Biogeochemistry

, Volume 89, Issue 2, pp 253–271 | Cite as

Composition of organic matter in sandy relict and cultivated heathlands as examined by pyrolysis-field ionization MS

  • Steven Sleutel
  • Peter Leinweber
  • Shamim Ara Begum
  • Mohammed Abdul Kader
  • Patrick Van Oostveldt
  • Stefaan De Neve
Article
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Abstract

Unusually high SOC levels have been reported for sandy cropland soils in North-Western Europe. A potential link with their general heathland land-use history was investigated by comparing two soil pairs of relict heathland and cultivated former heathland in the Belgian sandy region. A sequential chemical fractionation yielded similar sizes in corresponding SOM fractions between the heathland and cropland soils (i.e. NaOCl resistant: 12.3–15.0 g C kg−1 and NaOCl + HF resistant: 2.6–5.3 g C kg−1). Higher amounts of clay sized N in the cropland plots can be attributed to N additions from mineral fertilizers and animal manure. Temperature resolved Pyrolysis Field Ionization Mass Spectroscopy analysis showed that the composition of both relict heathland and cultivated soils was surprisingly similar, in spite of over 60 years of intense cropland management. The mass spectra of SOM in both heathland-cropland soil pairs investigated was dominated by signals from lipids, alkylaromatics and sterols. The accumulation of this SOM rich in aliphatics was logically linked to the high input of lipids, long-chain aliphatics and sterols from heathland vegetation and the low soil pH and microbial activity. Based on the relatively high OC surface loadings of HF-extractable OM (13–44 mg C m−2 Fe and 1.2–2.3 mg C m−2 clay), direct organo-mineral bonds between OM and Fe-oxides or clay minerals seem to be only partly involved as a stabilization mechanism in these soils. The distinct bimodal shape of the thermograms indicates that OM-crosslinking could furthermore contribute substantially to SOM stabilization in these soils. This study therefore corroborates the previously proposed view that lipids may be bound in networks of alkylaromatics, the structural building blocks of OM macromolecules. We hypothesize that such binding is able to explain the measured retention of these OM components, even under several decades of cropland management.

Keywords

Soil Organic Matter Heathland Analytical Pyrolysis Chemical fractionation Land-use 

Abbreviations

CLSM

Confocal laser scanning microscopy

MOC and MN

Mineral protected organic C and N

OC

Organic carbon

Py-FIMS

Pyrolysis Field Ionization Mass Spectroscopy

ROC and RN

Recalcitrant organic C and N

SOM

Soil organic matter

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Notes

Acknowledgements

S. Sleutel is working as a post-doctoral researcher for the Flemish Research Foundation (FWO). The authors wish to thank R. Beese and K.-U. Eckhardt, University of Rostock, for carrying out the Py-FIMS analyses. We gratefully acknowledge C. Verschueren, E. Kuycken and K. De Kesel for providing access to relict heathland plots in the Gulke Putten and Maldegemveldt nature reserves.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  • Steven Sleutel
    • 1
  • Peter Leinweber
    • 2
  • Shamim Ara Begum
    • 1
  • Mohammed Abdul Kader
    • 1
  • Patrick Van Oostveldt
    • 3
  • Stefaan De Neve
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Soil Management and Soil CareGhent UniversityGentBelgium
  2. 2.Institute of Land UseUniversity of RostockRostockGermany
  3. 3.Department of Molecular BiotechnologyGhent UniversityGentBelgium

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