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- Title
Temporal changes in chemical properties of air-dried stored soils and their interpretation for long-term experiments.
- Authors
Blake, L.; Goulding, K. W. T.; Mott, C. J. B.; Poulton, P. R.
- Abstract
The usefulness of stored soils from long-term experiments is often questioned because of changes that might occur during storage. We examined changes during long-term storage (8–69 years) in the chemical properties of soils with a range of pH values (3.4–8.1 in water) from woodland and grassland experiments at Rothamsted Experimental Station in the UK. No significant changes during storage were measured for total C and N. Large but erratic changes in exchangeable Na+ content between 1959 and 1991 were probably caused by contamination of the 1959 samples by perspiration and from sodium-based glassware. Exchangeable K+ increased during storage but only by a small amount. Small changes in exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ were measured in some samples but not in others. Generally the amount of exchangeable cations increased slightly during storage. This is probably linked to the decreases of <= 0.4 units in the pH of acid soils, which we attribute to the hydrolysis of approximately 0.25% of the exchangeable Al3+. A doubling of the amount of exchangeable Mn2+ during storage for 32 years was probably caused by re-equilibration of Mn species. The most practicable way to prepare soil samples for long-term storage is to dry them in air. However, those who study changes in soil by re-analysing samples of the soil stored for a long time must (i) use the same methods of analysis, or (ii) demonstrate that different methods lead to the same results, and (iii) know what changes can arise during storage.
- Subjects
SOILS; SOIL chemistry; SOIL science
- Publication
European Journal of Soil Science, 2000, Vol 51, Issue 2, p345
- ISSN
1351-0754
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1046/j.1365-2389.2000.00307.x