THE EFFECT OF SOIL FACTORS ON THE EXTRACTION OF SOIL ORGANIC MATTER BY ANHYDROUS FORMIC ACID

Twenty-five soils, having a wide range of organic matter contents, were extracted with anhydrous formic acid containing 10 per cent acetylacetone, and the extracted material precipitated in two fractions with diisopropyl ether. Precipitates comprised from 5.1 to 51.1 per cent of the original soil organic matter, the proportion extracted tending to be greatest from acid soils of fairly high organic matter content and least from neutral or slightly alkaline soils of low organic matter content. Soil clay content appeared to have no effect on the efficiency of organic matter extraction, but was the most important soil factor governing the proportion of the total soil-N extracted. Amounts of N extracted ranged from 10.2 to 57.8 per cent of the original soil N content, extraction efficiency being greatest with soils of low clay content and low pH. There was evidence to suggest that soil clay afforded some protection to N compounds against extraction. The results indicate that formic acid/acetylacetone is most effective with soils in which much of the organic matter is only partly humified.     

THE EFFECT OF SOIL COMPOSITION AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON THE SHRINKAGE OF SOME CLAYEY BRITISH SOILS

The shrinkage potential of natural clods from a variety of clayey soils was measured and related to their physical, chemical and mineralogical properties. It is shown that the most important factors affecting shrinkage are initial bulk density, clay content, organic carbon content and cation exchange capacity of the peroxidised clay, and mica-smectite content on a whole soil basis. Multiple regression equations involving the initial bulk density, clay content, organic carbon and cation exchange capacity accounted for 87 and 82 per cent of the variation in total shrinkage of topsoils and subsoils respectively. Because of restrictions on shrinkage imposed by factors such as climate, crops, ground-water and moisture release characteristics of soils, soils with a high shrinkage potential may not behave very differently to soils with a much lower potential. On these grounds it is concluded that the shrinkage criteria used in US Taxonomy are not applicable in Britain.     

THE BASIC FACTORS WHICH DETERMINE INHERENT SOIL FERTILITY IN UGANDA

Soil samples collected from approximately 1700 fertilizer trials carried out around 62 centres in Uganda were analysed. Mean levels of total N. organic P and cation exchange capacity at the 60 centres which had non-volcanic soils were very closely related to mean organic matter levels and largely explained the strong correlation of indices of available N, P and base status with organic matter. The indices of available P and base status were additionally related to pH and the indices of available N and P were further negatively correlated with sunshine hours. Soil organic matter itself was closely related to the content of clay, silt and free Fe. with which it is presumed it forms a stable complex, whilst soil pH decreased with rainfall in excess of evaporation. Thus soil texture, rainfall and hours of sunshine are the basic factors which largely determine inherent soil fertility in Uganda.     

THE INFLUENCE OF TEXTURE ON THE MOISTURE CHARACTERISTICS OF SOILS

A quantitative assessment was made of the effect of the proportion of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter in twenty-six soils on the available-water capacities (AWC) of the soils. The AWC of a soil was negatively correlated with percentage coarse sand and positively correlated with the percentages of International fine sand (or American silt) and organic C. Using a regression equation, the AWC's of the soils were estimated from mechanical analysis data with a mean accuracy of ± 16 per cent of the mean AWC.     

Factors controlling potentially mineralizable and recalcitrant soil organic matter in humid Asia

To understand the dynamics of soil organic matter in humid regions in Asia, several soil and meteorological properties were tested to estimate the amounts of potentially mineralizable organic carbon (PMC) and nitrogen (PMN) as well as recalcitrant organic carbon (ROC) and nitrogen (RON). Eighty-nine surface soil samples were collected in Thailand, Indonesia and Japan from cropland and forest ecosystems. The fresh soils were incubated for 133 days under constant temperature and moisture conditions, and CO₂ emissions and mineral N from the soils were monitored. The PMC and PMN were determined by fitting models to the cumulative curves of the CO₂ and mineral N. The ROC and RON were determined by subtracting PMC and PMN from total C and total N, respectively. The soil properties tested included soil pH, sand, silt and clay contents, amounts of the acid oxalate soluble Si, Al and Fe, carbon and nitrogen contents of the light fraction ([LF] < 1.6 g cm⁻³) and heavy fraction (HF), and the C/N ratio of the LF and HF. The meteorological properties considered were mean annual temperature and precipitation. Using multiple regression analysis and a stepwise method, PMC and PMN was well estimated by the carbon and nitrogen content of LF (LFC and LFN) and the clay content. This suggests the partially labile nature of clay-associating organic matter as well as LFC and LFN. The PMC and PMN were well estimated by LFC and LFN in forest soils and clay contents in cropland soils. Major factors controlling ROC and RON were light fraction-organic matter, amorphous materials and clay content, suggesting the importance of parent materials in estimating the amount of recalcitrant organic matter in humid Asia.     

PROCESSES OF HUMUS FORMATION AND TRANSFORMATION IN SOILS OF THE CANADIAN GREAT PLAINS

A study of the A horizons of cultivated soils from Saskatchewan, Canada showed that the organic carbon contents were in the sequence semi-arid Dark Brown soils (1.7 per cent), < Black soils (2.55–2.8 per cent), < sub-humid Dark Gray soils (4.5 per cent). The relative proportions of humic acids and the ratios of humic acid: fulvic acid increased in a similar sequence. There were accompanying increases in extinction values at 280 nm, and in levels of nonhydrolyzable nitrogen suggesting more extensive polycondensation of humic materials. These observations are discussed in terms of a working hypothesis for humus formation and transformations, that gives particular emphasis to the soil environment and to interactions between organic and inorganic components.     

SULPHUR, CARBON, AND NITROGEN CONTENTS OF ORGANIC FRACTIONS FROM ACETYLACETONE EXTRACTS OF SOILS

Ultrasonic dispersion of acid-pretreated soils in aqueous acetylacetone at pH 8, and at a solvent: soil ratio of about 45: I, extracted from 61 to 97 per cent of the organic sulphur from five Scottish soils. Narrowing the ratio to about 9:1 reduced the proportion extracted but was more convenient for the subsequent isolation of the organic components. Gel permeation chromatography of the extracts yielded materials containing from 14 to 60 per cent of the soil organic sulphur. Most of the soils gave four distinct fractions which contained from 21 to 38 per cent carbon, 0.2 to 2.1 per cent nitrogen, and 0.1 to 0.8 per cent sulphur. There was no consistent similarity between corresponding fractions of the various soils. Considerable amounts of iron and aluminium were extracted, presumably incorporated in organic complexes. Since they were obtained under very mild conditions, the fractions should provide useful starting materials for qualitative investigations on the nature of soil organic sulphur.     

有机质对红壤烤烟氮素累积分配特征的影响

利用15N示踪技术,研究了有机质含量对红壤烤烟氮累积分配特征的影响。结果表明,随着土壤有机质含量增加,烤烟氮素累积时期延长,且累积量增加。烤烟后期吸收的氮素,在低有机质含量红壤上来自土壤供氮,中有机质含量来自肥料供氮,高有机质含量来自肥料供氮与土壤供氮。烤烟吸收总氮量中29.07%~40.26%来自肥料供氮,59.74% ~70.93%来自土壤供氮,表明烤烟吸收氮素大部分来自土壤供氮。氮素在烟株不同部位分配量表现为:烟叶烟茎烟根;烟叶各部位中的分配量为:在低有机质含量的红壤,下、中、上3个部位分配量相等,中有机质含量和高有机质含量上则为上部叶中部叶下部叶。有机质含量对下部叶氮素分配量影响不大,其它部位均表现为有机质含量越高,氮素分配量越大。烤烟不同部位中肥料氮比例表现为下部叶中部叶烟根烟茎上部叶,土壤氮比例表现为上部叶烟茎烟根中部叶下部叶;并且土壤有机含量越高,各部位中土壤氮的比例越高,肥料氮的比例越低,上部叶受土壤供氮影响最大。红壤上烤烟氮肥利用率在25.42%~30.61%之间,低有机质含量土壤氮肥利用率较低,中、高有机质含量利用率相对较高。在施肥过程中,低有机质红壤上应在N 90 kg/hm2基础上适当增加氮肥施用量,中等有机质含量上保持不变,高有机质含量上应适当降低氮肥用量。     

Soil organic matter, effects on soils and crops

Abstract. Manurial treatments and cropping history have remained unchanged for many years in classical and long-term experiments at Rothamsted and Woburn, in some cases for more than 100 years. Soil samples taken periodically have been analysed to follow changes in organic carbon content with time and treatment. Data presented here clearly show effects of carbon input and soil texture on equilibrium organic matter content.
Until recently increasing amounts of soil organic matter had little effect on yields of arable crops especially if fertilizer nitrogen dressings were chosen correctly. However the yield potential of many crops has increased and various agronomic inputs have become available to achieve that potential. Yields of many crops are now larger on soils with extra organic matter both on the sandy loam at Woburn and the silty clay loam at Rothamsted. Some of the effect appears to be related to extra water holding capacity, some to availability of nitrogen in ways which cannot be mimicked by dressings of fertilizer N, and some to improved soil physical properties. Responses to fertilizer N have been larger on soils with more organic matter.     

THE REACTION OF FLUORIDE WITH SOILS AND SOIL MINERALS

The reaction of sodium fluoride solution with soils and soil minerals at constant pH has been assessed as a possible single-value characteristic in the classification of soils, particularly those containing significant amounts of poorly ordered inorganic material. A suitable method involves reaction of the soil or clay at 25°C with 0·85 M sodium fluoride at pH 6·8, the amount of OH^? released after 25 min being taken as the single-value characteristic. There was a statistically significant correlation between the amount of OH^? released and the amount of alumina extracted with cold 5 per cent sodium carbonate solution from both freely drained and poorly drained Scottish soils. The multiple correlation coefficients were improved for freely drained soils by including the dithionite-extracted ferric oxide and the silica soluble in 5 per cent sodium carbonate solution. The procedure is not suitable for surface soils, because of interference by organic matter, or for carbonate-containing soils unless carbonate is removed.     

The influence of clay on the rate of decay of amino acid metabolites synthesized in soils during decomposition of cellulose

¹⁴C-labelled cellulose was added to seven different soils containing silt + clay (particles < 0.02 mm) in amounts which varied from 8 to 75 per cent. The cellulose was allowed to decompose, and the amounts of labelled C transformed into metabolites hydrolyzable into amino acids were determined. The amounts of labelled amino acid C in the soils were proportional to their content of silt + clay. After 30 days of incubation labelled amino acid C remaining in the soil with the lowest content of silt + clay constituted 6 per cent of the carbon added in cellulose, as compared with 18 per cent in the soil with the highest content of silt + clay. These values had decreased to 5 and 13 per cent respectively after 2 years of incubation. The order between the soils in the content of labelled amino acid C established during the first month of incubation, was thus roughly maintained throughout the period of incubation. The biological half-life of the labelled C in amino acids varied in the seven soils during the last year of incubation from 3 to 8 years. The variation was, however, not related to the amount of silt + clay.n the soils had been incubated with the labelled material for 2 years, samples of the soils were exposed to “stress” treatments: air drying-rewetting; increased biological activity caused by addition of glucose, and exposure to chloroform vapour. The treatments resulted in an evolution of labelled C in CO, which was 5–10 times larger than the evolution from untreated samples. The increase in the CO₂ evolution caused by the treatments in the different soils was, however, not related to the amount of silt + clay, and a high content of this material did not protect organic material against the effect of the treatments.is concluded that the silt + clay fraction ensures stabilization of amino acid metabolites produced during the period of intense biological activity that follows the addition of decomposable, energy rich material to the soil. The amount of amino acid metabolites stabilized increased with increasing concentration of silt + clay, but the rate of decay of the amino acid material during later stages was largely independent of the concentration of silt + clay.     

BASALTIC SOILS OF SOUTH-WEST ICELAND. II

Data for mechanical and chemical analyses are presented with tabulated mean and median values based on fifty-five freely drained and ten poorly drained soils. The soils are relatively coarsed textured. The sand content of the mineral fraction is about 70 per cent (mean value) for freely drained and about 45 per cent (mean value) for poorly drained soils. Organic C is generally high in freely drained soils but relatively low in poorly drained soils, because of accumulating aeolian matter in the latter group, mean values are 8.2 in freely drained and 16.5 per cent in poorly drained soils. The C/N ratio is about 15 for each soil group. The cation exchange properties including pH seem to be dominated by organic matter, which may contribute to the total CEC of the soils about 165–300 me/100 g C. CEC of soils is usually 40–50 me/100 g. For some selected soils CEC of the separated mineral fractions was confirmed experimentally through ammonia retention. The pH level, especially of the freely drained soils, is relatively high (mostly 5.4–6.3) in spite of low degree of base saturation (mostly 10–30 per cent), a characteristic probably derived from the parent material. A highly significant correlation exists between pH and organic C. Proportionally exchangeable Ca seems low, while Mg and Na may be abundant. In some soils exchangeable Mg may exceed Ca.     

ADSORPTION OF HERBICIDE-DERIVED p-CHLOROANILINE RESIDUES IN SOILS: A PREDICTIVE EQUATION

Relationships between the adsorption of p-chloroaniline and the original adsorbate concentration were investigated for five soils ranging in organic matter content from 1.7 to 8.1 per cent and in clay content from 0.5 to 21 per cent. Adsorption data were analyzed applying the linear form of the Freundlich equation. To evaluate the general relationship between adsorption of p-chloroaniline by soils and the solution concentration (C₀), values of partition coefficient (Kp), reflecting the magnitude of distribution of chemical at equilibrium between soil colloids and solution were calculated. The experiments showed that the regression parameters were significantly correlated with the soil organic matter content. A comparison of the experimental results obtained with other soils and the calculated values gave satisfactory agreement.     

Patterns of Organic Matter Accumulation in Soils of the Semiarid Argentinian Pampas

A-horizons of 48 Haplic Phaeozems and Kastanozems in plain sites of the Semiarid Argentinian Pampas under three contrasting management systems (virgin bushland, permanent pasture and continuous agriculture) were studied. Morphological characteristics, organic carbon and total nitrogen levels and E4:E6 ratios were determined on the assumption that both quantity and quality of organic matter should be related to soil texture of parent materials in this region since other soil forming factors are uniform. The more intensive land use produced an averaged decrease of 7 cm in A-horizon thickness and degradation of soil structure, but little changes in color and properties of boundaries to AC horizons. In virgin soils organic carbon and nitrogen contents correlate with silt + clay fractions (r = 0,92 and 0,99, respectively), while E4:E6-ratios are related to clay contents (r = ?0.69*) confirming the strong influence of soil texture. Agricultural-management and pasture use of soils lead to dispersion of these correlations probably because of differential influence of varying intensities of land use within each management system. Soils under continuous agriculture show lower organic carbon contents than virgin soils only at clay + silt > 40%. Eragrostis curvula-pastures seems to be more effective in restoring organic matter and nitrogen levels in sandy but not in loamy soils with respect to virgin soils. This may be due to a better efficiency of E. curvula-roots in coarse than in fine textured soils to produce humificable residues than the autochthonous grass species.     

POLYCARBOXVLIC ACIDS EXTRACTED BY WATER AND BY ALKALI FROM AGRICULATURAL TOP SOILS OF DIFFERENT DRAINAGE STATUS

Water-ex tractable poly carboxy lie acids and alkali-extractable humic acids and fulvic acids, were isolated from agricultural top-soils of two soil associations. Samples from four soil series from each association were selected with drainage status varying from well-drained to very poorly-drained. The amounts of atkali-extractable humic acid and water-ex tractable polycarboxylic acids were highest in the very poorly-drained soils whilst the amounts of alkali-extractable fulvic acid were generally similar in all the soils, although the fulvic acid accounted for a lower proportion of the total organic matter in the poorly-drained soils. Oxalate-extractable aluminium decreased with increased drainage impedance, whilst no such trend was observed for oxalate-extractable iron. It is suggested that the fulvic acid-like polycarboxylic acids are removed from the soil solution by adsorption onto sesquioxides; so that the lower content of aluminium oxides in the very poorly-drained soils results in depressed levels of fulvic acid and increased concentrations of water-extractable polycarboxylic acids.     

Mean residence time of soil organic matter associated with kaolinite and smectite

To gain insight into the effect of clay mineralogy on the turnover of organic matter, we analysed the ¹⁴C activity of soil organic matter associated with clay in soils dominated by kaolinite and smectite in natural savanna systems in seven countries. Assuming that carbon inputs and outputs are in equilibrium in such soils, we took the ¹⁴C age as mean residence time of the organic matter. We corrected the ¹⁴C activity for the Suess effect, Bomb effect and difference between date of sampling and date of ¹⁴C measurement. Organic matter associated with kaolinite turned over fast (360 years on average). Organic matter associated with smectite turned over relatively slowly, with an average mean residence time for the whole clay-size fraction of 1100 years. Multiple linear regression indicates that clay mineralogy is the main factor explaining differences in the mean residence time of the organic matter extracted.     

DECOMPOSITION OF SOIL POLYSACCHARIDE

Polysaccharide material was isolated by absorption on charcoal from the acidified, non-humic fraction extracted by alkali from three soils. The polysaccharides were used as substrates in soil incubation, perfusion, and suspension experiments. Concordant results were obtained with freely drained Countess-wells and Insch Association soils derived from acidic and basic igneous parent materials respectively. Polysaccharide material added to soil at low concentration (I per cent) was apparently totally decomposed after 8 weeks when the amounts of polysaccharide in control and amended soils were statistically indistinguishable. At higher concentrations (2-3 per cent) a significant difference in reducing sugar, equivalent to about 30 per cent of the substrate, remained after 32 weeks. Partial neutralization of the polysaccharide material with calcium hydroxide increased the rate of decomposition in Countesswells Association soil but had an opposite, smaller effect in Insch Association soil. Soil polysaccharide material was decomposed slightly faster in perfusion and suspension experiments than in moist soil. Only 20 per cent of the carbohydrate in the unfractionated alkali–soluble organic matter of soil was decomposed during incubation in soil for up to 133 weeks. There was usually little change in the carbohydrate content of soil incubated alone. The soil microbial population showed a marked increase in response to added polysaccharide material but only slight qualitative changes were detected. It is concluded that the persistence of naturally occurring polysaccharide in soil is related to inaccessibility caused by chemical combination, complexing or insolubility but not to a biologically-stable molecular structure.     

THE NATURE OF THE NITROGEN COMPOUNDS IN SOIL ORGANIC MATTER EXTRACTED BY ANHYDROUS FORMIC ACID

Organic matter extracted with 9 : 1 formic acid : acetylacetone from twenty-five soils of widely varying organic content and precipitated with excess di-isopropyl ether was hydrolysed with 6N HC1. The relationships between the proportions of acid-soluble N, acid-insoluble N, amino-N, and ammonium-N thus produced, and the properties of the original soil were examined. The distribution of N in acid hydrolysates was similar to that reported in the literature for material isolated by neutral and alkaline extractants. The relatively large proportion of N released as ammonium-N from organic matter obtained from soils of high pH and low C : N ratio may derive from organically fixed ammonia. The low levels of amino-N in organic matter extracted by formic acid from soils of high clay content imply the existence of clay-amino complexes that resist extraction although formation of such complexes during extraction cannot be ruled out.     

江西低丘红壤性水稻土的主要化学特性研究

三个红壤性水稻土的有机质和腐殖质的含量由淹育型水稻土→潴育型水稻土→潜育型水稻土依次逐渐增加,其C/N和H/P比值也顺次增大。它们的粘土矿物组成无明显差异。铁、锰物质在潴育型水稻土剖面中分异最明显,其次为淹育型水稻土;而无定形氧化铁在剖面中变幅最大却是潜育型水稻土;结晶态铁在土壤剖面中分异亦有一定规律,其中潴育型水稻土的指示性土层(W层)的晶胶率(结晶铁/无定形铁)远较其它土层为高,这种变化特性的差异,对区分不同水分作用的水稻土发育类型有一定的特殊意义;土壤络合态铁与土壤有机质含量有关。土壤氧化锰与土壤氧化铁相比虽然含量低,但对土壤氧化还原条件反应更加敏感,所以在土壤剖面中淋移趋势更加明显。     

Effect of sodicity and salinity on disaggregation and tensile strength of an Alfisol under different cropping systems

The influence of electrolyte concentration (EC) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) on the tensile strength and aggregate stability via flocculation and dispersion behaviour of an Alfisol varying in organic carbon content due to different cropping systems was assessed using a split-split plot experiment involving eight soils, three levels of EC and seven levels of SAR.

Generally, at a given SAR value, mean weight diameter (MWD) increased with organic matter status of the soil in the following order: virgin pasture>wheat>wheat-fallow. As MWD decreased, the amount of dispersible clay increased at a given SAR indicating that more surfaces exposed due to slaking of aggregates led to more clay dispersion. Statistical analysis of changes in tensile strength with various factors showed that an increase in organic matter decreased the magnitude of changes in strength induced by sodicity because organic matter tends to increase aggregate stability (higher MWD). While individual soils had significant relationships between the tensile strength of the aggregates and the amount of spontaneously dispersible clay, this relationship was poor when the results of all soils were pooled together. The amounts of dispersible clay from dry aggregates were higher than from wet aggregates and dispersive breakdown of the aggregates of sodic soils occured irrespective of the mode of wetting. The most important factor in determining the soil strength was the amount of clay dispersed during wet-sieving analysis followed by MWD.