Determination of organic and inorganic carbon, δ 13 C, and nitrogen in soils containing carbonates after acid fumigation with HCl

• Published in: Journal of plant nutrition and soil science 2010-04, Vol.173 (2), p.207-216
• Main Authors: Walthert, Lorenz, Graf, Ursula, Kammer, Adrian, Luster, Jörg, Pezzotta, Daniele, Zimmermann, Stephan, Hagedorn, Frank
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1436-8730; 1522-2624
• DOI: 10.1002/jpln.200900158

In carbonate‐containing soils a reliable determination of organic C requires a method that effectively separates organic and inorganic C without altering the organic matter. This study was conducted to determine whether HCl vapor completely removes carbonates even in dolomite‐rich soils and to what extent a widely used acid‐fumigation method has to be modified for humus‐rich soils. Furthermore, it was tested whether HCl fumigation alters organic‐C content. Since C and N parameters are often analyzed simultaneously we also tested the influence of acid‐vapor treatment on N content and on δ 13 C of soil organic matter. We applied fumigation with 37% HCl for 8 and 32 h using 9 carbonate‐containing soil samples. Inorganic C ranged from 7 to 124 and organic C from 9 to 267 g kg –1 . The maximum contents of dolomite and calcite were 940 and 640 g kg –1 , respectively. A time of 8 h was enough to completely remove all carbonates. Neither the content nor the δ 13 C of organic C were significantly affected by fumigation. In contrast, N contents were altered by acid treatment. Based on these results and on our experience in analyzing more than 1000 soil samples, a recommended procedure for acid fumigation of carbonate‐containing soils with a wide range of organic‐ and inorganic‐C contents was derived. Samples pretreated in this way can be analyzed reliably for their organic‐C content and δ 13 C. Furthermore, N and inorganic‐C contents can be determined with a quality sufficient for many purposes.