Changes in organic carbon concentration and organic matter compound of erosion-delivered soil aggregates

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key property for both fertility and carbon level control in the atmosphere. SOC changes in soils are ruled by tillage and erosion. Initial SOC erosion was investigated using a laboratory rainfall simulator. Six precipitation events were modelled on cultivated, bare Cam...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental earth sciences 2016, Vol.75 (2), p.1-11, Article 144
Main Authors: Jakab, Gergely, Szabó, Judit, Szalai, Zoltán, Mészáros, Erzsébet, Madarász, Balázs, Centeri, Csaba, Szabó, Boglárka, Németh, Tibor, Sipos, Péter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggregates
Biogeosciences
Carbon
Carbon cycle
Carbon sequestration
Chemical degradation
Climate
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental Science and Engineering
Fertility
Geochemistry
Geology
Hydrology/Water Resources
Organic carbon
Organic matter
Original Article
Rain
Soil aggregates
Soil erosion
Soil organic matter
Soils
Terrestrial Pollution
Tillage
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key property for both fertility and carbon level control in the atmosphere. SOC changes in soils are ruled by tillage and erosion. Initial SOC erosion was investigated using a laboratory rainfall simulator. Six precipitation events were modelled on cultivated, bare Cambisol monolith with various slope steepness and surface roughness under a constant intensity of 80 mm h −1 . The total amount of soil loss was divided into four aggregate size classes (1.00 mm). Altogether, 72 sediment and 16 in situ samples were analysed. The results show a loss of SOC concentration that increased at all aggregate sizes, the highest (~200 %) found in the smallest grain size, while conversely nitrogen concentration decreased in the 250–1000 μm class. Consequently, soil organic matter (SOM) compounds underwent changes during the initial erosion processes in soil losses of all aggregate sizes. The detached SOM was less polymerised and had more aromatic character compared to that of the in situ soil in all aggregate size classes. The type of SOM enrichment found through the soil loss in this study is a result of two parallel processes within initial erosion phenomenon: (I) chemical degradation of the most labile SOM components and (II) mineralogical changes in the smallest aggregate class (
ISSN:1866-6280
1866-6299
DOI:10.1007/s12665-015-5052-9