Organo-Mineral Interactions: The Role of Biotic and Abiotic Controls on the Dynamics and Storage of C in Soil

A special issue of Soil Systems (ISSN 2571-8789).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2019) | Viewed by 16332

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Regular adress Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, IRD, INRA, Coll France, CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
2. Temporary adress (2018-2019): CSIRO, Gate 4, Waite Road, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia
Interests: soil C dynamics; organo-mineral interactions; nanoscales; mineral weathering; C and Si isotopes

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Guest Editor
CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia
Interests: soil carbon composition; decomposition; stabilisation; organo-mineral interactions; phyiscal and chemical protection; soil carbon stauration

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Guest Editor
Centre of Evolutionary and Functional Ecology (CEFE), CNRS CNRS—Université de Montpellier—Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier—EPHE, 1919, route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, France
Interests: soil ecology; biodiversity; decomposition; C and nutrient cycling; global change; trophic interactions; soil fauna; microbial ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Organo-mineral interactions are recognized as a key factor in stabilizing organic matter against biological decomposition in soils. They thus are essential to our understanding of soil organic matter dynamics and why, where, and for how long C is stored in soils.

The mineral component encompasses particles ranging from a few millimeters in size to nanoscale phases, with an increasing reactivity towards organic compounds the lower the crystallinity of the minerals. Weathering of minerals continuously increases the reactivity of mineral surfaces by providing reactive cations and nanophases, on which organic compounds may bind through adsorption, coprecipitation, and/or complexation.

The organic component is mainly composed of microbial by-products. Some groups of organic compounds are known to bind efficiently to metals, leading to organic matter fractionation upon organo-mineral interactions. However, no particular compounds seem yet to be recognized as dominant in organo-mineral associations.

Recent studies point out that organo-mineral associations are not static. They can form and break depending on microsite conditions (i.e., the presence of minerals, redox conditions, pH, water content, type of organic molecules, etc.). These microsite conditions not only depend on environmental characteristics but also on ecological parameters including the amount and nature of organic inputs derived from plants and products of microbial and faunal activity. Such inputs need to be considered more specifically as drivers controling the dynamics of organo-mineral associations.

We encourage submissions of papers investigating any of the above-cited topics, including the time dependence of organo-mineral associations dynamics, conceptual, analogic or numerical organo-mineral associations modeling, the nano-scale characterization of organo-mineral interactions through high-resolution imaging microscopies and spectroscopies, the impact of plant C input, the role of soil fauna and microorganisms, as well as organo-mineral interactions for C storage issues in any type of ecosystem.

Dr. Isabelle Basile-Doelsch
Dr. Jeff Baldock
Dr. Stephan Hättenschwiler
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Soil C storage
  • Soil organic matter
  • Organo–mineral interactions
  • Short range order minerals
  • Mineral weathering
  • Stabilization/destabilization
  • Carbon residence time
  • Microbial activity
  • Root exudates
  • Plant litter
  • Soil fauna

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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17 pages, 2852 KiB  
Article
Organo-Mineral Interactions Are More Important for Organic Matter Retention in Subsoil Than Topsoil
by Vincent Poirier, Isabelle Basile-Doelsch, Jérôme Balesdent, Daniel Borschneck, Joann K. Whalen and Denis A. Angers
Soil Syst. 2020, 4(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems4010004 - 7 Jan 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5074
Abstract
Decomposing crop residues contribute to soil organic matter (SOM) accrual; however, the factors driving the fate of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in soil fractions are still largely unknown, especially the influence of soil mineralogy and autochthonous organic matter concentration. The objectives of [...] Read more.
Decomposing crop residues contribute to soil organic matter (SOM) accrual; however, the factors driving the fate of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in soil fractions are still largely unknown, especially the influence of soil mineralogy and autochthonous organic matter concentration. The objectives of this work were (1) to evaluate the retention of C and N from crop residue in the form of occluded and mineral-associated SOM in topsoil (0–20 cm) and subsoil (30–70 cm) previously incubated for 51 days with 13C-15N-labelled corn residues, and (2) to explore if specific minerals preferentially control the retention of residue-derived C and N in topsoil and subsoil. We used topsoil and subsoil having similar texture and mineralogy as proxies for soils being rich (i.e., topsoil) and poor (i.e., subsoil) in autochthonous organic matter. We performed a sequential density fractionation procedure and measured residue-derived C and N in occluded and mineral-associated SOM fractions, and used X-ray diffraction analysis of soil density fractions to investigate their mineralogy. In accordance with our hypothesis, the retention of C and N from crop residue through organo-mineral interactions was greater in subsoil than topsoil. The same minerals were involved in the retention of residue-derived organic matter in topsoil and subsoil, but the residue-derived organic matter was associated with a denser fraction in the subsoil (i.e., 2.5–2.6 g cm−3) than in the topsoil (i.e., 2.3–2.5 g cm−3). In soils and soil horizons with high clay content and reactive minerals, we find that a low SOM concentration leads to the rapid stabilization of C and N from newly added crop residues. Full article
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28 pages, 2192 KiB  
Article
Mathematical Functions to Model the Depth Distribution of Soil Organic Carbon in a Range of Soils from New South Wales, Australia under Different Land Uses
by Brian W. Murphy, Brian R. Wilson and Terry Koen
Soil Syst. 2019, 3(3), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3030046 - 23 Jul 2019
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5385
Abstract
The nature of depth distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) was examined in 85 soils across New South Wales with the working hypothesis that the depth distribution of SOC is controlled by processes that vary with depth in the profile. Mathematical functions were [...] Read more.
The nature of depth distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) was examined in 85 soils across New South Wales with the working hypothesis that the depth distribution of SOC is controlled by processes that vary with depth in the profile. Mathematical functions were fitted to 85 profiles of SOC with SOC values at depth intervals typically of 0–5, 5–10, 10–20, 20–30, 30–40, 40–50, 50–60, 60–70, 70–80, 80–90 and 90–100 cm. The functions fitted included exponential functions of the form SOC = A exp (Bz); SOC = A + B exp (Cz) as well as two phase exponential functions of the form SOC = A + B exp (Cz) + D exp (Ez). Other functions fitted included functions where the depth was a power exponent or an inverse term in a function. The universally best-fitting function was the exponential function SOC = A + B exp (Cz). When fitted, the most successful function was the two-phase exponential, but in several cases this function could not be fitted because of the large number of terms in the function. Semi-log plots of log values of the SOC against soil depth were also fitted to detect changes in the mathematical relationships between SOC and soil depth. These were hypothesized to represent changes in dominant soil processes at various depths. The success of the exponential function with an added constant, the two-phase exponential functions, and the demonstration of different phases within the semi-log plots confirmed our hypothesis that different processes were operating at different depths to control the depth distributions of SOC, there being a surface component, and deeper soil component. Several SOC profiles demonstrated specific features that are potentially important for the management of SOC profiles in soils. Woodland and to lesser extent pasture soils had a definite near surface zone within the SOC profile, indicating the addition of surface materials and high rates of fine root turnover. This zone was much less evident under cropping. Full article
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16 pages, 1331 KiB  
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Control of Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities by Clay Minerals—Perspectives on Microbial Responses
by Folasade K. Olagoke, Karsten Kalbitz and Cordula Vogel
Soil Syst. 2019, 3(4), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems3040064 - 26 Sep 2019
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4806
Abstract
Knowledge of how interactions of clay minerals and extracellular enzymes (EEs) influence organic matter turnover in soils are still under discussion. We studied the effect of different montmorillonite contents on EE activities, using two experiments—(1) an adsorption experiment with a commercially available enzyme [...] Read more.
Knowledge of how interactions of clay minerals and extracellular enzymes (EEs) influence organic matter turnover in soils are still under discussion. We studied the effect of different montmorillonite contents on EE activities, using two experiments—(1) an adsorption experiment with a commercially available enzyme (α-glucosidase) and (2) an incubation experiment (10 days) where microorganisms were stimulated to produce enzymes through organic carbon (OC) addition (starch and cellulose). Soil mixtures with different montmorillonite contents were created in four levels to a sandy soil: +0% (control), +0.1%, +1%, and +10%. The potential enzyme activity (pEA) of four enzymes, α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase, and aminopeptidase, involved in the soil carbon and nitrogen cycle were analysed. The adsorption experiment revealed a reduction in the catalytic activity of α-glucosidase by up to 76% with increasing montmorillonite contents. However, the incubation experiment showed an inhibitory effect on pEA only directly after the stimulation of in-situ EE production by OC addition. At later incubation stages, higher pEA was found in soils with higher montmorillonite contents. This mismatch between both experiments, with a transient reduction in catalytic activity for the incubation experiments, points to the continuous production of enzymes by soil microorganisms. It is conceivable that microbial adaptation is characterized by higher investment in EEs production induced by increasing clay contents and a stabilisation of the EEs by clay minerals. Our results point to the need to better understand EE-clay mineral-OC interactions regarding potential microbial adaptations and EE stabilisation with potentially prolonged activities. Full article
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