Land use impact on chemical and spectroscopical characteristics of soil organic matter in an arid ecosystem

Vázquez, Carolina; Iriarte, Ana G.; Merlo, Carolina; Abril, Adriana; Kowaljow, Esteban; Meriles, José Manuel

doi:10.1007/s12665-016-5655-9

Cited by 22 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Prolonged soil cultivation has been identified as a major precursor of degradation in arid to semiarid arable lands owing to their limited phytomass production, low‐erratic rainfall events and high temperatures (Lobe et al, 2001, 2002; Janzen, 2006; Von Lützow et al, 2006; Lal et al, 2015; Vázquez et al, 2016). Consequently, these arable lands are abandoned due to inflated reclamation costs or deliberately reverted to perennial pastures (also referred to as restored or secondary grasslands) to regain their original productivity (Birru, 2002; Kotzé et al, 2016).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Soil C is regarded as a major regulator of agro‐ecosystem functioning and stability due to its inherent relations with other physical, chemical and biological soil properties. An increase in soil C enhances water and nutrient holding capacity, soil structural formation and stability and energy source for microbial community (Von Lützow et al, 2006; Vázquez et al, 2016). Hence, it is often used as an indicator of soil degradation.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The sluggish and less detectable responses of soil C to land use change could be other major factors responsible for disparities between studies; as such, it is always important to characterize soil C (Gregorich et al, 1994; Janzen, 2005; Von Lützow et al, 2006; Vázquez et al, 2016). Characterization of soil C allows short‐ and long‐term monitoring of the consequences of management changes to reduce detrimental effects of agricultural activities on the environment while promoting sustainable use of soils (Guimarães et al, 2013; Lal et al, 2015; Kiani et al, 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, studies of this kind are still in great need because soil C fractions have different response timeframes to land use change, and are not fully understood due to variable site‐specific conditions (Gregorich et al, 1994; Janzen, 2005, 2006; Li et al, 2018). More importantly, such studies are necessary for assessing sustainability of management strategies and decisively developing soil protection guidelines and policies (Gregorich et al, 1994; Kotzé et al, 2016; Vázquez et al, 2016).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Understanding the dynamics of SIC is critically important because its dissolution or precipitation affects terrestrial C cycling (Mikhailova and Post 2006; Wang et al, 2016). Soil organic C on the other hand is defined as a complex heterogeneous mixture of organic materials residing in the soil of which 60% is humic substances, while the rest is contributed by non‐humic substances (Von Lützow et al, 2006; Guimarães et al, 2013; Vázquez et al, 2016). Non‐humic substances consist of a myriad of labile compounds with low molecular weight and relatively rapid turnover rates, hence are often used as early indicators of soil quality changes (Kiani et al, 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Dynamics of Soil Carbon Concentrations and Quality Induced by Agricultural Land Use in Central South Africa

Loke

Kotzé

Twigge³

2019

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Converting grasslands to cropland deprives soils of C regardless of lability or recalcitrant nature. Reversion into secondary grasslands can reverse soil C losses in semiarid agro‐ecosystems. Secondary grassland management improves SOC quality to resemble primary grasslands. Relative losses and gains of soil C fractions are modulated by climatic and soil conditions. Prolonged soil cultivation has been identified as a major cause of land degradation and a threat to soil quality in drought‐prone environments. This study evaluated land use effects on soil carbon (C) fractions and organic C (SOC) quality across three semiarid agro‐ecosystems (Harrismith, Tweespruit, and Kroonstad) in central South Africa. Soil samples were collected from croplands, primary and secondary grasslands at the 0‐ to 200‐mm layer in each agro‐ecosystem and analyzed for various soil C fractions. The SOC structure was characterized with 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. All analyses were done on bulk soil samples. Conversion of primary grasslands into croplands decreased C fractions by 27 to 90% across the three agro‐ecosystems, with highest losses recorded in Harrismith and Tweespruit and lowest in Kroonstad, suggesting site‐specific conditions acted together with cultivation to effect C losses. The 13C NMR spectra revealed a slight change in SOC structural composition when O‐alkyl C decreased with concomitant increase in aromatic and alkyl C due to cultivation, with differences in the range of 1 to 11%. O‐alkyl C remained almost the same in Harrismith, suggesting that lignin‐derived methoxy groups were probably more dominant than easily decomposable carbohydrates as opposed to O‐alkyl C in Tweespruit and Kroonstad. Meanwhile, reversion of cultivated soils into perennial pastures restored and even increased some soil C fractions (by 3–129%) to represent primary grasslands, especially in Kroonstad. Organic C decomposition was lower in the cultivated soils relative to virgin and restored soils. This underscores the importance of determining plant biomass composition because these unusual responses were probably related to vegetation differences. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of secondary grassland management to rehabilitate degraded cultivated soils with implications for restoration of agro‐ecosystem functions and services.

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Dynamics of Soil Carbon Concentrations and Quality Induced by Agricultural Land Use in Central South Africa

Loke

Kotzé

Twigge³

2019

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Influence of land‐use changes on microbial community structure and diversity in a semiarid region

et al. 2022

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Land-use change and the conversion of land into croplands is one of the main drivers of soil degradation and the loss of soil organic carbon. Few studies have evaluated the impact of the expansion of the agricultural frontier on soil microbial communities in the Gran Chaco region in South America; therefore, the objective of this study was to explore how soil microbial communities respond to land-use changes in a semiarid region of Argentina. The land uses selected were total and selective clearing with livestock (TC-livestock and SC-livestock), total clearing with agriculture (TC-agriculture), and an undisturbed site (R-Chancaní). Our results suggest that microbial abundances were strongly influenced by seasonal changes. In both seasons, the lowest values of total microbial biomass were observed in TC-agriculture and TC-livestock.In the wet season, TC-agriculture had the lowest fungal abundance, and both total clearing sites (TC-livestock and TC-agriculture) had higher bacterial abundance than the other sites. Our data also showed that the Shannon and richness indices were highest at the farming sites, indicating a similar tendency in the diversity indexes in both dry and wet seasons. According to Pearson correlation analysis, humic substance (HS) content was a key driver influencing soil microbial communities, demonstrating that high HS content may significantly increase bacteria, fungi, and total phospholipid fatty acids. Microbial composition highly depended on seasonal changes. Overall, our results suggest that land-use change altered microbial community structure and bacterial diversity, and that HS content played a crucial role in driving changes in soil microbial composition.

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Changes in the characteristics of soil dissolved organic matter over time since inter-planting with white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in apple orchards on the Loess Plateau in China

Zhang

Gao

et al. 2022

Plant Soil

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Land use impact on chemical and spectroscopical characteristics of soil organic matter in an arid ecosystem

Cited by 22 publications

References 64 publications

Dynamics of Soil Carbon Concentrations and Quality Induced by Agricultural Land Use in Central South Africa

Dynamics of Soil Carbon Concentrations and Quality Induced by Agricultural Land Use in Central South Africa

Influence of land‐use changes on microbial community structure and diversity in a semiarid region

Changes in the characteristics of soil dissolved organic matter over time since inter-planting with white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in apple orchards on the Loess Plateau in China

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