Abstract
Recent studies demonstrate a strong influence of soil age on long-term silicon (Si) dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems, but how variation in ecosystem water balance and soil parent material impact this trajectory is unknown. We addressed this by studying a 2-million-year dune chronosequence in southwestern Australia characterized by a positive water balance (+ 50 mm year−1) and a lower carbonate concentration in the parent sand (5%) compared with two chronosequences already characterized (− 900 and − 750 mm year−1; 88 and 74%). We sampled soils from the progressive and retrogressive phases of ecosystem development to quantify pedogenic reactive Si (extracted in ammonium oxalate and oxalic acid), phytoliths (biogenic Si), and plant-available Si (extracted in dilute CaCl2). Silicon mobilization was buffered by carbonate in the early stages of the two carbonate-rich drier chronosequences, as previously highlighted, but not in the carbonate-poor wetter chronosequence. Reactive pedogenic Si and plant-available Si did not peak at intermediate stages in the carbonate-poor wetter chronosequence, where almost no clay formation occurred, as it did in the carbonate-rich drier chronosequences during clay formation after carbonate loss. This is probably due to a combination of lower content of weatherable minerals in the soil parent material and higher weathering rates. Phytolith stocks were similar across the three chronosequences, suggesting that a climate-driven increase in biomass and associated phytolith production in wetter sites counterbalance the higher phytolith dissolution rates and physical translocation. Together, these results demonstrate that the initial carbonate concentration in the soil parent material and subsequent mineralogical evolution drive long-term soil Si dynamics, and suggest a significant influence of climate-induced variation in biomass production on the Si biological feedback loop, even in old and highly desilicated environments.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions for permission to sample along the Jurien Bay, Guilderton and Warren chronosequences and for access to these outstanding ecosystems. We also thank the Center for Applied Research and Education in Microscopy (CAREM; ULiege) for providing access to electron microscopy. This work would not have been possible without the help of Jean-Charles Bergen, Raphaël Tarantino, Emilie Marit and François Fontaine, whom we sincerely thank. J-T. C and F. dT were supported by ‘Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique’ of Belgium (FNRS; Research Credit Grant for the project SiCliNG CDR J.0117.18).
Funding
J-T.C and F.dT were supported by “Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique” of Belgium (FNRS; Research Credit Grant for the project SiCliNG CDR J.0117.18). H.L acknowledges funding from the Deputy Vice Chancellor Research at the University of Western Australia.
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FdT and J-TC formulated research questions and all the authors designed methodology; FdT and J-TC collected the samples; FdT analyzed the data and led the writing of the manuscript. All authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.
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de Tombeur, F., Cornelis, JT., Laliberté, E. et al. Impact of ecosystem water balance and soil parent material on silicon dynamics: insights from three long-term chronosequences. Biogeochemistry 156, 335–350 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00849-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00849-w