Plant impact on the coupled terrestrial biogeochemical cycles of silicon and carbon: Implications for biogeochemical carbon sequestration

Song, Zhaoliang; Wang, Hailong; Strong, Peter James; Li, Zimin; Jiang, Peikun

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.09.006

Cited by 128 publications

(108 citation statements)

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“…PhytC content as high as 20 % dry weight was obtained when using a phytolith extraction method based on microwave digestion (Parr and Sullivan, 2014). This value was more than 20 to 200 times higher than the values obtained using a chemical method verified to be 100 % efficient for removing extraneous organic particles (from 0.1 to 1 % dry weight; Smith and White, 2004). The difference was somewhat justified by partial dissolution of phytC when using aggressive protocols.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…The assumption that phytC may be located at different sites in the silica structure, with different accessibility to oxidation, has been put forward (Parr and Sullivan, 2014). This assumption supplemented a previous one, widely found in the literature, that micrometric opaque areas observed by natural light (NL) microscopy on some phytoliths were holes containing the phytC (Prychid et al, 2003;Piperno, 2006;Carter et al, 2009;Song et al, 2012;Parr and Sullivan, 2014). No measurements were however performed to support any of these hypotheses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Based on the assumption that phytC originated from the photosynthesis of atmospheric CO 2 in the host plant, several studies used phytC 14 C and δ 13 C signatures respectively as a dating tool (Piperno and Becker, 1996;Piperno and Stothert, 2003;McMichael et al, 2012) and a paleoenvironmental proxy (Kelly et al, 1991;Smith and White, 2004;Carter, 2009;Webb and Longstaffe, 2010;McInerney et al, 2011). However, very recently, 14 C-AMS measurements of phytC samples from modern grasses yielded ages of several thousand years, which suggested that phytoliths may incorporate a substantial amount of old carbon, potentially from the soil (Santos et al, 2010(Santos et al, , 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New highlights of phytolith structure and occluded carbon location: 3-D X-ray microscopy and NanoSIMS results

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Phytoliths contain occluded organic compounds called phytC. Recently, phytC content, nature, origin, paleoenvironmental meaning and impact in the global C cycle have been the subject of increasing debate. Inconsistencies were fed by the scarcity of in situ characterizations of phytC in phytoliths. Here we reconstructed at high spatial resolution the 3-D structure of harvested grass short cell (GSC) phytoliths using 3-D X-ray microscopy. While this technique has been widely used for 3-D reconstruction of biological systems it has never been applied in high-resolution mode to silica particles. Simultaneously, we investigated the location of phytC using nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). Our data evidenced that the silica structure contains micrometric internal cavities. These internal cavities were sometimes observed isolated from the outside. Their opening may be an original feature or may result from a beginning of dissolution of silica during the chemical extraction procedure, mimicking the progressive dissolution process that can happen in natural environments. The phytC that may originally occupy the cavities is thus susceptible to rapid oxidation. It was not detected by the NanoSIMS technique. However, another pool of phytC, continuously distributed in and protected by the silica structure, was observed. Its N / C ratio (0.27) is in agreement with the presence of amino acids. These findings constitute a basis to further characterize the origin, occlusion process, nature and accessibility of phytC, as a prerequisite for assessing its significance in the global C cycle.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New highlights of phytolith structure and occluded carbon location: 3-D X-ray microscopy and NanoSIMS results

et al. 2015

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“…As Santos et al (2012) stress, this is an important issue as the variations in PhytOC yield between different plant types and even cultivars of the same crop are increasingly being looked to as an approach with potential for enhancing carbon biosequestration in agriculture and forestry (e.g. Sullivan, 2005, 2011;Parr et al, 2009Parr et al, , 2010Jansson et al, 2010;Zuo and Yuan, 2011;Song et al, 2012). However, to suggest solely on the basis of morphology in SEM images published elsewhere that phytolith extraction techniques they did not examine (such as the microwave digestion technique) "seem" unable to extract extraneous carbon is speculative.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comment on "Possible source of ancient carbon in phytolith concentrates from harvested grasses" by G. M. Santos et al. (2012)

Sullivan

Parr

2013

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Santos et al. (2012) address the important issue that 14C dating of the carbon occluded in silica phytoliths (PhytOC) isolated from contemporary plant materials can produce ages that are incompatible, being often several kyr older, with both their known recent origin and the 14C age of the bulk plant material. In their article, Santos et al. (2012) propose that the anomalously old 14C carbon dates of PhytOC from harvested plant materials are based on plants taking up "old" dissolved soil carbon to the plant by roots during nutrient uptake. They then propose that this old soil-derived carbon is subsequently partitioned from the general plant biomass into either the silica phytoliths they produce or as recalcitrant organic matter elsewhere in the plant. We suggest that the full data available for PhytOC 14C dating do not support this hypothesis. Santos et al. (2012) also address the important issue of contamination of PhytOC by general plant biomass material that can occur with procedures that incompletely extract phytoliths. Whilst we agree that such contamination needs to be avoided when examining the nature of PhytOC, we also point out that the converse problem, i.e. removal of PhytOC by over-vigorous extraction procedures, can also have important adverse consequences.

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“…While the importance of phytogenic Si pools for global Si fluxes has been recognized for three decades (e.g., Bartoli, 1983;Meunier et al, 1999;Street-Perrott and Barker, 2008), information on the other BSi pools is comparatively rare (Clarke, 2003). However, in recent publications the potential importance of diatoms, testate amoebae and sponge spicules in soils for Si cycling has been highlighted (Aoki et al, 2007;Creevy et al, 2016;Puppe et al, 2014Puppe et al, , 2015Puppe et al, , 2016.…”

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confidence: 99%

How big is the influence of biogenic silicon pools on short-term changes in water-soluble silicon in soils? Implications from a study of a 10-year-old soil–plant system

et al. 2017

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Abstract. The significance of biogenic silicon (BSi) pools as a key factor for the control of Si fluxes from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems has been recognized for decades. However, while most research has been focused on phytogenic Si pools, knowledge of other BSi pools is still limited. We hypothesized that different BSi pools influence short-term changes in the water-soluble Si fraction in soils to different extents. To test our hypothesis we took plant (Calamagrostis epigejos, Phragmites australis) and soil samples in an artificial catchment in a post-mining landscape in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. We quantified phytogenic (phytoliths), protistic (diatom frustules and testate amoeba shells) and zoogenic (sponge spicules) Si pools as well as Tironextractable and water-soluble Si fractions in soils at the beginning (t 0 ) and after 10 years (t 10 ) of ecosystem development. As expected the results of Tiron extraction showed that there are no consistent changes in the amorphous Si pool at Chicken Creek (Hühnerwasser) as early as after 10 years. In contrast to t 0 we found increased water-soluble Si and BSi pools at t 10 ; thus we concluded that BSi pools are the main driver of short-term changes in water-soluble Si. However, because total BSi represents only small proportions of water-soluble Si at t 0 (< 2 %) and t 10 (2.8-4.3 %) we further concluded that smaller (< 5 µm) and/or fragile phytogenic Si structures have the biggest impact on short-term changes in water-soluble Si. In this context, extracted phytoliths (> 5 µm) only amounted to about 16 % of total Si contents of plant materials of C. epigejos and P. australis at t 10 ; thus about 84 % of small-scale and/or fragile phytogenic Si is not quantified by the used phytolith extraction method. Analyses of small-scale and fragile phytogenic Si structures are urgently needed in future work as they seem to represent the biggest and most reactive Si pool in soils. Thus they are the most important drivers of Si cycling in terrestrial biogeosystems.

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Plant impact on the coupled terrestrial biogeochemical cycles of silicon and carbon: Implications for biogeochemical carbon sequestration

Cited by 128 publications

References 114 publications

New highlights of phytolith structure and occluded carbon location: 3-D X-ray microscopy and NanoSIMS results

New highlights of phytolith structure and occluded carbon location: 3-D X-ray microscopy and NanoSIMS results

Comment on "Possible source of ancient carbon in phytolith concentrates from harvested grasses" by G. M. Santos et al. (2012)

How big is the influence of biogenic silicon pools on short-term changes in water-soluble silicon in soils? Implications from a study of a 10-year-old soil–plant system

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Plant impact on the coupled terrestrial biogeochemical cycles of silicon and carbon: Implications for biogeochemical carbon sequestration

Cited by 128 publications

References 114 publications

New highlights of phytolith structure and occluded carbon location: 3-D X-ray microscopy and NanoSIMS results

New highlights of phytolith structure and occluded carbon location: 3-D X-ray microscopy and NanoSIMS results

Comment on &quot;Possible source of ancient carbon in phytolith concentrates from harvested grasses&quot; by G. M. Santos et al. (2012)

How big is the influence of biogenic silicon pools on short-term changes in water-soluble silicon in soils? Implications from a study of a 10-year-old soil–plant system

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Comment on "Possible source of ancient carbon in phytolith concentrates from harvested grasses" by G. M. Santos et al. (2012)