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Chemical stabilization of organic carbon in agricultural soils in a semi-arid region (SE Spain)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2015

M. SIERRA Open the ORCID record for M. SIERRA [Opens in a new window] ,
F. J. MARTÍNEZ ,
V. BRAOJOS ,
A. ROMERO-FREIRE ,
I. ORTIZ-BERNAD  and
F. J. MARTÍN
M. SIERRA*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Edafología y Química Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
F. J. MARTÍNEZ
Affiliation:
Departamento de Edafología y Química Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
V. BRAOJOS
Affiliation:
Departamento de Edafología y Química Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
A. ROMERO-FREIRE
Affiliation:
Departamento de Edafología y Química Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
I. ORTIZ-BERNAD
Affiliation:
Departamento de Edafología y Química Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
F. J. MARTÍN
Affiliation:
Departamento de Edafología y Química Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Fuentenueva, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: msierra@ugr.es
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Summary

Land use and management, together with soil properties, determine soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration and its stabilization mechanisms. Four soils (0–30 cm depth) were studied in a semi-arid region with different uses and management regimes: two soils with olive cultivation, both under a non-tillage regime and one with a cover crop (OCC) and the other without (ONT); a fluvial terrace soil (FT) with cereal–sunflower–fallow rotation; and an unaltered soil under natural vegetation (oak trees; OT). The OT soil had a higher SOC concentration than the agricultural soils (OCC, ONT and FT), followed by the FT soil without significant differences. The olive grove soils had a lower SOC concentration but the two types of management differed significantly, with higher concentrations due to the cover crop. Hydrofluoric acid (HF)-soluble, hydrochloric acid (HCl)-resistant, and non-oxidizable (sodium peroxodisulphate; Na2S2O8) SOC fractions were determined at different depths (0–5, 5–10, 10–20 and 20–30 cm). The relative HCl-resistant and non-oxidizable SOC fractions increased with depth, whereas the relative HF-soluble SOC fraction varied slightly among the four soils considered. Differences in the SOC-stabilization mechanism were found according to the chemical SOC fractionation. In the FT and OT soils, where HF-soluble SOC and soil respiration rates were higher, the intense biological activity rapidly degraded the plant debris, being partially fixed and stabilized by the fine mineral-soil fraction as the principal stabilization mechanism of SOC. The olive grove soils had lower biological activity but higher SOC resistance to oxidation with Na2S2O8, thus suggesting that chemical recalcitrance of soil organic matter was a relevant stabilization mechanism in these soils.

Type
Crops and Soils Research Papers
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 154 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 87 - 97
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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