Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ws8qp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T07:37:10.471Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Soil Organic Matter Decomposition and Turnover in a Tropical Ultisol: Evidence from δ13C, δ15N and Geochemistry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Evelyn S Krull
Affiliation:
CSIRO Land and Water, PMB 2, Glen Osmond SA 5064, Australia. Email: Evelyn.Krull@csiro.au.
Erick A Bestland
Affiliation:
CSIRO Land and Water, PMB 2, Glen Osmond SA 5064, Australia. Email: Evelyn.Krull@csiro.au.
Will P Gates
Affiliation:
CSIRO Land and Water, PMB 2, Glen Osmond SA 5064, Australia. Email: Evelyn.Krull@csiro.au.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Soil organic matter (SOM), leaf litter, and root material of an Ultisol from the tropical rainforest of Kakamega, Kenya, were analyzed for stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic values as well as total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents in order to determine trends in SOM decomposition within a very well-developed soil under tropical conditions. In addition, we quantified mineralogy and chemistry of the inorganic soil fraction. Clay mineralogical variation with depth was small and the abundance of kaolin indicates intense weathering and pedoturbation under humid tropical conditions. The soil chemistry was dominated by silica, aluminium, and iron with calcium, potassium, and magnesium as minor constituents. The relative depletion of base cations compared with silica and aluminium is an indicator for intense weathering and leaching conditions over long periods of time. Depth profiles of δ13C and δ15N showed a distinct enrichment trend down profile with a large (average 13δC = 5.0 and average 15δN= 6.3) and abrupt offset within the uppermost 10–20 cm of the soil. Isotopic enrichment with depth is commonly observed in soil profiles and has been attributed to fractionation during decomposition. However, isotopic offsets within soil profiles that exceed 3 are usually interpreted as a recent change from C4 to C3 dominated vegetation. We argue that the observed isotopic depth profiles along with data from mineralogy and chemistry of the inorganic fraction from the Kakamega Forest soil are a result of intense weathering and high organic matter turnover rates under humid tropical conditions.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

References

Andreux, F, Cerri, C, Vose, PB, Vitorello, VA. 1990. Potential of stable isotopes 15N and 13C: methods for determining input and turnover in soils. In: Harrison, P, Ineson, P, Heal, OW, editors. Nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd. p 259–75.Google Scholar
Baldock, JA, Skjemstad, JO. 2000. Role of the soil matrix and minerals in protecting natural organic materials against biological attack. Organic Geochemistry 31: 697710.Google Scholar
Balesdent, J, Mariotti, A. 1996 Measurement of soil organic matter turnover using 13C natural abundance. In: Boutton, TW, Yamasaki, S, editors. Mass spectrometry of soils. New York: Marcel-Dekker, Inc. p 83111.Google Scholar
Balesdent, J, Girardin, C, Mariotti, A. 1993. Site-related 813C of tree leaves and soil organic matter in a temperate forest. Ecology 74:1713–21.Google Scholar
Balesdent, J, Mariotti, A, Guillet, B. 1987. Natural 13C abundance as a tracer for studies of soil organic matter dynamics. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 19:2530.Google Scholar
Becker-Heidmann, P. 1989. Die Tiefenfunktionen der natürlichen Kohlenstoff-Isotopengehalte von vollständig dünnschichtweise beprobten Parabraunerden und ihre Relation zur Dynamik der organischen Substanz in diese Böden [PhD dissertation]: Hamburger Bodenkundliche Arbeiten 13: 1228.Google Scholar
Becker-Heidmann, P, Scharpenseel, H-W. 1986. Thin layer 813C and A14C monitoring of “lessive” soil profiles. Radiocarbon 28(2A):383–90.Google Scholar
Becker-Heidmann, P, Scharpenseel, H-W. 1990. Carbon isotope dynamics in some tropical soils. Radiocarbon 31(3):672–9.Google Scholar
Becker-Heidmann, P, Scharpenseel, H-W. 1992a. The use of natural 14C and 13C in soils for studieson global climate change. Radiocarbon 34(3):535–40.Google Scholar
Becker-Heidmann, P, Scharpenseel, H-W. 1992b. Studies of soil organic matter dynamics using natural carbon isotopes. The Science of the Total Environment 117/118:305–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birkeland, PW. 1999. Soils and geomorphology. Third edition. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Boutton, TW, Archer, SR, Midwood, AJ, Zitzer, SF, Bol, R. 1998. δ13C values of soil organic carbon and their use in documenting vegetation change in a subtropical savanna ecosystem Geoderma 82:541.Google Scholar
Bunn, SE, Loneragan, NR, Kempster, MA. 1995. Effects of acid washing on stable isotope ratios of C and N in penaeid shrimp and seagrass: Implications for food-web studies using multiple stable isotopes. Limnology and Oceanography 40:622–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buol, SW, Hole, FD, McCracken, RJ. 1989. Soil genesis and classification. Third edition. Ames: Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
COHMAP Members. 1988. Climatic change of the last 18,000 years: observations and model simulations. Science 241:1043–52.Google Scholar
Deines, P. 1980. The isotopic composition of reduced organic carbon. In: Fritz, P, Fontes, JC, editors. Handbook of environmental isotope geochemistry. Volume 1. The Terrestrial Environment, A. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p 329406.Google Scholar
Ehleringer, JR, Cooper, TA. 1988. Correlations between carbon isotope ratio and microhabitat in desert plants. Oecologia 76:562–6.Google Scholar
Emmett, BA, Kjønaas, OJ, Gundersen, P, Koopmans, C, Tietema, A, Sleep, D. 1998. Natural abundance of 15N in forests across a nitrogen deposition gradient. Forest Ecology and Management 101:918.Google Scholar
Farquhar, GD, Richards, RA. 1984. Isotopic composition of plant correlates with water-use efficiency of wheat genotypes. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 11: 539.Google Scholar
Feng, X, Peterson, JC, Quideau, SA, Virginia, RA, Graham, RC, Sonder, LJ, Chadwick, OA. 1999. Distribution, accumulation, and fluxes of soil carbon in four monoculture lysimeters at San Dimas Experimental Forest, California, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 63: 1319–33.Google Scholar
Goering, J, Alexander, V, Haubenstock, N. 1990. Seasonal variability of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of organisms in a North Pacific bay, Estuarine Coastal Shelf. Science 30:239–60.Google Scholar
Hamilton, A. 1967. The significance of patterns of distribution shown by forest plants and animals in tropical Africa for the reconstruction of Upper Pleistocene paleoenvironments: a review. In: van Zinderen Bakker, EM, editor. Paleoecology of Africa. Volume 9. Cape Town: Balkema. p 6397.Google Scholar
Karamanos, RE, Voroney, RP, Rennie, DA. 1981. Variation in natural N-15 abundance of Central Saskatchewan soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 45:826–8.Google Scholar
Kendall, C. 1998. Tracing nitrogen sources and cycling in catchments. In: Kendall, C, McDonnell, JJ, editors. Isotope tracers in catchment hydrology. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science. p 519–76.Google Scholar
Ladyman, SJ, Harkness, DD. 1980. Carbon isotope measurement as an index of soil development. Radiocarbon 22(3):885–91.Google Scholar
Mariotti, A, Pierre, D, Vedy, JC, Bruckert, S. 1980. The abundance of natural nitrogen-15 in the organic matter of soils along an altitudinal gradient. Catena 7:293300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, A, Mariotti, A, Balesdent, J, Lavelle, P, Vuattoux, R. 1990. Estimate of organic matter turnover rate in a savanna soil by 13C natural abundance measurements. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 22:517–23.Google Scholar
Martinelli, LA, Pessenda, LCR, Espinoza, E, Camargo, PB, Telles, EC, Cerri, CC, Victoria, RL, Aravena, R, Richey, J, Trumbore, S. 1996. Carbon-13 variation with depth in soils of Brazil and climate change during the Quaternary. Oecologia 106:376–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martinelli, LA, Piccolo, MC, Townsend, AR, Vitousek, PM, Cuevas, E, McDowell, W, Robertson, GP, Santos, OC, Treseder, K. 1999. Nitrogen stable isotopic composition of leaves and soil: tropical versus temperate forests. Biogeochemistry 46:4565.Google Scholar
DeMenocal, P, Ortiz, J, Guilderson, T, Adkins, J, Sarntheim, M, Baker, L, Yarusinsky, M. 2000. Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period: rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing. Quaternary Science Reviews 19:347–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nadelhoffer, KJ, Fry, B. 1988. Controls on natural nitrogen-15 and carbon-13 abundances in forest soil organic matter. Soil Science Society of America Journal 52:1633–40.Google Scholar
Neue, HU, Becker-Heidmann, P, Scharpenseel, H-W. 1990. Organic matter dynamics, soil properties, and cultural practices in rice lands and their relationship to methane production. In: Bouwman, AF, editor. Soils and the greenhouse effect. New York: John Wiley and Sons. p 457–66.Google Scholar
Norrish, K, Hutton, JT. 1969. An accurate X-ray spectroscopic method for the analysis of a wide range of geologic samples. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 33: 431–53.Google Scholar
Norrish, K, Pickering, JG. 1983. Clay minerals. In: CSIRO Division of Soils, editor. Soils, an Australian viewpoint. Melbourne: Academic Press. p 281308.Google Scholar
O'Brien, BJ, Stout, JD. 1978. Movement and turnover of soil organic matter as indicated by carbon isotope measurements. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 10: 309–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Leary, MH. 1988. Carbon isotopes in photosynthesis. BioScience 38:328–36.Google Scholar
Osle, NJ, Bol, R, Petzke, KJ, Jarvis, SC. 1999. Compound specific δ15N‰ values: amino acids in grassland and arable soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 31:1751–5.Google Scholar
Pessenda, LCR, Aravena, R, Melfi, AJ, Telles, EC, Boulet, R, Valencia, EPE, Tomazello, M. 1996a. The use of carbon isotopes (13C, 14C) in soil to evaluate vegetation changes during the Holocene in central Brazil. Radiocarbon 38(2):191201.Google Scholar
Pessenda, LCR, Valencia, EPE, Camargo, PB, Tzelles, EC, Martinelli, LA, Cerri, CC, Aravena, R, Rozanski, K. 1996b. Natural radiocarbon measurements in Brazilian soils developed on basic rocks. Radiocarbon 38(2):203–8.Google Scholar
Pessenda, LCR, Gouveia, SEM, Aravena, R, Gomes, BM, Boulet, R, Ribeiro, AS. 1998. 14C-dating and stable carbon isotopes of soil organic matter in forest-savanna boundary areas in the southern Brazilian Amazon region. Radiocarbon 40(2):1013–22.Google Scholar
Peterson, BJ, Fry, B. 1987. Stable isotopes in ecosystem studies. Annual Review of Ecological Systems 18:293320.Google Scholar
Round-Turner, D, editor. 1994. Kakamega Forest, the official guide. Nariobi: Indigenous Forest Conservation Programme. 67 p.Google Scholar
Senwo, ZN, Tabatabai, MA. 1998. Amino Acid composition of soil organic matter. Biology and Fertility of Soils 26:235–42.Google Scholar
Soil Survey Staff. 1975. Soil taxonomy, handbook. U.S. Department of Agriculture No. 436.Google Scholar
Steele, KW, Wilson, AT, Saunders, WMH. 1981. Nitrogen isotope ratios in surface and sub-surface horizons of New Zealand improved grassland soils. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 24:167–70.Google Scholar
Stevenson, FJ. 1956. Effect of some long-term rotations on the amino acid composition of the soil. Journal of the American Soil Science Society 20:204–8.Google Scholar
Stewart, GR, Turnbull, MH, Schmidt, S, Erskine, PD. 1995. 13C abundance in plant communities along a rainfall gradient: a biological integrator of plant availability. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 22:51–5.Google Scholar
Stout, JD, Rafter, TA. 1978. The 13C/12C isotopic ratios of some New Zealand tussock grassland soils. In: Stable isotopes in the earth sciences. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, DSIR Bulletin 220, INS Contribution no. 806. p 7583.Google Scholar
Stout, JD, Goh, KM, Rafter, TA. 1981. Chemistry and turnover of naturally occurring resistant organic compounds in soil. In: Paul, EA, Ladd, JN, editors. Soil biochemistry. New York: Marcel Dekker. p 1924.Google Scholar
Strakhov, NM. 1967. Principles of lithogenesis. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd Ltd.Google Scholar
Taylor, JC. 1991. Computer programs for standardless quantitative analysis of minerals using the full powder diffraction profile. Powder Diffraction 6:29.Google Scholar
Turekian, VC, Macko, S, Ballentine, D, Swap, RJ, Garstang, M. 1998. Causes of bulk carbon and nitrogen isotopic fractionations in the products of vegetation burns: laboratory studies. Chemical Geology 152:181–92.Google Scholar
Veldkamp, E. 1994. Organic carbon turnover in three tropical soils under pasture after deforestation. Soil Science Society of America Journal 58:175–80.Google Scholar
Vitousek, PM. 1984. Litterfall, nutrient cycling, and nutrient limitation in tropical forests. Ecology 65:285–98.Google Scholar
Volkoff, B, Cerri, CC. 1987. Carbon isotopic fractionation in subtropical Brazilian grassland soils. Comparison with tropical forest soils. Plant and Soil 102:2731.Google Scholar