Comparison of chemical composition of soil solutions collected by zero‐tension plate lysimeters with those from ceramic‐cup lysimeters in a forest soil

Abstract

We analysed the chemistry of solutions collected from soil by zero-tension plate lysimeters and cup lysimeters connected to a constant suction (600 hPa) under Douglas fir in the Beaujolais mountains (France). The chemistry of zero-tension lysimeters' (ZTL) and tension lysimeters' (TL) solutions differed enormously: TL solutions were most concentrated in Si, NHi-N, NO;-N, Cl-, Mg2+ and A13+ and TOC, whereas Ca2+ and K+ concentrations were greater in ZTL solutions. Organic matter (OM) greatly influenced the solution chemistry in both ZTL and TL. The chemistry of ZTL solutions was affected mainly by OM mineralization in the forest floor and upper soil horizon, and that of TL solution seemed to be related to destabilization of humified compounds under the new vegetation. Nitrification was important: residual nitrification led to excess protons neutralized in weathering or ion exchange reactions, mobilized cations, mainly A13+. Selectivity coefficients calculated both for ZTL and TL solutions formalized the differences between the two types of solutions. Nevertheless, these coefficients remained most often within the same order of magnitude indicating relations between them. Solutions from the two devices provided different information and should not be used for the same objectives. Solutions from ZTL are suited for ecosystem input-output budgets, whereas TL solutions are more useful when equilibrium between the solution and solid phase or when plant nutrition are considered.

Nutrient budget of a montane evergreen broad‐leaved forest at Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve, Yunnan, southwest China

“…In natural forest ecosystems with high precipitation, the dominant pathway for nutrient loss is via surface runoff and subsurface drainage (Nelson, 1970;Waring and Schlesinger, 1985;Hornung, 1990;Reynolds et al, 1990;Cavelier et al, 1997). Thus, estimation of the output of nutrients through these hydrological fluxes is one conventional part of the nutrient budget studies in forest ecosystems (Jordan, 1982;Marques et al, 1996;McDowell, 1998;Hafkenscheid, 2000).…”

Regular applications of poultry litter to a sandy arable soil: effects on nitrate leaching and nitrogen balance

“…It should be stressed that our soiltype was ideal for their use. In more Ðssured soils there is greater uncertainty, mainly because of doubt over whether the cups sample soil matrix or Ðssure water (Grossman and Udluft 1991 ;Marques et al 1996). The spatial variability of nitrate can also restrict the accuracy of leaching measurements, but we tried to minimise this e †ect by deriving treatment means from 18 individual sampling points.…”

Treatability of organic matter derived from surface and subsurface waters of drinking water catchments

“…3b). Marques et al (1996) reported major differences in the qualities of waters collected by zero tension plate and ceramic cup tension lysimeters. They suggested that solutes in waters collected by the zero tension plate lysimeter are affected mainly by organic matter mineralization in the forest floor and the A1 horizon, and these undergo little interaction in vertical transfer in the soil.…”