Structural stability and carbohydrate contents of an ultisol under different management systems

An understanding of the dynamics of soil carbohydrate pools is necessary for assessing the impact of organic residue management in organic matter build up and structural stability in tropical ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to evaluate temporal changes in aggregate stability and cold water-soluble, hot water-soluble and acid-soluble carbohydrate fractions of a sandy soil under different organic residue management practices. The soil is an Nkpologu sandy clay loam (fine-loamy, kaolinitic, isohyperthermic, typic kandiustult) at Nsukka in southeastern Nigeria. In July 1995, it was incorporated with complete fertiliser (N:P:K = 12:12:17 at 480 kg/ha) (F); rice mill wastes (RW, 10 t/ha); RW+F; poultry manure (PM, 10 t/ha) and RW (5 t/ha)+PM (5 t/ha) up to the 0–20 cm depth. A control, tilled up to the 0–20 cm depth, was also included. Surface soil samples (0–20 cm), collected at 3, 6 and 12 months after residue applications were used to measure changes in aggregate stability by mean weight diameter (MWD), total OC and carbohydrate pools.

In all treatments MWD increased whereas the concentrations of acid-soluble, hot water-soluble and cold water-soluble carbohydrates decreased with sampling time. Also irrespective of the type of amendment, the carbohydrate concentrations at each sampling period varied in the order, acid-soluble>hotwater-soluble>coldwater-soluble. Aggregate stability correlated very poorly with all the carbohydrate fractions and OC. The correlation coefficient values were rather low and did not mean much in the physical interpretation of these results. This shows that these carbohydrate pools were not very effective in stabilizing the soil aggregates.     

Cultivation effects on temporal changes of organic carbon and aggregate stability in desert soils of Hexi Corridor region in China

Sustainable agricultural use of cultivated desert soils has become a concern in Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province of China, because loss of topsoil in dust storms has been recently intensified. We chose four desert sites to investigate the effects of cultivation (cropping) on (i) soil organic C and its size fractions and (ii) soil aggregate stability (as a measure of soil erodibility). These parameters are of vital importance for evaluating the sustainability of agricultural practices.

Total organic C as well as organic C fractions in soil (coarse organic C, 0.1–2 mm; young organic C, 0.05–0.1 mm; stable organic C, <0.05 mm) generally increased with the duration of the cultivation period from 0 (virgin soil, non-cultivated) to more than 30 years (p < 0.05). Compared to total organic C in virgin soils (2.3–3.5 g kg⁻¹ soil), significantly greater values were found after 10 to >20 years of cultivation (6.2–7.1 g kg⁻¹ soil). The increase in organic C in desert soils following prolonged cultivation was mainly the consequence of an increase in the coarse organic C. The increase in total organic C in soil was also dependent on clay content [total organic C = 0.96 + 0.249 clay content (%) + 0.05 cultivation year, R² = 0.48, n = 27, p < 0.001]. This indicates that clay protected soil organic C from mineralization, and also contributed to the increase in soil organic C as time of cultivation increased.

There was a significant positive correlation between aggregate stability and total organic C across all field sites. The water stability of aggregates was low (with water-stable aggregate percentage 4% of dry-sieved aggregates of size 1–5 mm). There was no consistent pattern of increase in the soil aggregate stability with time of cultivation at different locations, suggesting that desert soils might remain prone to wind erosion even after 50 years of cultivation. Alternative management options, such as retaining harvested crop residues on soil surface and excluding or minimizing tillage, may permit sustainable agricultural use of desert soils.     

Influence of the addition of organic residues on carbohydrate content and structural stability of some highland soils in Ethiopia

Abstract. When over exploited and coupled with climatic conditions, tropical soils are subject to increased erosion and a loss of soil organic matter. Countermeasures include the incorporation of organic materials such as crop and animal residues. We studied the effect of adding crop residues and manure to soil, at five sites in Ethiopia, on carbohydrate properties, aggregate stability and the C and N distribution within water-stable aggregates. The effects of organic amendments varied between sites. The largest content of carbohydrates was obtained in the control treatment at Holeta, Ginchi (90 kg ha^–1 mustard meal), Jimma (5 t ha^–1 cow dung + 9 t ha^–1 coffee husk), Awassa (forested soil), and Sirinka (soil alley-cropped with Leuceanae ). The aggregate stability of these soils was highly correlated with the OM content but not with carbohydrates. The smaller aggregates (<1.00 mm) accumulated more carbohydrates than the larger (>1.00 mm), thereby suggesting a protecting effect within the finer soil fractions. A protecting role played by humified OM components was also indicated by the C and N distribution as well as the C:N ratios which showed preferential accumulation in small rather than in large aggregates. The isotopic ¹³C-OC values of carbohydrate extracts were generally low, suggesting that OM was from plants with C3 photosynthetic pathways. Soil treatments with maize alone or combined with coffee husks at Jimma decreased the δ¹³C‰ values slightly, revealing that maize contributed a share of the labile OM. Despite the improvement in the soil OM content, neither the carbohydrate content nor the aggregate stability were increased to the level of the forested sites, suggesting that the additions of crop residues and manure were not alone sufficient to restore the soil physical quality.     

严重退化红壤植被恢复后有机质富集和团聚体稳定性

Three types of soils： an eroded barren soil under continuous fallow, an eroded soil transplanted with Lespedeza shrubs （Lespedeza bieolor）, and an eroded soil transplanted with camphor tree （Cinnaraomum camphora） were investigated to quantify organic matter pools and aggregates in reforested soils using physical fractionation techniques and to determine aggregate stability in relation to the enrichment of soil organic carbon （SOC）. Soil organic matter （SOM） was physically fractionalized into free particulate organic matter （fPOM）, occluded particulate organic matter （oPOM）, and mineralassociated organic matter （mOM）. The SOM was concentrated on the surface soil （0 5 cm）, with an average C sequestration rate of 20-25 g C m^-2 year^-1 over 14 years. As compared to the eroded barren land, organic C content of fPOM, oPOM, and mOM fractions of the soil under Lespedeza and under camphor tree increased 12-15, 45-54, and 3.1-3.5 times, respectively. A linear relationship was found between aggregate stability and organic C （r^2 = 0.45, P 〈 0.01）, oPOM （r^2 = 0.34, P 〈 0.05）, and roOM （r^2 = 0.46, P 〈 0.01） of aggregates. The enrichment of organic C improved aggregate stability of the soil under Lespedeza but not that under camphor tree. However, further research is needed on the physical and biological processes involved in the interaction of soil aggregation and SOC sequestration in ecosystem.     

Tillage and crop sequence effects on organic carbon and total nitrogen content in an irrigated Alberta soil

A better understanding of tillage effects on soil organic matter is vital for development of effective soil conservation practices. The objective of this research is to determine the effect of tillage and crop sequence on soil organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) content in an irrigated southern Alberta soil. A field experiment was conducted using a split–split plot design from 1994 to 1998 in Alberta, Canada. There were two crop sequences (Sequence 1: spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.)–spring wheat–annual legume; and Sequence 2: spring wheat–spring wheat–annual legume–sugar beet) and two tillage practices (CT: conventional tillage and MT: minimum tillage). Surface soil under MT had significantly higher OC (30.1 Mg ha⁻¹) content than under CT (28.3 Mg ha⁻¹) after 4 years of treatment. The MT treatment retains crop residue at the soil surface, reduces soil erosion and slows organic matter decomposition, which are key factors in enhancing the soil fertility status of southern Alberta irrigated soils.     

Effects of agricultural management systems on soil organic carbon in aggregates of Ustolls and Usterts

Soil erosion contributes to the removal and redistribution of soil organic C from cultivated fields. The soil organic C content of wind erodible and water unstable aggregates is an important factor in determining the amount of carbon loss occurring in erosion processes. The relative distribution of organic carbon among aggregate size fractions may also affect the response of soils to erosion. Soil organic C distribution is dependent on the chosen management system. The effects of no-till, till, and grassland management systems on organic C content of erodible and non-erodible aggregates were examined in six Ustolls and two Usterts of central South Dakota. Organic C contents were related to dry- and wet-sieving to represent the potential influence of wind and water erosion on C loss in the absence of vegetative cover. Loss of aggregate stability in cultivated soils was associated with organic C loss. Most structural characteristics developed under tilled systems persisted after 6–16 years of no-till. Changes in distribution of organic C due to management systems were most evident in Ustolls where cultivation resulted in net soil C losses. Soil organic C was not significantly increased by the no-tillage practices applied in this on-farm study (in Ustolls 49 Mg ha⁻¹ in no-till versus 41 Mg ha⁻¹ in till, for 0–0.20 m depth). Soil properties of Usterts were less affected by land use and management practices due to the high shrink swell action and self-mixing. In both soil orders the greater concentration of organic C in the wind erodible (<1 mm) dry aggregate size fraction implies a high potential for organic C loss by erosion in addition to organic C loss from mineralization after tillage. Grassland when compared to cultivated topsoil showed the largest amounts of organic carbon stored and the minimal potential for erosion loss of soil organic C.     

Interactions between soil organic matter status, cropping history, method of quantification and sample pretreatment and their effects on measured aggregate stability

 The effects of sample pretreatment (field-moist, air-dried or tension rewetted) on aggregate stability measured by wet sieving or turbidimetry were compared for a group of soil samples ranging in organic C content from 20 to 40 g C kg^–1. Concentrations of total N, total and hot-water-extractable carbohydrate and microbial biomass C were linearly related to those of organic C. Aggregate stability measured by wet sieving using air-dried or field-moist samples and that measured by turbidimetry, regardless of sample pretreatment, increased curvilinearly with increasing soil organic C content. However, when tension-rewetted samples were used for wet sieving, aggregate stability was essentially unaffected by soil organic C content. Measurements of aggregate stability (apart from wet sieving using rewetted soils) were closely correlated with one another and with organic C, total and extractable carbohydrate and microbial biomass C content of the soils. The short-term effects of aggregate stability were also studied. Soils from under long-term arable management and those under long-term arable followed by 1 or 3 years under pasture had similar organic C contents, but aggregate stability measured by turbidimetry and by wet sieving using air-dried or field-moist samples increased with increasing years under pasture. Light fraction C, microbial biomass and hot-water-extractable carbohydrate concentrations also increased. It was concluded that both total and labile soil organic C content are important in relation to water-stable aggregation and that the use of tension-rewetted samples to measure stability by wet sieving is unsatisfactory since little separation of values is achieved. Received: 6 January 1999     

Amelioration of a hardsetting Alfisol through deep mouldboard ploughing, gypsum application and double cropping. I. Soil physical and chemical properties

Contrasting soil management techniques were applied to a hardsetting red-brown earth (Alfisol) used for flood-irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum) production at Trangie, N.S.W., Australia. The individual and combined effects of deep mouldboard ploughing to a depth of 0.45 m, gypsum application (5 t ha⁻¹) and double cropping upon aggregate stability, bulk density, porosity, cone index and the non-limiting water range were evaluated. Dispersion and slaking of the surface soil were unaffected by the treatments when measured at the end of the second year of the experiment. Approximately 60% of the soil mass in the 0–0.15 m layer slaked on wetting, whereas less than 1% of the soil dispersed. Organic carbon (OC) levels of the surface soil were not affected by double cropping or gypsum application, but were reduced by mouldboard ploughing from 0.9% to 0.6% OC. The relationship between OC and macroaggregate (more than 250 μm) stability indicated that large increases in OC beyond 0.7% OC were required for relatively small increases in aggregate stability. Mouldboard ploughing increased clay content of the upper 0.15 m of the soil from 22% to 27%. This was associated with an increase in the frequency and depth of cracking which, however, diminished over time. The non-limiting water range (NLWR) was expanded in the uppermost 0.1 m by gypsum application from 0.15–0.30 to 0.09–0.28 m³ m⁻³. Mouldboard ploughing expanded the NLWR at a depth of 0.2 m. Penetrometer resistance, on average, exceeded the critical value for wheat root growth at a water content of 0.15 m³ m⁻³, which is substantially higher than the wilting point (0.09 m³ m⁻³). Excessive resistance to penetration as opposed to inadequate aeration or water availability is the main agronomic impediment in these soils, at least in the initial stages of crop development. Penetration resistance within the 0.05–0.3 m layer was reduced during a drying cycle in the order: mouldboard ploughing>gypsum>double cropping. The reduced penetration resistance associated with mouldboard ploughing was due to higher water content to a depth of 0.2 m and reduced bulk density below this depth.     

Stability of soil aggregates in relation to organic constituents and soil water content

The effects of soil organic matter content, soil water content and duration of wet-sieving on aggregate stability of soils with contrasting cropping histories were investigated. Long-term pasture samples had a greater aggregate stability than long-term arable samples. However, air-drying aggregates before wet-sieving increased the aggregate stability of long-term pasture samples, but decreased that of long-term arable samples. With increasing duration of wet-sieving, the proportion of water-stable aggregates declined until a near-constant value was reached for each sample. Thus, within a sample there are aggregates possessing a wide range of stabilities; with increasing time under arable cropping there is an increase in the proportion of unstable aggregates present, and the measured aggregate stability, therefore, declines. Unstable aggregates (defined as those dispersed after wet-sieving for 1 min) generally had lower organic matter content than stable ones (those still intact after sieving for 15 min). The aggregate stability of a regrassed site (13 years of arable plus 2 years of pasture) was markedly higher than that of a corresponding site from 15 years of arable cropping. Nonetheless, levels of organic matter (organic C, total N and hydrolysable carbohydrate) were almost identical at the two sites. However, aggregates from the regrassed site did have a higher biomass C and water-extractable carbohydrate content than those from the 15-year arable site. For a group of soils with varying cropping histories, aggregate stability was significantly more closely correlated with hot water-extractable carbohydrate content than with organic C or hydrolysable carbohydrate content. It is suggested that the hot water-extractable carbohydrate fraction may represent a pool of carbohydrate involved in the formation of stable aggregates.     

Influence of land use on the characteristics of humic substances in some tropical soils of Nigeria

In highly weathered tropical conditions, soil organic matter is important for soil quality and productivity. We evaluated the effects of deforestation and subsequent arable cropping on the qualitative and quantitative transformation of the humic pool of the soil at three locations in Nigeria. Cultivation reduced the humic pool in the order: acetone‐soluble hydrophobic fraction (HE) > humic acid (HA) > humin (HU) > fulvic acid (FA), but not to the same degree at all three sites. The C and N contents, as well as the C/N ratios of humic extracts, were large and not substantially influenced by land use. The δ¹³C values of the humic extracts were invariably more negative in forested soils thereby showing a dilution of δ¹³C signature with cultivation from C3 to C4 plants. The δ¹³C values of apolar HE fractions were generally more negative, indicating a reduced sensitivity compared with other humic fractions to turnover of crop residues. The contents of hydrophobic constituents (alkyl and aromatic C), as revealed by cross‐polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy, in HA, FA and HU were generally < 50%, with the exception of larger hydrophobicity in HU in the forested soil at Nsukka and HA in that at Umudike. The HE fraction contained significantly more apolar constituents, and consequently had a larger intrinsic hydrophobicity than the other humic fractions. The larger reduction of apolar humic constituents than of the less hydrophobic humic fractions, when these soils were deforested for cultivation, indicates that at those sites the stability of accumulated organic matter is to be ascribed mainly to the selective preservation of hydrophobic compounds.     

Effects of Alfalfa on Aggregate Stability,Aggregate Preserved‐C and Nutrients in Region Mountain Agricultural Soils 1 Year After its Planting

In mountain areas, water erosion plays an important role on soil structure and can strongly affect its functions. Suitable management practices, namely choice of crops, may be able to improve aggregate stability and reduce soil loss by surface runoff. To study the effects of cover crops on aggregation in mountain soils, we investigated a soil planted with wheat (site C) compared with two soils under alfalfa (sites A and B). All investigated soils were Typic Ustorthents. The soil aggregates were isolated by a physical‐functional procedure defined on the basis of aggregate resistance against specific breakdown mechanisms such as slaking and water abrasion. One year after alfalfa plantation, its effect on wet aggregate stability and the amount of organic carbon (OC) and nutrients retained by the isolated aggregates were measured. In the less degraded soils (site B), organic matter decomposition was stimulated, and after 1 year, the total OC (TOC) and TOC/N declined. Consequently, a reduction in aggregate stability and ability to preserve elements occurred, as shown by the decrease of wet aggregate stability indexes and total nutrients (e.g. N, P and K) retained by stable aggregates. In more degraded soil (site A), alfalfa generally positively affected the investigated properties. The effect of alfalfa in the studied crop rotation depends on the degree of land degradation due to water erosion. As regards the investigated breakdown mechanisms, our data showed that the aggregate resistance to water abrasion was related to TOC, while the resistance against fast wetting breakdown is correlated to the microbial biomass. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seasonal changes in surface aggregate stability under different tillage and crops

Temporal changes in the surface aggregate stability of an Oxic Paleustalf under different tillage practices (direct drilled/stubble retained versus conventional cultivated/stubble burnt) and under different crops (wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) versus lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.)) were monitored at a 10-year-old rotation site in Wagga Wagga, N.S.W., Australia.

Seasonal fluctuations in aggregate stability were observed under all treatments and were greater than the differences detected between the different tillage and cropping treatments. The seasonal variation was significantly related to the soil water content at the time of sampling and the lowest stability occurred during the autumn/winter period. Cropping under direct drilling and stubble retention resulted in significantly higher stability and lower seasonal fluctuations in stability than under conventional tillage and stubble burning. Despite the seasonal fluctuation, water stability over the season of both of the macroaggregate (more than 250 μm) and microaggregate (less than 50 μm) fractions increased significantly.

While the mean (temporal) stability of the different treatments was significantly related to the mean organic carbon content (r = 0.91) and polysaccharide content, the temporal changes were not related to the soil organic carbon content nor the living root length density.

Lupin had a more beneficial effect on promoting macroaggregate stability than wheat under the conventional tillage/stubble burnt treatment but no significant difference was found under the direct drilled/stubble retained treatment.     

庐山不同森林植被对土壤团聚体及其有机碳分布的影响

研究不同粒径团聚体有机碳含量与土壤团聚体分布的关系,对于认识森林土壤结构形成和碳氮稳定机制有一定的科学意义。以庐山6种森林植被类型土壤为研究对象,系统研究了不同森林植被对土壤团聚体及其有机碳分布的影响,结果表明:（1）不同土层的森林植被类型对粒径在> 5 mm和0.25～0.5 mm范围内的土壤团聚体含量影响较明显,其中黄山松林下土壤团聚体含量最高;（2）6种森林植被在不同的土层下,水稳性团聚体百分含量（R_0.25%）和平均重量直径（MWD）随着土层深度的增加而逐渐减小,其土壤团聚体的稳定性也随之减弱,在0—20 cm土层下的土壤团聚体较稳定,黄山松林、马尾松林和玉山竹林下MWD值较大,在20—40,40—60 cm土层差异则不明显;（3）在同一土层下黄山松林的土壤团聚体有机碳含量最大,常绿阔叶林最小,马尾松林、玉山竹林和黄山松林的土壤团聚体有机碳变化较明显,而其他3种差异不显著。     

Organic‐carbon fractions in an agricultural topsoil assessed by the determination of the soil mineral surface area

According to recent conceptual models, the organic carbon (OC) of soils can be divided into OC fractions of increasing stability from labile free OC to resistant OC associated with the soil mineral phase. In this study, we present a method for quantifying two OC fractions based on soil aggregate–size fractionation and the N₂ gas–adsorption method. For this purpose, we analyzed soil material of the plow layer of a Haplic Chernozem subjected to different fertilizer treatments (no fertilizer, mineral fertilizer, mineral and organic fertilizer). The total organic‐C concentration (TOC) and the clay content of the different size fractions were determined as well as the specific surface area (SSA_mineral) and the sample pore volume after thermal oxidation (OC‐free). The TOC of the different soil‐aggregate fractions was linearly related to SSA_mineral. Clay‐associated OC and nonassociated OC fractions of the different soil samples were quantified using two methods based on the OC surface loading at the clay fraction. The application of organic fertilizer increased the amount of nonassociated OC but hardly affected the concentration of clay‐associated OC. This finding agrees with previous studies on C dynamics in soils and indicates a finite capacity of soil materials to sequester OC. Even without any addition of organic fertilizer, the mineral phase of the analyzed soil material appears to be C‐saturated.     

Stability and transportability of biosolid colloids through undisturbed soil monoliths

This study evaluated the stability of water-suspended biosolid colloids fractionated from municipal and agricultural wastes and their transportability through undisturbed soil monoliths. The aim of the study was to assess potential risks posed by dispersed biosolid colloid particles as carriers of contaminants associated with organic waste amendments applied to soils. All biosolid colloids showed remarkable stability over a wide range of pH conditions, with 50–90% remaining in suspension after 24 h. Lime-stabilized biosolid colloids (LSB) were more stable than poultry manure (PMB) and aerobically digested (ADB) biosolid colloids, with pH and organic matter (OM) content being the dominant factors influencing colloid stability. However, increased colloid stability did not always result in greater transportability. In spite of their higher overall stability, LSB colloids showed low transportability potential through undisturbed soil monoliths averaging < 0.1C/C₀, probably due to carbonate dissolution and increased ionic interaction with the soil matrix. The ADB and PMB colloids, with the highest OM content, exhibited increased mobility, particularly through soils with significant macroporosity. Breakthrough curves were mostly irregular, suggesting considerable macropore flow and increased interaction with the soil matrix. Eluent pH and EC fluctuations appeared to mainly affect LSB colloid transport, while the mobility of the remaining biosolid colloids was maintained over a wide range of ionic conditions. The findings of this study suggest that some biosolid colloids derived from soil-applied agricultural or municipal wastes may exhibit considerable mobility through soil macropores with potential to migrate to great distances in subsoil environments. Considering the high surface charge and electronegativity of these colloids, they may be a significant vector for hydrophobic contaminant transport and pollution of groundwater resources.     

The influence of organic matter on aggregate stability in some British soils

The stability of aggregates from 26 soils selected from agricultural areas was measured by wet-sieving and the results correlated with sand, silt, clay, nitrogen, organic matter and iron contents and with cation exchange capacity. Highly significant correlations were obtained for the relationships between aggregate stability and organic matter and some properties associated with it. No other soil constituent investigated had a significant relationship with aggregate stability, indicating that organic matter is mainly responsible for the stabilization of aggregates in these soils. The relationships between aggregate stability, and organic matter content plus some of its component fractions were examined in more detail using 120 soils. Total organic matter, total carbohydrate and humic material extracted by various reagents each gave highly or very highly significant correlations with aggregate stability. However, whilst it was not possible to distinguish whether any one organic component was more important than another, the results indicate that soil organic matter levels can be used diagnostically to identify soils which may show problems of structural instability.     

Carbohydrate composition in relation to structural stability, compactibility and plasticity of two soils in a long-term experiment

The effects of tillage on soil organic carbon content, carbohydrate content, monosaccharide composition, aggregate stability, compactibility and plasticity were investigated in a field experiment on a gleysol and on a cambisol under winter barley in South-East Scotland. Two long-term treatments (direct drilling and conventional mouldboard ploughing for 22 years) were compared with short-term direct drilling and broadcast sowing plus rotavation for 5 years. Carbohydrate released sequentially to cold water, hot water, 1.0 M HCl and 0.5 M NaOH was determined after hydrolysis as reducing sugar equivalent to glucose in both fresh and air-dried samples. All other measurements were made on dry soils only. About 3% of the soluble carbohydrate was extracted by cold water, 10% by hot water, 12% by HCl and 75% by NaOH from both the dry and fresh soils. The total reducing sugars of the fractions were proportional to the total organic carbon determined by dichromate oxidation or C analysis. Organic carbon and carbohydrates were concentrated near the surface of the direct drilled soil, but were more uniformly distributed with depth in the ploughed soil. The surface soil under direct drilling was more stable, less compactible and had greater plasticity limits than under ploughing. However, particle size distributions were unaffected by tillage so that differences in soil properties were attributed to differences in the quantity and quality of organic matter. Differences in compactibility, structural stability and plasticity limits between depths and tillage treatments correlated with total carbon and with total carbohydrates. The hot water extractable carbohydrate fraction correlated best with aggregate stability and the NaOH fraction correlated best with compactibility and plastic limit. Both fractions were greatest in the long-term direct drilled soil. The hot water fraction had a galactose plus mannose over arabinose plus xylose ratio of 1.0–1.6 in comparison to 0.4–0.7 in the NaOH fraction indicating that the microbial contribution within the hot water-soluble fraction was the greater. The hot-water fraction was likely to contain more exocellular microbial polysaccharides involved in the stabilizing of soil aggregates. The hot-water and NaOH carbohydrate fractions may be good indicators of soil organic matter quality relevant to the preservation of good soil physical conditions.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Distribution of carbon,nitrogen, carbohydrate and calcium carbonate in aggregates of histosols in Shahrekord,Iran

Soil organic matter and its components play a key role in the stabilization of soil aggregates. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), hot-water extractable (HWE) and dilute acid extractable (DAE) carbohydrates and CaCO₃ in water-stable aggregates in histosols of Shahrekord, Iran. Additionally, correlations between aggregate stability (mean weight diameter (MWD) values) and mentioned characters were also examined. Results showed that at all depths in all 18 profiles, larger aggregates contained more OC, TN and carbohydrate content than the smaller aggregates, whilst CaCO₃ had the opposite trend. OC, TN and carbohydrate fractions followed a consistent similar trend by aggregate size. The positive correlation between OC and TN within the aggregates was considerable. OC, TN, carbohydrate fractions and MWD significantly (P < 0.01) decreased with depth. Average concentration of CaCO₃ was almost the same in aggregates <4 mm at all depths. We observed very low values of ratios HWE:OC and DAE:OC in the study site. OC, TN and carbohydrate fractions each gave highly or very highly significant correlations with aggregate stability. We obtained significant, but weak negative correlation of CaCO₃ with aggregate stability (P = 0.05; r = ?0.23), implying that CaCO₃ is a disaggregating agent in these histosols.     

Investigating the effects of organic and conventional management on soil aggregate stability using X-ray computed tomography

Soil aggregate stability is an important measure for assessing soil structural quality. Here we compare stable and unstable soil aggregates from organically and conventionally managed soils that have similar organic matter contents to determine the role of management in aggregate stability. Aggregate stability was determined by slaking, which proved to be an accurate estimator of the rate of aggregate turnover. The results indicate that, in soil aggregates released by slaking, the organic matter is held in aggregates > 0.3 mm diameter. A relatively short aggregate turnover rate will prohibit the production of stable micro-aggregates within macro-aggregates and thus gradually reduce aggregate stability, as was observed in soils under conventional management. Data obtained by X-ray μCT suggested that intra-aggregate porosity did not significantly affect stability. We observed cracks and elongated pores connected to the surface of stable soil aggregates that can provide an escape route for entrapped air, thus reducing pressure build-up and potentially reducing slaking. Our results show that organic management has the potential to develop more stable aggregates compared with conventionally managed soils for the soil type studied. Thus, conventional soils require particular attention to management practices that increase the rate of aggregate turnover in order to reduce the production of unstable aggregates that can contribute to crusting, erosion and runoff.     

Aggregate stability in organically and conventionally farmed soils

A range of factors that influence aggregate stability and soil erodibility were analysed for soils sampled from land managed under contrasting agricultural methods. These included: an organic farm; a conventional farm that incorporated organic fertilizers; a conventional farm that only used inorganic fertilizers; and a non-cultivated control site. The stability of aggregates that compose the bulk soil structure (macroaggregates), and aggregates that were mobilized from the soil by simulated rainfall and surface runoff (microaggregates), were evaluated in terms of the soil fragmentation fractal dimension, organic carbon content and ATP (adenosine 5'-triphosphate; a signature of live biomass) concentration. The results were used to interpret the existing physical condition of the soils, the (microbial) processes that contribute to that physical structure, and how both pedogenic processes and existing soil quality are influenced by agricultural methods. The soils sampled for this study were demonstrated to be multi-fractal in nature: soils with greater bulk density were composed of more stable macro-aggregates, which, in turn, fragmented into larger, more stable micro-aggregates, rendering the entire soil structure less erodible. Soil erodibility and sustainable soil management should therefore be approached at multiple scales. The primary control on both macro- and micro-aggregate stability was determined to be the organic matter input to the soil, as represented by measurements of organic carbon and ATP. Organic content was greatest for the non-cultivated soil, which reflects the degradation of organic reserves in cultivated soils. For cultivated soils, it was not possible to differentiate aggregate stability for soils managed under organic or conventional (i.e. using biological and inorganic fertilizers) farming practices, but aggregates of soils that only received artificial fertilizers consistently exhibited less stability.