Thermal stability of soil organic matter pools and their δC values after C3-C4 vegetation change |
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Authors: | Maxim Dorodnikov Andreas Fangmeier |
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Affiliation: | a Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology (320), University of Hohenheim, August-v.-Hartmann-Str. 3, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany b Department of Agroecosystem Research, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany c Institute of Physico-Chemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, RAS, Institutskaya 2, 142290 Puschino, Russian Federation |
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Abstract: | Carbon isotopic composition of soils subjected to C3-C4 vegetation change is a suitable tool for the estimation of C turnover in soil organic matter (SOM) pools. We hypothesized that the biological availability of SOM pools is inversely proportional to their thermal stability. Soil samples from a field plot with 10.5 years of cultivation of the C4 plant Miscanthus×gigantheus and from a reference plot under C3 grassland vegetation were analysed by thermogravimetry coupled with differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC). According to differential weight losses (dTG) and energy release or consumption (DSC), five SOM pools with increasing thermal stability were distinguished: (I) 20-190 °C, (II) 190-310 °C, (III) 310-390 °C, (IV) 390-480 °C, and (V) 480-1000 °C. Their δ13C values were analysed by EA-IRMS. The weight losses in pool I were connected with water evaporation, since no significant C losses were measured and δ13C values remained unchanged. The δ13C of pools II and III in soil samples under Miscanthus were closer to the δ13C of the Miscanthus plant tissues (−11.8‰) compared to the thermally stable SOM pool V (−19.5‰). The portion of the Miscanthus-derived C4-C in total SOM in 0-5 cm reached 55.4% in the 10.5 years. The C4-C contribution in pool II was 60% and decreased down to 6% in pool V. The mean residence times (MRT) of SOM pools II, III, and IV were similar (11.6, 12.2, and 15.4 years, respectively), while pool V had a MRT of 163 years. Therefore, we concluded that the biological availability of thermal labile SOM pools (<480 °C) was higher, than that of the thermal stable pool decomposed above 480 °C. However, the increase of SOM stability with rising temperature was not gradual. Therefore, the applicability of the TG-DSC for the separation of SOM pools with different biological availability is limited. |
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Keywords: | C3-C4 vegetation change Miscanthus× gigantheus Differential scanning calorimetry Thermogravimetry TG-DSC Thermal stability δ13C Soil organic matter |
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