While significant progress has been made in understanding global carbon (C) cycling, the mechanisms regulating belowground C fluxes and storage are still uncertain. New molecular technologies have the power to elucidate these processes, yet we have no widespread standardized implementation of molecular techniques. To address this gap, we introduce the Molecular Observation Network (MONet), a decadal vision from the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), to develop a national network for understanding the molecular composition, physical structure, and hydraulic and biological properties of soil and water. These data are essential for advancing the next generation of multiscale Earth systems models. In this paper, we discuss the 1000 Soils Pilot for MONet, including a description of standardized sampling materials and protocols and a use case to highlight the utility of molecular-level and microstructural measurements for assessing the impacts of wildfire on soil. While the 1000 Soils Pilot generated a plethora of data, we focus on assessments of soil organic matter (SOM) chemistry via Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry and microstructural properties via X-ray computed tomography to highlight the effects of recent fire history in forested ecosystems on belowground C cycling. We observed decreases in soil respiration, microbial biomass, and potential enzyme activity in soils with high frequency burns. Additionally, the nominal oxidation state of carbon in SOM increased with burn frequency in surface soils. This results in a quantifiable shift in the molecular signature of SOM and shows that wildfire may result in oxidation of SOM and structural changes to soil pore networks that persist into deeper soils.
While significant progress has been made in understanding global carbon (C) cycling, the mechanisms regulating belowground C fluxes and storage are still uncertain. New molecular technologies have the power to elucidate these processes, yet we have no widespread standardized implementation of molecular techniques. To help address this gap, we have developed a crowdsourced soil core research program for analyzing molecular and microstructural data that describe soil structure, soil organic matter (SOM) chemistry, and soil microbiology. Known as the 1,000 Soils Pilot and based at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), we use Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance-(FTICR) and liquid chromatography-(LC) mass spectrometry (MS); X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT), water retention curves; metagenomic sequencing; and standard biogeochemical measurements to enable new insights into soil C cycles. To emphasize cross-site comparability, we provide standardized sampling materials and protocols, and all data are generated on dedicated instruments with optimized settings. Here, we describe the 1000 Soils Pilot and present a use case describing differences in SOM chemistry, soil structure, and chemical and biological properties across forest soils exposed to differing wildfire regimes. Data and analytic workflows from the 1000 Soils Pilot will populate a unique continental-scale database of soil molecular properties, as part of the EMSL Molecular Observation Network (MONet) user program.
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