Stability of soil organic matter in two northeastern German fen soils: the influence of site and soil development

Purpose

Peatland soils play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle due to their high organic carbon content. Lowering of the water table e.g. for agricultural use accelerates aerobic secondary peat decomposition and processes of earthification. Peatlands change from C sinks to C sources. We characterized soil organic matter (SOM) with special attention to human impact through drainage. Our aim was to gain knowledge of SOM quality and soil-forming processes in drained fen soils in northeastern Germany.

Materials and methods

Through techniques of representative landscape analysis, we identified two typical and representative sampling sites in different stages of land use, representing the most important hydrogenetic mire types in northeastern Germany. We adapted chemical fractionation procedures which include hot water extraction (C_hwe and N_hwe) for determination of the labile fraction. Furthermore, a stepwise acid hydrolysis procedure was performed to measure the chemical recalcitrant part of SOM as it is more resistant to biodegradability.

Results and discussion

Total organic C decreased with increasing human impact and intensity of drainage. Conversely, C_hwe and N_hwe concentrations increased with increasing drainage and human impact. In contrast, the more recalcitrant fractions increased with soil depth.

Conclusions

Generally, there is a lack of existing data about SOM quality and the factors controlling its stability and decomposition in fen soils. For northeastern German fen soils, the data are even more inadequate. Influence of drainage seems to overlap natural influences of site on SOM quality. The used extraction scheme was suitable for the chemical fractionation of SOM into labile and more recalcitrant parts.     

Phosphoraustrag aus Niedermoorböden - Ergebnisse eines Lysimeterversuches ohne Pflanzenbewuchs

Leaching of phosphorus out of fen soils - Results from pot trials without growing plants In contrast to acid bog peat soils, fen soils with high content of iron, calcium und partially lime may fix phosphates in the same way as mineral soils. In model experiments without growing plants the quantity of leached phosphorus is determined. 0,4–0,5 kg P/ha are leached out of a slightly acid fen soil (pH 5,5) with 550 mm percolated water. The phosphate fertilizers (300 kg P/ha) Tripelphosphat, Novaphos, Hyperphos and Thomasphosphat have no influence on the amount of leached phosphorus. The phosphate is fixed in the depth of 0–10 cm, into which the fertilizers were mixed. However, from a very strongly acid fen soil (pH 3,0; limed in 0–10 cm to pH 4,5) with 1000 mm percolated water 25,8 kg P/ha are leached. The fertilization with Tripelphosphat and Novaphos increases the amount of leached phosphorus whereas the water insoluble phosphate fertilizers (Thomasphosphat and Hyperphos) have no influence. In a fen soil with high content of iron water soluble phosphate will be sorbed and fixed very rapidly, therefore only low parts of the water soluble phosphate fertilizers can be extracted with lactate solution (DL), in comparison to the water insoluble phosphates.     

Greenhouse gas fluxes during rewetting of peatlands by use of effluents – a lysimeter study

Abstract

The present study aims at assessing the effect of using the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant as an alternative measure for rewetting nutrient-rich fen soils over the growing season on the emission of greenhouse gas (GHG) and at discussing possible changes in the greenhouse potential as a result of this practice. In order to allow a discussion on GHG based on integrated CH₄, N₂O, and CO₂ flux rates, fluxes were measured in our lysimeter study using the chamber methodology from May to December in 2003 and 2004. The study compares the gaseous fluxes of fen soils in lysimeters treated with the effluent and/or freshwater for rewetting. Only freshwater was applied to the control lysimeter. The source of water hardly had any statistically significant effect on trace gas fluxes. However, there was a trend towards higher CH₄ emissions at the effluent lysimeters compared to the control lysimeter. Effluent usage did not decrease the greenhouse effect at the same rate, which could be observed at the control. Nevertheless, regarding gaseous emissions the use of effluents could prove to be a solution to the current problem of today's major peat oxidation and fen soil loss by drainage.     

Long‐term drainage for forestry inhibits extracellular phenol oxidase activity in Finnish boreal mire peat

Drainage for forestry has been amongst the most extensive of land management practices applied to northern latitude peatlands, particularly in northern Europe. Extracellular phenol oxidases play an important role in the carbon cycle of soils. This study investigated the effects of long‐term (45 years) drainage for forestry upon surface peat extracellular phenol oxidase activity, soluble phenolic concentrations and pH at ombrotrophic bog, oligotrophic fen and mesotrophic fen sites at a Finnish mire complex. Phenol oxidase activity was reduced by drainage at all three sites. Phenol oxidase activity was positively correlated with peat pH across all sites irrespective of drainage treatment, suggesting that pH is a major factor influencing peat phenol oxidase activity at the mire complex. Peat pH became more acidic with drainage at the fen sites, and it is likely that this contributed to the suppression of peat phenol oxidase activity. The reduction of peat phenol oxidase activity with drainage was accompanied by increased concentrations of water‐soluble phenolics at all three sites, and the potential contribution of this to changes in peat carbon stocks following drainage is discussed.     

Demethylation of Dimethylarsinic Acid and Arsenobetaine in Different Organic Soils

Methylation and demethylation of arsenic may change substantially the toxicity and mobility of arsenic in soils. Little is known about demethylation of organic arsenic species in organic soils. We incubated dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and arsenobetaine (AsB) in soils and aqueous soil extracts from a forest floor and fen, in order to investigate demethylation processes. Incubations were conducted at 5°C in the dark under oxic or anoxic conditions. Arsenobetaine demethylated rapidly in all soil extracts with half-lives of 3.6–12 days, estimated from first order kinetic. Demethylation of DMA was relatively slow with half-lives of 187 and 46 days in the forest floor extracts and oxic fen extracts, respectively. In comparison, DMA was stable for 100 days in anoxic fen extracts. The apparent half-lives were much shorter in soils for DMA (1.3–12.6 days) and AsB (0.5–1.9 days) than in soil extracts, suggesting also irreversible AsB and DMA adsorption to soils beside demethylation. An unknown arsenic species and DMA were detected as metabolites of AsB demethylation. The results indicate rapid demethylation of AsB probably via the pathway AsB → Dimethylarsenoylacetate → DMA, followed up by slow demethylation of DMA → monomethylarsonic acid → inorganic As species.     

Bacterial and enchytraeid abundance accelerate soil carbon turnover along a lowland vegetation gradient in interior Alaska

Boreal wetlands are characterized by a mosaic of plant communities, including forests, shrublands, grasslands, and fens, which are structured largely by changes in topography and water table position. The soil associated with these plant communities contain quantitatively and qualitatively different forms of soil organic matter (SOM) and nutrient availability that drive changes in biogeochemical cycling rates. Therefore different boreal plant communities likely contain different soil biotic communities which in turn affect rates of organic matter decomposition. We examined relationships between plant communities, microbial communities, enchytraeids, and soil C turnover in near-surface soils along a shallow topographic soil moisture and vegetation gradient in interior Alaska. We tested the hypothesis that as soil moisture increases along the gradient, surface soils would become increasingly dominated by bacteria and mesofauna and have more rapid rates of C turnover. We utilized bomb radiocarbon techniques to infer rates of C turnover and the ¹³C isotopic composition of SOM and respired CO₂ to infer the degree of soil humification. Soil phenol oxidase and peroxidase enzyme activities were generally higher in the rich fen compared with the forest and bog birch sites. Results indicated greater C fluxes and more rapid C turnover in the surface soils of the fen sites compared to the wetland forest and shrub sites. Quantitative PCR analyses of soil bacteria and archaea, combined with enchytraeid counts, indicated that surface soils from the lowland fen ecosystems had higher abundances of these microbial and mesofaunal groups. Fungal abundance was highly variable and not significantly different among sites. Microbial data was utilized in a food web model that confirmed that rapidly cycling systems are dominated by bacterial activity and enchytraeid grazing. However, our results also suggest that oxidative enzymes play an important role in the C mineralization process in saturated systems, which has been often ignored.     

Change of soil hydrological properties of fens as a result of soil development

This study deals with the change and evaluation of hydrological properties of peat soils (Histosols) in the course of soil development. Ash content, volumetric water content, and dry bulk density, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, water retention function, and wetting properties were measured for 84 fen sites in 19 fen regions of North‐Eastern Germany. Soil development resulted in porosity decrease. On the contrary, the macropore space and the capillary rise increased. With the start of consolidation processes and the development of segregation structure, a'noticeable reduction of the macropores and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity were observed. In course of soil development and decreasing of aggregate size, these processes reversed. Both parameters increased from segregation structure horizon to earthyfied fen and weak moorshyfied fen horizon, until they partly exceeded the starting values of pedogenetic almost unchanged fen in strongly moorshyfied stadium. Differences in wetting properties of peat could not be explained by the changes of peat properties in the course of soil development.     

Differences in the activity and bacterial community structure of drained grassland and forest peat soils

The microbial activity and bacterial community structure were investigated in two types of peat soil in a temperate marsh. The first, a drained grassland fen soil, has a neutral pH with partially degraded peat in the upper oxic soil horizons (16% soil organic carbon). The second, a bog soil, was sampled in a swampy forest and has a very high soil organic carbon content (45%), a low pH (4.5), and has occasional anoxic conditions in the upper soil horizons due to the high water table level. The microbial activity in the two soils was measured as the basal and substrate-induced respiration (SIR). Unexpectedly, the SIR (μl CO₂ g⁻¹ dry soil) was higher in the bog than in the fen soil, but lower when CO₂ production was expressed per volume of soil. This may be explained by the notable difference in the bulk densities of the two soils. The bacterial communities were assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) profiling of 16S rRNA genes and indicated differences between the two soils. The differences were determined by the soil characteristics rather than the season in which the soil was sampled. The 16S rRNA gene libraries, constructed from the two soils, revealed high proportions of sequences assigned to the Acidobacteria phylum. Each library contained a distinct set of phylogenetic subgroups of this important group of bacteria.     

Neutralization of atmospheric acid inputs in small spring catchments in the Frankenwald mountains,Germany

Investigations on soil and freshwater acidification are usually focused on well-aerated systems. This study deals with the role of reductive processes for the neutralization of acid soil solution within helocrene springs. Two toposequences consisting each of three profiles (forest soil, margin of fen, fen) were established to study the chemistry of the solid phase (soil pH, CEC, pedogenic Fe- and Al-oxides) and the soil solution in two small spring catchments on three dates during 1991 and 1992. Despite high acid inputs and acidified forest soils the pH of the spring outflow is near neutral, and the soil solid phases of the spring fens are not acidified. The results support the following hypothesis: Aluminum with its corresponding anion sulfate is leached with the soil solution into the water-saturated fens. Dissimilatory iron and sulfate reduction take place within the fen and generate alkalinity. Reduced iron either reacts with sulfide to form pyrite or migrates within the fen profile and precipitates in the uppermost, oxic horizons, consuming part of the generated alkalinity. Due to the higher pH values in the fens the incoming aluminum precipitates releasing acidity. The alkalinity generated exceeds the amount of acidity released by oxidation and precipitation of iron and the precipitation of aluminum. A balance of alkalinity consuming and alkalinity generating processes based on solid phases showed that iron and sulfate reduction can account for at least 67% of the neutralization of acidity entering the fen of one of the catchments. Due to shorter water retention times and higher discharge these processes are of minor importance in the other catchment.     

Recovery in soil cover and vegetation structure after ancient landslide in mountain fens under Caltho-Alnetum community and response of soil microarthropods (Hexapoda: Collembola) to natural restoration process

Purpose

The objective of this study was to determine the long-term environmental changes induced by ancient landslide in the mountain fen. Attempts were made to demonstrate the progress of the soil cover restoration process about 200 years after the landslides and associated with changes in vegetation and soil microarthropod biodiversity and occurrence pattern associated with the restoration of soil cover.

Material and methods

The study covered mountain fen of the Caltho-Alnetum in the Babiogórski National Park in Outer Flysch Carpathians, Poland, where ancient landslide deposits are causing disturbance in fen hydrologic regime and over time related to various rate of fen area natural restoration processes. The drill test has been used to assess changes in layering and thickness of the fen soils. The following soil parameters, such as pH and total organic carbon content, were determined at each distinguish layer. The diversity and distribution pattern of soil microarthropods, represented by Collembola, was examined in two parts of the fen: restored and not-restored. The soil parameters, such as pH, electrical conductivity, total exchangeable base, total organic carbon, and nitrogen content, were determined in the soil samples simultaneously. The assessment of the vegetation structure recovery within studied mountain fen after landslide was referred to average parameters of the community completed for other natural mountain fens under the Caltho-Alnetum community. The research results were statistically verified.

Results and discussion

The test drillings showed that landslides change soil layering, site-specific soil properties of mountain fen such as chemistry (the statistically significant differences were noted only in the case of total organic carbon content), vegetation structure, and soil microarthropod communities. By changing site-specific conditions, landslides influence on the biodiversity and peatland ecosystems functioning.

Conclusion

Our results clearly demonstrate that the landslide itself initiated a complex and lengthy process of changes in biological aspects of peatlands including the biodiversity of the underground fauna and plant community. Soil microarthropod communities represented by Collembola can be used as a good indicator of mountain fen restoration process.

     

The use of peepers to sample pore water in acid sulphate soils

Serious environmental impacts of acidic drainage from acid sulphate soils in coastal areas are the result of the interactions between the hydrologic cycle, land use and drainage management, and pore water chemistry. In this study, in situ , diffusion-controlled dialysis profile samplers, or peepers, were used to examine pore water chemistry of acid sulphate soils in a coastal, sugarcane-producing area in Eastern Australia. The peepers sampled pore water at 20-mm intervals over a 1.0-m length, permitting excellent resolution of the sharp transitions in pore water chemistry that occur around a soil profile's iron sulphide oxidation front. Comparison of peeper profiles with soil water profiles extracted from soil samples by centrifuging, illustrated the advantages of peepers over conventional soil water sampling techniques in unconsolidated, sulphidic soils. For conventional sampling, the low permeability, gel-like, unoxidized soil samples had to be frozen then thawed before water could be extracted by centrifuging. Peeper profiles of species not involved in redox reactions agreed well with those from centrifuged soil extracts. Redox sensitive species, however, were in poorer agreement because of the lengthy soil sample preparation and extraction procedures required for extraction by centrifuging. The approximately 6-day equilibration time required for peeper sampling allows them to follow monthly or seasonal changes in pore water chemistry in acid sulphate soils due to variations in climate, and land use and management.     

Calculation of hydraulic conductivities and steady state capillary rise in peat soils from bulk density and solid matter volume

Values of the three constants in a convenient formula for the calculation of capillary conductivities of peat soils can be evaluated from bulk density and solid matter volume. Though some of the relative equations have a low significancy, they provide a means to calculate in a simple way a mean hydraulic conductivity function for peat soils with given values of the soil properties mentioned above. Examples of such functions are shown. The height of steady state capillary rise in homogeneous fen peats and high bog peats of increasing bulk density are comprised in some diagrams.     

Assessment of soil degradation in the eastern part of the Nile Delta

This study was performed to quantitatively assess the levels and rates of soil degradation and determine qualitative changes in the soils of the eastern part of the Nile Delta through comparing the literature data obtained in 1997 with the results obtained during a 2010 soil survey on the melioration situation. The results have shown that the key factors in these negative phenomena are salinization of soils and ground waters and alkalinization, water logging, and soil compaction; the key causative factors include inappropriate irrigation, deficiency or poor operation of the drainage system, untimely use of heavy machinery, and the absence of nature-protecting measures.     

Practical aspects of sportsfield drainage

Abstract. The use of sportsfields in winter results in drastic changes in the physical properties of most soils. In consequence adequate sportsfield drainage demands much greater attention to the transmission of incident rainfall to the underdrain system than is normally necessary in agricultural drainage. Solutions to the problem differ in concept and cost, and range from complete profile construction to bypass drainage systems, causing minimal soil disturbance. Specific requirements are examined and practical solutions illustrated and discussed.     

Computerized soil data used in agricultural water planning, Denmark

Abstract. A nationwide soil database system has been established containing soil maps, analytical data, and soil classification. The system has been widely used in agricultural planning at county and national level. This paper describes the basic data used for the soil database system, and the exploitation of this system in agricultural water planning. The principles for calculating the irrigation need at county level are given and also those for nationwide mapping of the potential need for drainage. Mapping of potentially acid sulphate soils, which has given rise to legislation on drainage of wetlands, is described, and the future use of the soil database system in agricultural water planning is discussed.     

Drainability of some Dutch clay soils: A case study of soil survey interpretation

Riverine and marine non-calcareous Dutch clay soils have moderate limitations for use as grassland under existing conditions due to high ground-water levels in winter and early spring, which have traditionally been attributed to a very low K_sat of the clay. Physical research, which used soil morphology to define sample size and soil maps to locate test sites within defined mapping units, showed that permanent high ground-water levels were primarily due to low hydraulic gradients and not to a low K_sat. Well-maintained tile drainage, to be associated with low water levels in the ditches in winter, resulted in much lower ground-water levels in the soil, thereby effectively reducing use limitations imposed by existing conditions and improving soil suitability. The latter was specifically characterized in this study in terms of the assessment factor: “drainage status”. Tile drainage resulted in a significant increase of K_sat which was thought to be due to increased drying and cracking of the relatively young riverine soil. In the older marine soils, the increase of K_sat upon tile drainage was due to deep earthworm activity. Existing suitability can thus be improved by using appropriate technology, i.e., tile drainage associated with better water management. The detail by which the technology is defined in soil survey interpretation is critical. The detail should not exceed the generality-level dictated by the variability of regional field data.     

上海郊区土壤的排水问题

上海郊区水田土壤,可以古岗为界分成东西两部分:浦东的沙泥、夹沙泥、黄泥头以及岗身的沟干泥是由长江沉积物发育起来的草甸土,地势较高(吴淞0.4米以上),地下水位较低(地面1米以下),质地偏中(轻壤-重壤),土壤通气孔隙较多,渗透性较好,因此土壤比较爽水,生产性能好,产量较高;浦西的青紫泥是由古太湖和其他许多湖荡港叉葑淤成陆的沼泽土,地势低洼(地面高程在吴淞零上2.2-3.5米),地下水位高(地面以下0.3-0.8米),质地偏粘(中壤-重壤),土壤通气孔隙少,毛管孔隙多,吸持力强,土壤透水性差,易于囊水,根系环境不良.     

新疆浅层暗管排水降低土壤盐分提高棉花产量

土壤盐渍化问题严重制约着干旱区农业可持续发展,为达到土壤脱盐的效果,增加作物产量,该文针对膜下滴灌棉田,采用完全随机试验方案,在装有暗管的中度和轻度盐渍化土壤上种植棉花,分析暗管降盐技术对轻度和中度盐渍化农田土壤盐分变化规律及棉花产量的影响。结果表明:轻度和中度盐渍化农田土壤盐分剖面特征均由表聚型向脱盐型变化,中度盐渍化土壤0~20 cm土层盐分下降最快,其他土层盐分含量均呈现显著下降趋势;轻度和中度土壤最高脱盐率分别为50.96%和90.89%,中度盐渍化土壤盐分可降低至轻度水平;暗管排水的电导率变化范围为7.53~11.16 dS/m,pH值变化范围7.08~8.20;轻度和中度盐渍化棉田增产幅度分别为25.3%和55%。研究表明与滴灌配套的浅层暗管排水降盐技术可有效治理盐碱土壤,提高作物产量,该研究可为盐渍化土地的可持续利用提供依据。     

COMPARISON OF MEASURED AND PREDICTED SOIL MOISTURE DEFICITS

The moisture regimes of two fen soils and two chalk soils in Lincolnshire were investigated using a neutron probe moisture meter. Soil moisture deficits were calculated and compared with those predicted using meteorological data. Measured deficits were in fairly close agreement to those predicted by two separate models, the main variation seeming to depend upon the dryness of the year, the crop and the soil type. Measured deficits were also compared with laboratory estimates of available water and it was found that the chalk soils dried to higher suctions than was at first expected.     

Water Repellence of Cultivated Organic Soils

Abstract

A range of cultivated organic soils was studied with respect to water repellence. All soils were wettable above a water content of approximately 30-50 % (v/v). Below this critical content, most soils showed a varying degree of water repellence. Well decomposed peat had lower infiltration rates than moderately decomposed peat. Lightly crushing the peat soil before measurement increased the infiltration rate compared with an undisturbed soil sample. In tests with aqueous ethanol of different molarity, peat soils showed greater repellence than gyttja soils. All moss peat layers were extremely water repellent and fen peats slightly less repellent. Water repellence did not occur on gyttja clay and marl gyttja.