land use, and soil properties. Here, we hypothesized that the silt and clay contents in soils as well as the clay mineralogy are the main factors affecting the maximal C and N storage levels of soils. This hypothesis was evaluated using a database containing the organic C contents of topsoils separated by ultrasonic dispersion to determine the particle size fractions. The slopes of the linear regressions between the C contents in silt and clay to the soil organic C (SOC) and between the N contents in silt and clay to the total N content were independent of the clay mineralogy (2:1, 1:1, calcareous soil, amorphous clays), climate type (tropical, temperate, and Mediterranean), and land use type (cropland, grassland, and forest). This clearly shows that the silt and clay content is the main factor defining an upper SOC level, which allowed us to propose a generalized linear regression (R 2 > 0.95) model with a common slope, independent of the land use and climate type, to estimate the soil C sequestration potential. The implications of these findings are as follows: (1) a common slope regression was accurately calculated (0.83 ± 0.02 for C-silt + clay < 63 μm and 0.81 ± 0.02 for C-silt + clay < 20 μm) and (2) there was no asymptotic pattern found to support the existence of an SOC saturation pool.
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the main terrestrial C pool and is roughly divided into stable mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) and particulate organic matter carbon (POC). However, the sequestration capacity of MAOC remains unquantified. Currently, soils are considered to have a limited capacity to accumulate MAOC, primarily due to the presence of fine fractions, i.e. silt and clay particles. However, it is unlikely that saturation will occur in all soils due to land use. Therefore it is necessary to investigate whether soils from different latitudes and their silt and clay fractions that comprise MAOC are saturated. We selected 71 soil samples that were physically fractionated from a Mexican inventory of vegetation with a wide range of SOC (4–186 g kg−1 soil) and clay (126–777 g kg−1 soil) contents. Soils were grouped into non-volcanic soils and allophanic Andosols. In the first group, we found a positive and highly significant linear relationship between SOC and MAOC contents, but no upper limit was detected. We found a common slope of 0.86 (R2 = 0.97, p < 0.01), i.e. 86% of the SOC was contained in MAOC irrespective of soil types and management, a value very similar to that in other studies. Conversely, for allophanic Andosols, which had SOC content twice that of non-volcanic soils, a second-order polynomial function (R2 = 0.98, p < 0.01) was established, the upper limit of which exceeded 186 g SOC kg−1 for a MAOC of 134 g kg−1. This was also supported by an increasing polynomial function of particulate organic carbon (POC) as the SOC increased. In both types of soils, maximum MAOCs were found between 700 and 800 g kg−1 of silt and clay in medium-textured soils. The amount of silt and clay particles was limited by SOC accumulation in the silt fraction as clay became saturated. These results are influenced by the mass proportion of silt and clay that follows a unique pattern in allophanic Andosols and non-volcanic soils. An investigation of a comprehensive database comprising 21,315 soil profiles sampled 0–30 cm across Mexico showed that most soils are below 186 g SOC kg−1 the bending point above which the upper limit does exist.
CCCada suelo posee una limitada capacidad de proteger fisico - quimicamente la materia organica contra la biodegradacion en sus particulas de arcilla y limo. Las tasas de mineralizacion de carbono (C) y nitrogeno (N) de los suelos estarian relacionadas al grado de saturacion de C en estas particulas. En el presente estudio se investigo la hipotesis de que la disminucion del C en la arcilla y limo a medida que el contenido de estas fracciones aumenta en los suelos se debe a una disminucion en la superficie especifica en las particulas de arcilla y limo. Tambien se investigo la relacion entre las tasas de mineralizacion de C y N con el grado de saturacion con C en las particulas de arcilla y limo. Seis suelos cultivados (cereales) y tres suelos de praderas (Medicago sativa L.) fueron muestreados a 0-20 cm de profundidad. Todos los suelos fueron dispersados con ultrasonido y gravimetricamente separados en fracciones > 50 µm (arena) y < 50 µm (arcilla y limo). A todas las muestras y al suelo entero se les determino el C - organico y la superficie especifica con etilenglicol. Por otra parte, se probo que existe una estrecha relacion entre el grado de saturacion con C en las particulas de arcilla y limo con las tasas de mineralizacion. Sin embargo, tambien se encontro una buena relacion entre el C-organico total del suelo y las tasas de mineralizacion. Esto ultimo coincidio con el hecho de haber encontrado una buena correlacion entre el C-organico del suelo y el grado de saturacion. Nuestros resultados explican parcialmente la hipotesis de que las tasas de mineralizacion estan mas relacionadas al grado de saturacion que a la textura (limo + arcilla) y al contenido de materia organica del suelo.
Chilean volcanic soils are known to contain large amounts of organic matter (OM) and amorphous (e.g., allophanic) clay. Here, we test the hypothesis that Al, rather than clay content and climatic conditions, is the most important factor for OM levels in volcanic soils. This was achieved by compiling a total of 225 pedons from two national-wide datasets of south-Central Chilean soils sampled in the first 20 cm depth. All selected soils are of volcanic origin, previously under native Nothofagus-forest and now used as pasture or arable land. The relationships between soil organic C (from now soil C) and environmental and soil characteristics (clay-allophane, Al content) were analysed by simple and multiple linear regression analyses. Soils classify as Alfisols, Andisols, Inceptisols and Ultisols. Al was extracted by KCl (Alk), acid ammonium acetate (Ala) and acid ammonium oxalate (Alo). The simple regression models showed that Ala correlated best (R 2 =0.52) with soil C variations for the four soil orders studied, while Alk (R 2 =0.08) and Alo (R 2 =0.17) were poorly correlated in all soils types. Especially in Inceptisols, Ala was highly correlated with soil C (R 2 =0.88). Clay content, and hence allophanic content, was poorly correlated with soil C (R 2 =0.14), as was the mean annual precipitation (R 2 =0.21) and temperature (R 2 =0.15). These patterns were supported by the multiple regression analyses. Results therefore support the idea that Al is the principal factor for immobilization of OM in acid volcanic soils. As ammonium acetate extractable Al at pH 4.8 correlated well with OM, and as this is a rarely used method to interpret pedogenic processes, this extraction method warrants further attention.
The effects of cultivation in hillside (> 30% slope) on soil C and N stocks after forest clearance and subsequent cultivation in new re-growth forest sites not always induce rapid soil organic matter (SOM) loss in subtropical areas.In the present study we evaluated the sensitivity to SOM changes of material floatable in water (Fw), coarse sand (> 250 µm), fine sand (50-250 µm), silt (2-50 µm) and clay (0-2 µm) fractions by the impact of cultivation of Mexican Ferrasols.This research also determined the relative degree of C and N saturation in the silt and clay size particles.The soil physical fractions were obtained after ultrasonic vibration and sedimentation.Soil organic matter stock (0-20 cm depth) in cultivated sites ranged from 54 to 146 Mg C ha -1 and from 3.9 to 7.1 Mg N ha -1 and in the forest soil 46-94 Mg C ha -1 and 3.7-5.1 Mg N ha -1 .The relative distribution of C and N was lower in the coarse sand and highest in the silt fraction; the latter paralleled the changes of whole soil C and N. Coarse sand was the most sensitive fraction responding to cultivation, thus representing a diagnostic pool to assess the SOM shifts under cultivation.Half of our studied soil showed a low degree of C and N saturation in the silt and clay fraction indicating potential for accumulation of C and N, while the other half were well above the saturation limit.
The grazing management of grassland has a direct effect on nitrogen (N) recycling. This is an important reason why management has become an alternative to improve the grassland production and quality, in turn to make it more suitable for the environment. However, the livestock system intensification induces changes in the natural dynamics of the N cycle, accelerating gas emmisions (e.g. ammonia, NH3 and nitrous oxide, N2O) and leaching losses from soil under grazing. When the amount of N in the environment increases, there is an impact on smog episodes, global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, acid rain and eutrophication of fresh water. There are different techniques to evaluate the gases emitted from the soil. This klonowledge is useful to design the strategies to reduce the negative consequences of theses gases on the environment. In this review, the effect of grazing managements on N gas emissions from soils and the current techniques for N gas emission measurements in the field and laboratories conditions are discussed.
We analysed a large dataset consisting of 457 soil profiles of Andisols and Ultisols of volcanic origin compared to 60 non-volcanic soils. We hypothesised that soil pH has a greater impact on the development of Al-organomineral complexes in volcanic soils compared to non-volcanic soils, in the latter, the silt and clay fractions play a crucial role. Soil pH >4.5 strongly influenced the formation of Al-organomineral complexes in volcanic soils, while an increase in allophane content led to a decrease in SOC. Ultisols with more crystalline clays, such as halloysite and disordered kaolinite, the pH had a weaker impact and there was no effect on non-volcanic soils. Instead, a positive correlation (R2 = 0.63, p < 0.01) was found between silt and clay and SOC in non-volcanic soils, supporting our second hypothesis. Soil pH played a significant role in the interplay between Al-organomineral complexes and allophane formation, while crystalline mineralogy has a direct effect on SOC levels in non-volcanic soils.
