Projected loss of soil organic carbon in temperate agricultural soils in the 21^stcentury: effects of climate change and carbon input trends

Climate change and stagnating crop yields may cause a decline of SOC stocks in agricultural soils leading to considerable CO2 emissions and reduced agricultural productivity. Regional model-based SOC projections are needed to evaluate these potential risks. In this study, we simulated the future SOC development in cropland and grassland soils of Bavaria in the 21st century. Soils from 51 study sites representing the most important soil classes of Central Europe were fractionated and derived SOC pools were used to initialize the RothC soil carbon model. For each site, long-term C inputs were determined using the C allocation method. Model runs were performed for three different C input scenarios as a realistic range of projected yield development. Our modelling approach revealed substantial SOC decreases of 11–16% under an expected mean temperature increase of 3.3 °C assuming unchanged C inputs. For the scenario of 20% reduced C inputs, agricultural SOC stocks are projected to decline by 19–24%. Remarkably, even the optimistic scenario of 20% increased C inputs led to SOC decreases of 3–8%. Projected SOC changes largely differed among investigated soil classes. Our results indicated that C inputs have to increase by 29% to maintain present SOC stocks in agricultural soils

Persistence of dissolved organic matter explained by molecular changes during its passage through soil

Dissolved organic matter affects fundamental biogeochemical processes in the soil such as nutrient cycling and organic matter storage. The current paradigm is that processing of dissolved organic matter converges to recalcitrant molecules (those that resist degradation) of low molecular mass and high molecular diversity through biotic and abiotic processes. Here we demonstrate that the molecular composition and properties of dissolved organic matter continuously change during soil passage and propose that this reflects a continual shifting of its sources. Using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we studied the molecular changes of dissolved organic matter from the soil surface to 60 cm depth in 20 temperate grassland communities in soil type Eutric Fluvisol. Applying a semi-quantitative approach, we observed that plant-derived molecules were first broken down into molecules containing a large proportion of low-molecular-mass compounds. These low-molecular-mass compounds became less abundant during soil passage, whereas larger molecules, depleted in plant-related ligno-cellulosic structures, became more abundant. These findings indicate that the small plant-derived molecules were preferentially consumed by microorganisms and transformed into larger microbial-derived molecules. This suggests that dissolved organic matter is not intrinsically recalcitrant but instead persists in soil as a result of simultaneous consumption, transformation and formation

Auswirkung transgener Kartoffeln mit veraenderter Staerkezusammensetzung auf die strukturelle und funktionelle Diversitaet von Bodenmikroorganismen Abschlussbericht

SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F02B1598 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung und Forschung, Berlin (Germany)DEGerman

Forest humus forms as potential indicators of soil carbon storage in Mediterranean environments

The aim of this work was to investigate the potential of forest humus forms as indicators of soil C storage. To this purpose, Mediterranean forest soils in Southern and Central Italy were examined. Sites differed for elevation, climate, parent material and vegetation conditions, while summer drought was the common ecological factor. A morpho-functional criterion, based on holorganic layers thickness and A horizon properties, was used to classify humus forms, which ranged from Dysmoder to Eumull. Such variability allowed understanding of factors influencing organic matter storage. The relations between carbon stock and humus form were investigated for the topsoil layer (0–20 cm), which was supposed to contain the soil C pools most sensitive to climate change. We found that humus forms can be grouped in statistically different populations, with respect to topsoil C stocks. The use of A horizon structure was the main diagnostic criterion and represented the most effective approach to humus classification in Mediterranean conditions. It appears that humus forms have a clear potential as indicators of organic carbon status in Mediterranean forest soils

Error propagation for the Molodensky G1 term

Molodensky G terms are used in the computation of the quasigeoid. We derive error propagation formulas that take into account uncertainties in both the free air gravity anomaly and a digital elevation model. These are applied to generate G1 terms and their errors on a 1? × 1? grid over Australia. We use these to produce Molodensky gravity anomaly and accompanying uncertainty grids. These uncertainties have average value of 2 mGal with maximum of 54 mGal. We further calculate a gravimetric quasigeoid model by the remove–compute–restore technique. These Molodensky gravity anomaly uncertainties lead to quasigeoid uncertainties with a mean of 4 mm and maximum of 80 mm when propagated through a deterministically modified Stokes’s integral over an integration cap radius of 0.5°

Soil carbon storage controlled by interactions between geochemistry and climate

Soils are an important site of carbon storage. Climate is generally regarded as one of the primary controls over soil organic carbon, but there is still uncertainty about the direction and magnitude of carbon responses to climate change. Here we show that geochemistry, too, is an important controlling factor for soil carbon storage. We measured a range of soil and climate variables at 24 sites along a 4,000-km-long north-south transect of natural grassland and shrubland in Chile and the Antarctic Peninsula, which spans a broad range of climatic and geochemical conditions. We find that soils with high carbon content are characterized by substantial adsorption of carbon compounds onto mineral soil and low rates of respiration per unit of soil carbon; and vice versa for soils with low carbon content. Precipitation and temperature were only secondary predictors for carbon storage, respiration, residence time and stabilization mechanisms. Correlations between climatic variables and carbon variables decreased significantly after removing relationships with geochemical predictors. We conclude that the interactions of climatic and geochemical factors control soil organic carbon storage and turnover, and must be considered for robust prediction of current and future soil carbon storag