Priming effect and its regulating factors for fast and slow soil organic carbon pools: A meta-analysis

The priming effect (PE) plays a critical role in the control of soil carbon (C) cycling and influences the alteration of soil organic C (SOC) decomposition by fresh C input.However,drivers of PE for the fast and slow SOC pools remain unclear because of the varying results from individual studies.Using meta-analysis in combination with boosted regression tree (BRT) analysis,we evaluated the relative contribution of multiple drivers of PE with substrate and their patterns across each driver gradient.The results showed that the variability of PE was larger for the fast SOC pool than for the slow SOC pool.Based on the BRT analysis,67%and 34%of the variation in PE were explained for the fast and slow SOC pools,respectively.There were seven determinants of PE for the fast SOC pool,with soil total nitrogen (N) content being the most important,followed by,in a descending order,substrate C:N ratio,soil moisture,soil clay content,soil pH,substrate addition rate,and SOC content.The directions of PE were negative when soil total N content and substrate C:N ratio were below 2 g kg~(-1)and 20,respectively,but the directions changed from negative to positive with increasing levels of this two factors.Soils with optimal water content (50%–70%of the water-holding capacity) or moderately low pH (5–6) were prone to producing a greater PE.For the slow SOC pool,soil p H and soil total N content substantially explained the variation in PE.The magnitude of PE was likely to decrease with increasing soil pH for the slow SOC pool.In addition,the magnitude of PE slightly fluctuated with soil N content for the slow SOC pool.Overall,this meta-analysis provided new insights into the distinctive PEs for different SOC pools and indicated knowledge gaps between PE and its regulating factors for the slow SOC pool.     

Environmental risks for application of iron and steel slags in soils in China: A review

Iron and steel slags are smelting wastes, mainly including blast furnace slag(BFS) and steel slag(SS) produced in the iron and steel industry. Utilization of iron and steel slags as resources for solving the problem of slag disposals has attracted much attention with increasing iron and steel smelting slags in China. Because the iron and steel slags contain calcium(Ca), magnesium(Mg), phosphorus(P), and silicon(Si), some have tried to use them as Si-and P-fertilizers, for producing Ca-Mg-P fertilizers, or as soil amendments in agriculture. However, in the iron metallurgical process, several pollutants in iron ores can inevitably transfer into iron and steel slags, resulting in the enrichment of pollutants both in BFS(mainly nickel(Ni), copper(Cu), mercury, zinc(Zn),cadmium(Cd), chromium(Cr), arsenic, lead, selenium, fluorine(F), and chlorine(Cl)) and in SS(mainly Ni, Cr, Cd, Zn, Cu, F, and Cl), in which some of pollutants(especially Cr, Ni, F, and Cl) exceed the limits of environmental quality standards for soils and groundwater. The elements of manganese, barium,and vanadium in iron and steel slags are higher than the background values of soil environment. In order to ensure soil health, food safety, and environmental quality, it is suggested that those industrial solid wastes, such as iron and steel slags, without any pretreatment for reducing harmful pollutants and with environmental safety risk, should not be allowed to use for soil remediation or conditioning directly in farmlands by solid waste disposal methods, to prevent pollutants from entering food chain and harming human health.     

大宁党参高产栽培技术

党参因产地及加工方法不同,有不同的商品名。巫溪称"大宁党"、巫山称"巫山党"、"单支党"、"条党"、"庙党",奉节称"条党"。巫溪所产党参是川党参(C.tangshen Oliv.)中的一种,即"大宁党",其名称来源于产地命名(巫溪县在明国时期为大宁县),在植物学分类上为"条党",即产于重庆、湖北、陕西交界处的党参,其形状多条状,故名"条党"。     

A review of cadmium sorption mechanisms on soil mineral surfaces revealed from synchrotron-based X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy: Implications for soil remediation

The sorption of cadmium(Cd) is one of the most important chemical processes in soil, affecting its fate and mobility in both soil and water and ultimately controlling its bioavailability. In order to fundamentally understand the sorption/desorption of Cd in soil systems, X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy(XAFS) has been applied in numerous studies to provide molecular-level information that can be used to characterize the surface adsorption and precipitation reactions that Cd can undergo. This information greatly improves our current knowledge of the possible chemical reactions of Cd in soil. This paper critically reviews the mechanisms of Cd sorption/desorption at the mineral-water interface based on XAFS studies performed over the past twenty years. An introduction to the basic concepts of sorption processes is provided, followed by a detailed interpretation of XAFS theory and experimental data collection and processing,ending finally with a discussion of the atomic/molecular-scale Cd sorption mechanisms that occur at the soil mineral-water interface. Particular emphasis is placed on literature that discusses Cd adsorption and speciation when associated with iron, manganese, and aluminum oxides and aluminosilicate minerals.Multiple sorption mechanisms by which Cd is sorbed by these minerals have been found, spanning from outer-sphere to inner-sphere to surface precipitation,depending on mineral type, surface loading, and pH. In addition, the application of complementary techniques(e.g.,113 Cd nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and molecular dynamics simulation) for probing Cd sorption mechanisms is discussed. This review can help to develop appropriate strategies for the environmental remediation of Cd-contaminated soils.     

Human and ecological risks of metals in soils under different land-use types in an urban environment of Bangladesh

Trace metal contamination in soil is of great concern owing to its long persistence in the environment and toxicity to humans and other organisms.Concentrations of six potentially toxic trace metals,Cr,Ni,Cu,As,Cd,and Pb,in urban soils were measured in Dhaka City,Bangladesh.Soils from different land-use types,namely,agricultural field,park,playground,petrol station,metal workshop,brick field,burning sites,disposal sites of household waste,garment waste,electronic waste,and tannery wast,and construction waste demolishing sites,were investigated.The concentration ranges of Cr,Ni,Cu,As,Pb,and Cd in soils were 2.4–1258,8.3–1044,9.7–823,8.7–277,1.8–80,and 13–842 mg kg^-1,respectively.The concentrations of metals were subsequently used to establish hazard quotients(HQs)for the adult population.The metal HQs decreased in the order of As>Cr>Pb>Cd>Ni>Cu.Ingestion was the most vital exposure pathway of studied metals from soils followed by dermal contact and inhalation.The range of pollution load index(PLI)was 0.96–17,indicating severe contamination of soil by trace metals.Considering the comprehensive potential ecological risk(PER),soils from all land-use types showed considerable to very high ecological risks.The findings of this study revealed that in the urban area studied,soils of some land-use types were severely contaminated with trace metals.Thus,it is suggested that more attention should be paid to the potential health risks to the local inhabitants and ecological risk to the surrounding ecosystems.     

Importance of hydrogenotrophic, aceticlastic and methylotrophic methanogenesis for methane production in terrestrial, aquatic and other anoxic environments: A mini review

Microbial methanogenesis is a major source of the greenhouse gas methane(CH4).It is the final step in the anaerobic degradation of organic matter when inorganic electron acceptors such as nitrate,ferric iron,or sulfate have been depleted.Knowledge of this degradation pathway is important for the creation of mechanistic models,prediction of future CH4 emission scenarios,and development of mitigation strategies.In most anoxic environments,CH4 is produced from either acetate(aceticlastic methanogenesis)or hydrogen(H2)plus carbon dioxide(CO2)(hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis).Hydrogen can be replaced by other CO2-type methanogenesis,using formate,carbon monoxide(CO),or alcohols as substrates.The ratio of these two pathways is tightly constrained by the stoichiometry of conversion processes.If the degradation of organic matter is complete(e.g.,degradation of straw in rice paddies),then fermentation eventually results in production of acetate and H2 at a ratio of>67%aceticlastic and<33%hydrogenotrophic methanogensis.However,acetate production can be favored when heterotrophic or chemolithotrophic acetogenesis is enhanced,and H2 production can be favored when syntrophic acetate oxidation is enhanced.This typically occurs at low and elevated temperatures,respectively.Thus,temperature can strongly influence the methanogenic pathway,which may range from 100%aceticlastic methanogenesis at low temperatures to 100%hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis at high temperatures.However,if the degradation of organic matter is not complete(e.g.,degradation of soil organic matter),the stoichiometry of fermentation is not tightly constrained,resulting,for example,in the preferential production of H2,followed by hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis.Preferential production of CH4 by either aceticlastic or hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis can also happen if one of the methanogenic substrates is not consumed by methanogens but is,instead,accumulated,volatilized,or utilized otherwise.Methylotrophic methanogens,which can use methanol as a substrate,are widespread,but it is unlikely that methanol is produced in similar quantities as acetate,CO2,and H2.Methylotrophic methanogenesis is important in saline environments,where compatible solutes are degraded to methyl compounds(trimethyl amine and dimethyl sulfide)and then serve as non-competitive substrates,while acetate and hydrogen are degraded by non-methanogenic processes,e.g.,sulfate reduction.     

Combined application of a straw layer and flue gas desulphurization gypsum to reduce soil salinity and alkalinity

Burying a straw layer and applying flue gas desulphurization(FGD)gypsum are effective practices to ameliorate soil salinization or alkalization and to increase crop yield;however,little information exists on the effects of such integration in saline-alkali soils.A soil column experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of a straw layer plus FGD gypsum on soil salinity and alkalinity.We placed a straw layer(5 cm thick)at a depth of 30 cm and mixed FGD gypsum into the 0–20 cm soil layer at application rates of 7.5,15.0,22.5,and 30.0 t ha^-1,with no straw layer and FGD gypsum as a control(CK).The soil water content in the 0–30 cm soil layer was significantly higher(>7.8%)in the treated soil profiles after infiltration than in the CK,but decreased after evaporation.The electrical conductivity(EC)of the 10–30 cm soil layer was 230.2%and 104.9%higher in the treated soil profiles than in the CK after infiltration and evaporation,respectively,and increased with increasing rates of FGD gypsum application,with Ca^2+and SO4^2-being the main dissolved salts.Compared to those in the CK,the concentrations of Na^+,Cl^-,and HCO3-decreased in the treated soil profiles at depths above 55 cm,but the other soluble ions increased,after infiltration.A similar trend occurred after evaporation for all soluble ions except for HCO3-.The p H and exchangeable sodium percentage in the treated soil profiles were significantly lower than those in the CK over the entire profile,and decreased with increasing FGD gypsum application rates.Therefore,the incorporation of a straw layer plus FGD gypsum can reduce salinity and alkalinity,but the quantity of FGD gypsum should be controlled in saline-alkali soils.     

Optimizing the use of open chambers to measure ammonia volatilization in field plots amended with urea

Measuring ammonia(NH₃)volatilization from urea-fertilized soils is crucial for evaluation of practices that reduce gaseous nitrogen(N)losses in agriculture.The small area of chambers used for NH₃volatilization measurements compared with the size of field plots may cause significant errors if inadequate sampling strategies are adopted.Our aims were:i)to investigate the effect of using multiple open chambers on the variability in the measurement of NH₃volatilization in urea-amended field plots and ii)to define the critical period of NH₃-N losses during which the concentration of sampling effort is capable of reducing uncertainty.The use of only one chamber covering 0.015%of the plot(51.84 m²)generates a value of NH₃-N loss within an expected margin of error of 30%around the true mean.To reduce the error margin by half(15%),3–7 chambers were required with a mean of 5 chambers per plot.Concentrating the sampling efforts in the first two weeks after urea application,which is usually the most critical period of N losses and associated errors,represents an efficient strategy to lessen uncertainty in the measurements of NH₃volatilization.This strategy enhances the power of detection of NH₃-N loss abatement in field experiments using chambers.     

Distribution of 137Cs and 60Co in plough layer of farmland: Evidenced from a lysimeter experiment using undisturbed soil columns

Radionuclide fallout during nuclear accidents on the land may impair the atmosphere, contaminate farmland soils and crops, and can even reach the groundwater. Previous research focused on the field distribution of deposited radionuclides in farmland soils, but details of the amounts of radionuclides in the plough layer and the changes in their proportional distribution in the soil profile with time are still inadequate. In this study, a lysimeter experiment was conducted to determine the vertical migration of 137Cs and 60Co in brown and aeolian sandy soils, collected from the farmlands adjoining Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant(NPP) in eastern China, and to identify the factors influencing their migration depths in soil. At the end of the experiment(800 d), >96% of added 137Cs and 60Co were retained in the top 0–20 cm soil layer of both soils;very little 137Cs or 60Co initially migrated to 20–30 cm, but their amounts at this depth increased with time. The migration depth of 137Cs was greater in the aeolian sandy soil than in the brown soil during 0–577 d, but at the end of the experiment, 137Cs migrated to the same depth(25 cm) in both soils. Three phases on the vertical migration rate(v) of 60Co in the aeolian sandy soil can be identified: an initial rapid movement(0–355 d, v = 219 ± 17 mm year-1), followed by a steady movement(355–577 d, v = 150 ± 24 mm year-1) and a very slow movement(577–800 d, v = 107 ± 7 mm year-1). In contrast, its migration rate in the brown soil(v = 133 ± 17 mm year-1) was steady throughout the 800-d experimental period. The migration of both 137Cs and 60Co in the two soils appears to be regulated by soil clay and silt fractions that provide most of the soil surface area, soil organic carbon(SOC), and soil pH, which were manifested by the solid-liquid distribution coefficient of 137Cs and 60Co. The results of this study suggest that most 137Cs and 60Co remained within the top layer(0–20 cm depth) of farmland soils following a simulated NPP accident, and little reached the subsurface(20–30 cm depth). Fixation of radionuclides onto clay minerals may limit their migration in soil, but some could be laterally distributed by soil erosion and taken up by crops, and migrate into groundwater in a high water table level area after several decades.Remediation measures, therefore, should focus on reducing their impact on the farmland soils, crops, and water.     

青花菜品种在南亚热带地区的适宜性研究

青花菜又称绿叶菜,原产于地中海沿岸,其特点是营养价值高,含有多种矿物质等营养,位居同类蔬菜之首。由于青花菜生育期短,耐寒性强,主要产区在北方,在南方只有冷凉地区有少量栽培,而贵州属典型的南亚热气候类型,特别是在罗甸地区,秋季作物收获后,冬季只种植一些白菜类蔬菜。而营养价值高的青花菜,     

Zinc sorption–desorption by sand,silt and clay fractions in calcareous soils of Iran

Zinc sorption–desorption by sand, silt and clay fractions of six representative calcareous soils of Iran were measured. Sand, silt and clay particles were fractionated after dispersion of soils with an ultrasonic probe. Zinc sorption analysis was performed by adding eight rates of Zn from 6 to 120 μmol g^?1. For the desorption experiment, samples retained after the measurement of Zn sorption were resuspended sequentially in 0.01 M NaNO₃ solution and shaken for 24 h. Results indicated that Zn sorption by soil fractions increased in the order clay > silt > sand, and correlated negatively with CaCO₃ content and positively with cation exchange capacity (CEC) and smectite content. Results indicated that for all fractions, the Langmuir equation described the sorption rates fairly well. In contrast to sorption, Zn desorption from soil fractions increased in the order sand > silt > clay, and correlated positively with CaCO₃ content, CEC and smectite content. Results showed that parabolic diffusion and two constant equations adequately described the reaction rates of Zn desorption. In general, for all soils studied, the coarser the particle size, the less Zn sorption and more Zn desorption, and this reflects much higher risk of Zn leaching into groundwater or plant uptake in contaminated soils.     

Effects of Different Rates of Ca2+ Addition on Respiration and Sorption of Water-Extractable Organic C to a Vertisol Subsoil

It is well known that calcium (Ca²⁺) plays an important role in binding organic matter to clay. However, most previous studies were conducted with either topsoil or pure aluminosilicates. Less is known about the effect of Ca²⁺ on binding of organic matter to clay-rich subsoils, which have lower organic-matter contents than topsoils, and their clays are more strongly weathered than pure aluminosilicates. Two experiments were conducted with a Vertisol subsoil (69% clay): a laboratory incubation and a batch sorption. The mineral substrate in the incubation experiment was pure sand alone or sand amended with 300 g clay kg^?1. Powdered calcium sulfate (CaSO₄) at rates of 0, 5, 10, and 15 g Ca kg^?1 and mature wheat residue at a rate of 20 g kg^?1 were added to this mineral substrate and the water content was adjusted to 70% of water-holding capacity. Carbon dioxide release was measured for 28 days. Cumulative respiration per g soil organic carbon (C) (SOC from clay and residues) was increased by clay addition. Increasing Ca²⁺ addition rate decreased cumulative respiration in the sand with clay but had no effect on respiration in the pure sand. Clay and Ca²⁺ addition had no significant effect on microbial biomass carbon (MBC) per g SOC but clay addition reduced the concentration of potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄)–extractable C per g SOC. For the batch sorption experiment, the subsoil was mixed with 0 to 15 g Ca kg^?1 and water-extractable organic C (WEOC) derived from mature wheat straw was added at 0, 1485, 3267, and 5099 mg WEOC kg^?1. Increasing Ca²⁺ addition rate increased sorption of WEOC, particularly at the greatest concentration of WEOC added, and decreased desorption. This study confirmed the importance of Ca²⁺ in binding organic matter to clay and suggests that Ca²⁺ addition to clay-rich subsoils could be used to increase their organic C sequestration.     

沙粒中添加Ca2+、粘土以及富粘土对水溶性有机碳呼吸作用及其吸附的影响研究

Clay addition to light-textured soils is used to ameliorate water repellency and to increase nutrient retention. However, clay addition may also increase the potential to bind organic matter and thus C sequestration. Divalent calcium ions （Ca2＋） play an important role in binding of organic matter to clay because they provide the bridge between the clay particles and organic matter which are both negatively charged. In the first experiment, quartz sand was mixed with clay isolated from a Vertosol at rates of 0, 50 and 300 g kg-1, finely ground mature wheat residues （20 g kg-1） and powdered CaSO4 at 0, 5 and 10 g kg-1. Soil respiration was measured over 28 d. Compared to the sand alone, addition of isolated clay at 300 g kg-1 increased cumulative respiration with a stronger increase than that at 50 g kg-1. Addition of CaSO4 increased electrical conductivity, decreased sodium adsorption ratio and reduced cumulative respiration. The latter can be explained by enhanced sorption of organic matter to clay via Ca2＋ bridges. In a second experiment, isolated clay or subsoil of the Vertosol without or with powdered CaSO4 at 10 g kg-1 were used for a batch sorption with water-extractable organic C （WEOC） from wheat straw followed by desorption with water. Addition of 10 g kg-1 CaSO4 increased sorption and decreased desorption of WEOC in both subsoil and isolated clay. In the third experiment, subsoil of the Vertosol was used for a batch sorption in which WEOC was added repeatedly. Repeated addition of WEOC increased the concentration of sorbed C but decreased the sorbed proportion of the added WEOC. This indicates that sorption of WEOC may be underestimated if it is added only once in batch sorption experaments.     

Physicochemical properties of the soils associated with shifting cultivation in Northern Thailand with special reference to factors determining soil fertility

Abstract

Recently agricultural activity in the mountainous area of northern Thailand has increased and problems relating to soil fertility have arisen. In order to gain basic information about the soil properties associated with shifting cultivation, physicochemical properties of the surface soils (0–10 cm) and subsoils (30–40 cm) were investigated in selected villages in the area. The physicochemical properties of the soils studied are summarized as follows: 1) The soils were rich in organic matter, content of which ranged from 11.4 to 63.3 g C kg^?1 in the surface soil. 2) The pH(H₂O) of the soils mostly ranged from 5 to 7 and soil acidity was more pronounced in the deeper horizons. In the surface soils, exchangeable Ca and Mg were generally dominant, whereas exchangeable Al was often predominant in the subsoils. 3) Most of the soils showed a medium to fine texture with more than 30% clay. The clay mineral composition was characterized by various degrees of mixture of kaolin minerals and clay mica with, in some cases, a certain amount of 2:1-2:1:1 intergrades. 4) According to the ion adsorption curves, most of the B horizon soils were characterized by the predominance of permanent negative charges. On the other hand, organic matter contributed to the increase of variable negative charges in the surface soils. The content of organic matter and the percentage of the clay fraction were essential for determining the CEC of the soils of the surface 10 and 30–40 cm depths, respectively. Under the field conditions, the composition of exchangeable cations largely reflected the soil acidity. In addition, the content of organic matter also showed a significant correlation with that of available N in the surface soils. Thus, soil acidity both in the surface soils and subsoils, organic matter content in the surface soils, and clay content in the subsoils were considered to be the main factors that affected soil chemical fertility in the area.     

The forms and availability to plants of soil potassium as related to mineralogy for upland Oxisols and Ultisols from Thailand

Potassium (K) deficiency is widespread in crops on highly weathered upland soils under a tropical monsoonal climate. Critical assessment of the forms of K in soils and of the ability of soils to release K for plant uptake is important for the proper management of K in crop production. The relationships between different pools of K were investigated as a function of silt and clay mineralogy for 14 upland Oxisols and 26 upland Ultisols soils from Thailand. Most soils contained no K-minerals in the silt fraction. XRD showed that kaolinite is the dominant clay mineral with variously minor or moderate amounts of illite, hydroxy-Al interlayered vermiculite and smectite present in some soils. For some soils, both conventional and synchrotron XRD were unable to detect illite. Analytical TEM including EFTEM of individual clay crystals showed that clay in the apparently illite-free samples contained very small amounts of illite. Many kaolinite particles appear to contain K which may be present in illite interleaved with kaolinite crystals. A glasshouse K-depletion experiment was conducted to assess the K supply capacity and changes in chemical forms of K and K-minerals using exhaustive K depletion by Guinea grass (Panicum maximum). Potassium deficiency symptoms and mortality of plants occurred on light textured soils, whereas plants survived for six harvests for Oxisols with clay texture, relatively high CEC and higher NH₄OAc-K (exchangeable K plus water-soluble K). There is a strong linear relationship of unit slope between NH₄OAc-K and cumulative K uptake by plants indicating that NH₄OAc-K is a major form of K available to plants. Thus K-bearing minerals contributed little K to plants over the time scale of the experiment and XRD patterns of whole soil samples, silt and clay from soils after cropping mostly showed no change from those for the initial soil. An exception was for a single surface soil clay where a minor amount of smectite was formed from illite by K release to plants.     

胡敏酸对铵钾在粘土矿物上交互作用的影响

Interaction of ammonium (NH+4) and potassium (K+) is typical in field soils. However, the effects of organic matter on interaction of NH+4 and K+have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we examined the changes in major physicochemical properties of three clay minerals (kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite) after humic acid (HA) coating and evaluated the influences of these changes on the interaction of NH+4 and K+on clay minerals using batch experiments. After HA coating, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) and specific surface area (SSA) of montmorillonite decreased significantly, while little decrease in CEC and SSA occurred in illite and only a slight increase in CEC was found in kaolinite. Humic acid coating significantly increased cation adsorption and preference for NH+4, and this effect was more obvious on clay minerals with a lower CEC. Results of Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis showed that HA coating promoted the formation of H-bonds between the adsorbed NH+4 and the organo-mineral complexes. HA coating increased cation fixation capacity on montmorillonite and kaolinite, but the opposite occurred on illite. In addition, HA coating increased the competitiveness of NH+4 on fixation sites. These results showed that HA coating affected both the nature of clay mineral surfaces and the reactions of NH+4 and K+with clay minerals, which might influence the availability of nutrient cations to plants in field soils amended with organic matter.     

Properties of sub soils in relation to various measures of surface area and water content

Neither the specific surface area values (from N₂ sorption) nor the ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGME) retention values of 21 soil samples from New Zealand and Fiji could all be accounted for by the sum of the contributions from their component minerals. Much EGME is probably retained by internal surfaces of inter layered and interstratified clay minerals. EGME retention correlated well with cation exchange capacity (CEC) and a number of measures of water content of these soils. The water contents of air-dried soils (measured as ‘moisture factors’ or the ratios of air-dry and oven-dry weights) showed almost as close a relationship to CEC as EGME retention for this set of 21 subsoils. Moisture factors and CEC were closely related, within groups defined by dominant clay mineralogies, for a much wider selection of 1318 New Zealand soil horizons with low carbon contents. The relationships between surface area and a number of other soil properties including dispersibility of soils were also examined.     

Sorption of dissolved organic nitrogen by acid subsoil horizons and individual mineral phases

Dissolved organic matter is important in translocation and export of nutrients from forest ecosystems. Its mobility in soil is restricted by sorption to mineral surfaces which depends on its chemical properties. Carboxyl and hydroxyl groups form strong bondings to mineral surfaces, whereas the role of N‐containing functional groups in the sorption process is less well understood. We examined in laboratory experiments the binding of dissolved organic matter from the forest floor to amorphous Al(OH)₃, goethite, kaolinite, and illite and to subsoils in order to compare the sorption and desorption of dissolved organic C with that of dissolved organic N. The mineral samples were equilibrated with acidic solutions of organic matter at pH 4. In the equilibrium solutions organic C and N and their contribution to two operationally defined fractions, namely the so‐called hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions, were determined. We measured neutral and acidic amino sugars to discover the nature of the binding of organic N. Within the hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions, the sorption and desorption of organic C and N did not differ, indicating that there was no preferential binding of N‐containing compounds. The hydrophilic fraction contained more N and sorbed less than the hydrophobic fraction, and so the overall retention of organic N by the mineral phases and subsoils was smaller than that of organic C. Among the amino sugar compounds, muramic acid was preferentially removed from the solution, whereas the neutral amino sugars were sorbed similar to organic C. The results suggest that the sorption of N‐containing compounds is favoured by acidic groups and not by amino groups.     

Azimsulfuron sorption--desorption on soil

The sorption and desorption of the herbicide azimsulfuron, N-[[(4-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl)amino]carbonyl]1-methyl-4-(2-methyl-2H-tetrazole-5-yl)1H-pyrazole-5-sulfonamide, were studied using five soils. Sorption isotherms conformed to the Freundlich equation. It was found that pH is the main factor influencing the sorption and that the sorption on soils was negatively correlated with pH. The highest level of sorption was measured on soils with low pH and high organic carbon content. Moreover, inorganic soil colloids, for example, smectite clay minerals and iron oxides, contributed to the sorption of azimsulfuron. Desorption was hysteretic on soils with high organic and inorganic colloid contents.     

Short‐time clay‐mineral evolution in a soil chronosequence in Oléron Island (France)

Major weathering sequences in soils are well established; however, knowledge on rates of mineral transformations remains unknown, because it is often difficult to date precisely soil processes. This work was carried out on soils developed on recent (< 188 y) sand dunes on the W coast of Oléron Island (France). The coast has been protected against marine and wind erosion by constructing five consecutives barriers close to the coastline since 1820 (1820, 1864, 1876, 1889, 1948) defining the maximum age of the soil parent material, as before the areas between the barriers were under water. Soils on the older dunes have low clay content (> 94% of sand) and exhibit a bleached E horizon that overlies a yellowish brown B horizon. The process responsible for their formation is podzolization promoted by the high permeability of the material and complexing organic matter produced by coniferous vegetation. Initial mineralogy of C horizons is homogenous and constituted of chlorite, illite, illite/smectite mixed‐layer minerals, and kaolinite, quartz, calcite (≈ 8% related to shell fragments), and feldspars. The initial clay‐mineral assemblage of the E horizons is dominated by illite (well‐crystallized WCI and poorly crystallized PCI) and chlorite. With progressive podzolization, poorly crystallized illite is first transformed to illite/smectite mixed‐layer minerals and in a further step into smectite. In addition, transformation of well‐crystallized illite leads to formation of ordered illite/smectite mixed‐layer minerals in the E horizons, which is not commonly described in soils. In the B horizons, illite/smectite mixed‐layer minerals are present with traces of smectite, as well as Al and Fe oxi‐hydroxides as revealed by DCB and oxalate chemical extractions. This chronosequence illustrates that over short distances and short time (< 188 y) intense mineral weathering and soil development occur. Major clay‐mineral changes occur between 132 and 188 y in agreement with development of the pine forest producing acidic litter.