Evolution of the transport properties of soil aggregates and their relationship with soil organic carbon following land use changes

Wang, Feng; Zhang, Xiaoxian; Neal, Andrew L.; Crawford, John W.; Mooney, Sacha J.; Bacq-Labreuil, Aurélie

doi:10.1016/j.still.2021.105226

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 61 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The influence of temperature and substrates is described by the parameter k. Apart from k, all other parameters are related to soil architecture. Mathematically, each parameter in equation (2.18) can take an arbitrary value, but in validating the model against experimental data, we take all soil structure parameters as a set, calculating it by mining a soil image dataset consisting of more than 100 X-ray images we have accumulated over the past decade for soils with various textures ranging from clay loam to sandy soils [45][46][47][48][49]. Using a method we developed previously [50], we calculated liquid water distribution within the pore geometry at different water contents, as well as the associated water-air interfaces and wetted pore walls for each soil image.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overlooked mechanism underlying the attenuated temperature response of soil heterotrophic respiration

Zhang

Whalley

Gregory

et al. 2022

J. R. Soc. Interface.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biogeochemical reactions occurring in soil pore space underpin gaseous emissions measured at macroscopic scales but are difficult to quantify due to their complexity and heterogeneity. We develop a volumetric-average method to calculate aerobic respiration rates analytically from soil with microscopic soil structure represented explicitly. Soil water content in the model is the result of the volumetric-average of the microscopic processes, and it is nonlinearly coupled with temperature and other factors. Since many biogeochemical reactions are driven by oxygen (O 2 ) which must overcome various resistances before reaching reactive microsites from the atmosphere, the volumetric-average results in negative feedback between temperature and soil respiration, with the magnitude of the feedback increasing with soil water content and substrate quality. Comparisons with various experiments show the model reproduces the variation of carbon dioxide emission from soils under different water content and temperature gradients, indicating that it captures the key microscopic processes underpinning soil respiration. We show that alongside thermal microbial adaptation, substrate heterogeneity and microbial turnover and carbon use efficiency, O 2 dissolution and diffusion in water associated with soil pore space is another key explanation for the attenuated temperature response of soil respiration and should be considered in developing soil organic carbon models.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overlooked mechanism underlying the attenuated temperature response of soil heterotrophic respiration

Zhang

Whalley

Gregory

et al. 2022

J. R. Soc. Interface.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The primary and most direct effect of SOC in enhancing the physical qualities of soil is to improve the soil structure and stimulate the formation of agglomerated structures (Wang et al, 2022). An increase in SOC promotes the growth of roots and the activity of soil microorganisms, and the chemical conditions provided by the secretion of organic acids by roots and microorganisms promote the decomposition of soil particles, leading to a reduction in soil BD (Marschner et al, 2011;Pastore et al, 2020).…”

Section: Changes In Organic Carbon During Forest Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil organic carbon primarily control the soil moisture characteristic during forest restoration in subtropical China

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a crucial component of the soil carbon pool that regulates fundamental soil properties and water status. In the global context of restoring vegetation, the soil carbon-water coupling relationship has gained attention. In particular, the regulatory mechanism of SOC on soil moisture requires further research. In this study, three typical forests in subtropical China were chosen as restoration sequences to investigate the changes in SOC and soil moisture during subtropical forest restoration and its regulation mechanisms: broadleaf-conifer mixed forest (EF), broad-leaved forest (MF), and old-growth forest (LF). The soil water content (35.71 ± 1.52%), maximum water holding capacity (47.74 ± 1.91%), capillary water holding capacity (43.92 ± 1.43%), and field water holding capacity (41.07 ± 1.65%) in LF were significantly higher than those in EF (p < 0.01). As forest restoration progressed, the amount of litter returning to the soil increased gradually, and the SOC content (0–100 cm) increased from 9.51 ± 1.42 g/kg (EF) to 15.60 ± 2.30 g/kg (LF). The SOC storage increased from 29.49 ± 3.59 to 42.62 ± 5.78 Mg/ha. On one hand, forest restoration led to a change in SOC content, which optimizes the soil structure and enhances soil porosity (path coefficient of 0.537, p < 0.01), further leading to a change in soil water content (path coefficient of 0.940, p < 0.01). On the other hand, the increase in SOC influenced the change in soil nutrient content, i.e., total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) (path coefficient of 0.842, p < 0.01). Changes in SOC and soil nutrients stimulated changes in the stoichiometric ratio, i.e., C:P and N:P (path coefficients of 0.988 and –0.968, respectively, p < 0.01), and the biological activity in soil changed appropriately, which eventually led to a change in soil water content (path coefficient of –0.257, p < 0.01). These results highlight the changes in SOC and soil water content (SWC), as well as the mechanism of SOC controlling SWC as a result of vegetation restoration, which is of tremendous importance for advancing our understanding of the eco-hydrological process of subtropical forest restoration.

show abstract

“…Organic carbon and inorganic carbon are physically protected from microbial decomposition by adsorption onto the surfaces of clay minerals. This adsorption preferentially occurs within macro-aggregates with sizes > 0.25 mm, thus enriching them in carbon and nitrogen, while micro-aggregates with sizes < 0.25 mm remain depleted and preserve the stability of the soil structure 25 – 27 . Therefore, exploring the relationship between soil aggregates, carbon cycles, and nitrogen cycles for different particle sizes is necessary to develop effective management and control techniques for stabilizing soil aggregates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of cropping patterns on the distribution, carbon contents, and nitrogen contents of aeolian sand soil aggregates in Northwest China

Niu,

An,

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The long-term physicochemical responses of aeolian sandy soil aggregates to different crop rotation patterns are poorly understood. Here, we collected soil samples from the 0 to 20 cm tillage layer of continuous maize crop and alfalfa–maize rotation plots situated on the edge of the Zhangye Oasis, Northwest China. These samples were analyzed to quantify the influence of both cropping patterns on the structure, carbon content, and nitrogen content of aeolian sandy soils. When compared with long-term continuous maize cropping, planting alfalfa–maize rotation system significantly increased the mass fraction of macro-aggregates with sizes of > 2 mm and 0.25–2 mm from 8.7 to 12.1% and 19.1 to 21.2%, respectively, but decreased the mass fraction of micro-aggregates (0.053–0.25 mm) from 8.1 to 6.2%. Further, there was no significant difference in the content of silt and clay particles between each system. The alfalfa–maize rotation increased the stability of aggregates from 32 to 37%, representing an increase of 15.6%. Soil organic carbon, inorganic carbon, and total nitrogen were mainly enriched in macro-aggregates with sizes of > 2 mm, and silt and clay fractions for both cropping patterns. Implementation of a rotation pattern increased organic carbon contents by 27.2%, 25.6%, 26.7%, and 27.6%, inorganic carbon contents by 14.4%, 4.5%, 53.3%, and 21.0%, and total nitrogen contents by 29.7%, 7.0%, 4.2%, and 50.0% in aggregate particle sizes of > 2 mm, 0.25–2 mm, 0.053–0.25 mm, and < 0.053 mm, respectively, when compared to continuous maize cropping. The alfalfa–maize crop rotation can therefore effectively improve soil aggregate composition and aggregate stability, alongside organic carbon content, inorganic carbon content, total nitrogen content, and their storage capacity. This system thus represents a soil cultivation technique that can increase the soil carbon sequestration capacity in the oasis zone of Northwest China.

show abstract

Evolution of the transport properties of soil aggregates and their relationship with soil organic carbon following land use changes

Cited by 18 publications

References 61 publications

An overlooked mechanism underlying the attenuated temperature response of soil heterotrophic respiration

An overlooked mechanism underlying the attenuated temperature response of soil heterotrophic respiration

Soil organic carbon primarily control the soil moisture characteristic during forest restoration in subtropical China

Effects of cropping patterns on the distribution, carbon contents, and nitrogen contents of aeolian sand soil aggregates in Northwest China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About