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- Title
Demonstration of the rapid incorporation of carbon into protective, mineral-associated organic carbon fractions in an eroded soil from the CarboZALF experimental site.
- Authors
Remus, Rainer; Kaiser, Michael; Kleber, Markus; Augustin, Jürgen; Sommer, Michael
- Abstract
Aims: The goal of this work was to quantitatively describe the influence of soil erosion on the distribution of recently assimilated carbon (C) within the plant-soil system and different soil fractions.Methods: Surface soil was manipulated in the field to simulate a strong erosion event, and maize plants were cultivated in a growth chamber using soil material from the manipulated (eroded) and non-eroded sites. The maize plants were pulse labeled with 14C-labeled carbon dioxide (CO2) at the start of flowering, and C partitioning within the plants and the distribution of recently assimilated C into organo-mineral soil fractions of different particle size were assessed after 25 days.Results: The distribution of C differed significantly between the particle size fractions separated from the soil material of the eroded and non-eroded sites. For example, a much higher percentage of 14C was found in macro-aggregate-occluded organic particles of the eroded soil than in the same fraction of soil from the non-eroded site. Furthermore, a significantly higher absolute amount of recently assimilated C was found in the < 20-μ m mineral particles and aggregates of the eroded soil than in the same particle fraction of the non-eroded soil. We show that this C is most likely derived from rhizodeposition or metabolites originating from the microbial decomposition of rhizodeposits.Conclusions: The findings provide experimental evidence of the concept of the “dynamic replacement” of organic C (OC) losses due to erosion by C derived from crops growing on eroded soils. The rapid and enhanced sorption of recently assimilated C on the surfaces of mineral particles and occlusion in aggregates < 20 μ m confirms the role of erosion processes in creating an immediate terrestrial C sink with the potential to enhance long-term soil C storage.
- Subjects
SOIL erosion; PLANT-soil relationships; CARBON in soils; CORN growth; CARBON content of plants
- Publication
Plant & Soil, 2018, Vol 430, Issue 1/2, p329
- ISSN
0032-079X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11104-018-3724-4