Skip to main content

Decomposition of organic substrates at eroding vs. depositional landform positions

Plant and Soil volume 350, pages 261–280 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction

Proper understanding of how rate of OM decomposition varies across a given watershed is important to determine the potential of soil erosion to induce terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration. However, as of yet, our understanding of the spatial variability of rate of organic matter (OM) decomposition (k) across a watershed is incomplete, at best.

Aim

The objective of this study is to determine how rates of organic substrate decomposition vary on the surface and in soil profiles of eroding vs. depositional landform positions.

Methods

To determine rate of organic substrate decomposition in eroding vs. depositional landform positions, a field litterbag decomposition study was conducted in Tennessee Valley, Northern California using in situ foliage (from grasses and a shrub) and two standard substrates (filter paper and birch tongue depressors, that served as proxies for OM that is relatively easier vs. harder to breakdown during microbial decomposition). We conducted the experiment at 3–4 depths at each landform position.

Results

The effect of erosional transport (surface to surface transfer of topsoil and associated SOM from eroding to depositional landform positions) and burial (after deposition of eroded SOM by successive erosional events) on decomposition rate of eroded SOM was different depending on the nature of eroding and depositional landform positions considered. The k of organic substrates at 25 cm soil depth in the depositional positions was up to 2 orders of magnitude higher than on the surface of the eroding positions. Results of this litterbag decomposition study suggest that transport of SOM from topsoil of eroding positions to the surface of depositional positions can reduce its k; but burial of eroded SOM in soil profiles at the depositional positions can lead to increasing k.

Conclusion

Because erosion-induced C sequestration is a function of changes in rate of OM decomposition and input post-compared to pre-erosion, our findings suggest that higher rates of plant productivity in eroding watersheds is needed to create and maintain a C sink in such eroding watersheds.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

References

  • Aber JD, Melillo JM (1982) Nitrogen immobilization in decaying hardwood leaf litter as a function of initial nitrogen and lignin content. Can J Bot 60:2263–2269

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baker TT III, Conner WH, Lockaby BG, Stanturf JA, Burke MK (2001) Fine root productivity and dynamics on a forested floodplain in South Carolina. pp 545–556

  • Bennie J, Hill MO, Baxter R, Huntley B (2006) Influence of slope and aspect on long-term vegetation change in British chalk grasslands. J Ecol 94:355–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berhe A, Harden J, Harte J, Torn M (2005) Degradation and global change: the role of soil erosion and deposition in carbon sequestration. University of California International and Area Studies. Breslauer Symposium. Paper 2. http://repositories.cdlib.org/ucias/breslauer/2

  • Berhe AA, Harte J, Harden JW, Torn MS (2007) The significance of erosion-induced terrestrial carbon sink. Bioscience 57:337–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berhe AA, Harden JW, Torn MS, Harte J (2008) Linking soil organic matter dynamics and erosion-induced terrestrial carbon sequestration at different landform positions. J Geophys Res-Biogeosciences 113:G4. doi:10.1029/2008jg000751

    Google Scholar 

  • Blake GR, Hartge KH (1986) Bulk density. In: Klute A (ed) Methods of soil analysis: Part 1 physical and mineralogical methods. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, pp 425–442

    Google Scholar 

  • Brinson M (1977) Decomposition and nutrient exchange of litter in an alluvial swamp forest. Ecology 58:601–609

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant DM, Holland EA, Seastedt TR, Walker MD (1998) Analysis of litter decomposition in an alpine tundra. Can J Bot 76:1295–1304

    Google Scholar 

  • CIMIS. (2006) Climate data from Point San Pedro Station of the California Irrigation Management Information System, Department of Water Resources

  • Davidson E, Janssens I (2006) Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change. Nature

  • Dietrich W, Reis R, Hsu ML, Montgomery DR (1995) A process-based model for colluvial soil depth and shallow landslidding using digital elevation data. Hydrolog Process 9:383–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fogel R, Cromack K Jr (1977) Effect of habitat and substrate quality of Douglas-fir litter decomposition in western Oregon. Can J Bot 55:1632–1640

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallardo A, Merino J (1993) Leaf decomposition in two Mediterranean ecosystems of Southwest Spain: influence of substrate quality. Ecology 74:152–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill RA, Burke IC (2002) Influence of soil depth on the decomposition of Bouteloua gracilis roots in the shortgrass steppe. Plant Soil 241:233–242

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gregorich E, Greer K, Anderson D, Liang B (1998) Carbon distribution and losses: erosion and deposition effects. Soil Till Res 47:291–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harden JW, Sharpe JM, Parton WJ, Ojima DS, Fries TL, Huntington TG, Dabney SM (1999) Dynamic replacement and loss of soil carbon on eroding cropland. Global Biogeochem Cy 13:885–901

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harmon ME (1992) Long-term experiments on log decomposition at the H.J. Andrews Experimental forest, U.S.D.A. Forest Service. pp. 29

  • Harmon ME, Baker GA, Greene SE, Spycher G (1990) Early decomposition of leaf litter in a Picea Tsuga forest, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA. Forest Ecol Manag 31:55–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harmon ME, Nadelhoffer KJ, Blair JM (1999) Measuring decomposition, nutrient turnover and stores in plant litter. In: Robertson G et al (eds) Standard methods for longterm ecological research. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 202–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Harmon M, Silver W, Fasth B, Chen H, Burke I, Partpm W, Hart S, Currie W (2009) Long-term patterns of mass loss during the decomposition of leaf and fine root litter: an intersite comparison. Global Change Biol 15:1320–1338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heimsath A, Dietrich W, Nishiizumi K, Finkle RC (1999) Cosmogenic nuclides, topography and spatial variation of soil depth. Geomorphology 27:151–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Homann PS, Grigal DF (1996) Below-ground organic carbon and decomposition potential in a field-forest glacial-outwash landscape. Biol Fertil Soils 23:207–214

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hornsby DC, Lockaby BG, Chappelka AH (1995) Influence of microclimate on decomposition in loblolly pine stands: a field microcosm approach. Can J Forest Res 25:1570–1577

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang Y-H, Li Y-L, Xiao Y, Wenigmann KO, Zhou G-Y, Zhang D-Q, Wenigmann M, Tang X-L, Liu J-X (2011) Controls of litter quality on the carbon sink in soils through partitioning the products of decomposing litter in a forest succession series in South China. Forest Ecol Manag 261:1170–1177. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.12.030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt HW, Inghan ER, Coleman DC, Elliott ET, Reid CPP (1988) Nitrogen limitation of production and decomposition in prairie, mountain meadow, and pine forest. Ecology 69:1009–1016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Idol TW, Holzbaur KA, Pope PE, Ponder F Jr (2002) Control-bag correction for forest floor litterbag contamination. pp. 620–623

  • IUSS Working Group WRB (2007) World Reference base for soil resources 2006, first update 2007. World soil resources reports No. 103. FAO, Rome, p 128

    Google Scholar 

  • King JS, Allen HL, Dougherty P, Strain BR (1997) Decomposition of roots in loblolly pine: effects of nutrient and water availability and root size class on mass loss and nutrient dynamics. Plant Soil 195:171–184

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McClaugherty C, Berg B (1987) Cellulose, lignin and nitrogen concentrations as rate regulating factors in late stages of forest litter decomposition. Pedobiologia 30:101–112

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McClaugherty CA, Aber JD, Melillo JM (1984) Decomposition dynamics of fine roots in forested ecosystems. Oikos 42:378–386

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McClaugherty CA, Pastor J, Aber JD, Melillo JM (1985) Forest litter decomposition in relation to soil nitrogen dynamics and litter quality. Ecology 66:266–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melillo JM, Aber JD (1984) Nutrient immobilization in decaying litter: an example of carbon-nutrient interactions. In: Coley JH, Goller FP (eds) Trends in ecological research in the 1980s. Plenum, New York, pp 193–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Melillo JM, Aber JD, Linkins AE, Ricca A, Fry B, Nadelhoffer KJ (1989) Carbon and nitrogen dynamics along the decay continuum: plant litter to soil organic matter. In: C. M and B. L (eds) Ecology of arable land. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 53–62

  • Nelson DW, Sommers LE (1996) Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter. In: Sparks DL (ed) Methods of soil analysis. Part 3. Chemical methods. SSSA Book Series No. 5. SSSA and ASA, Madison, pp 961–1010

    Google Scholar 

  • Norton JB, Sandor JA, White CS (2003) Hillslope soils and organic matter dynamics within a Native American agroecosystem on the Colorado Plateau. Soil Sci Soc Am J 67:225–234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olson JS (1963) Energy stores and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology 44:322–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostertag R, Hobbie SE (1999) Early stages of root and leaf decomposition in Hawaiian forests: effects of nutrient availability. Oecologia 121:563–573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennock DJ, Frick AH (2001) The role of field studies in landscape-scale applications of process models: an example of soil redistribution and soil organic carbon modeling using CENTURY. Soil Till Res 58:183–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prescott CE (2005) Do rates of litter decomposition tell us anything I really need to know? Forest Ecol Manag 220:66–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rees JF (1980) The fater of carbon compounds in the landfill disposal of organic matter. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 30:161–175

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Risch AC, Jurgensen MF, Frank DA (2007) Effects of grazing and soil micro-climate on decomposition rates in a spatio-temporally heterogeneous grassland. Plant Soil 298:191–201

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Salamanca EF, Kaneko N, Katagiri S (2003) Rainfall manipulation effects on litter decomposition and the microbial biomass of the forest floor. Appl Soil Ecol 22:271–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sariyildiz T, Anderson JM, Kucuk M (2005) Effects of tree species and topography on soil chemistry, litter quality, and decomposition in Northeast Turkey. Soil Biol Biochem 37:1695–1706

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute Inc. JMP. version 6. (1989–2007), Cary, NC

  • Seastedt TR, Parton WJ, Ojima DS (1992) Mass loss and nitrogen dynamics of decaying litter of grasslands: the apparent low nitrogen immobilization potential of root detritus. Can J Bot 70:384–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldrick BH, Wang C (1993) Particle-size Distribution. In: Carter MR (ed) Soil sampling and methods of analysis, Canadian Society of Soil Science. Lewis Publishers, Ann Arbor, pp 499–511

    Google Scholar 

  • Silver WL, Miya RK (2001) Global patterns in root decomposition: comparisons of climate and litter quality effects. Oecologia 129:407–419

    Google Scholar 

  • Stallard R (1998) Terrestrial sedimentation and the carbon cycle: coupling weathering and erosion to carbon burial. Global Biogeochem Cy 12:231–257

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Staub B, Rosenzweig C (1992) Global Zobler soil type, soil texture, surface slope, and other properties. Digital raster data on a 1-degree geographic (lat/long) 180X360 grid., Global ecosystems database version 2.0. Seven independent spatial layers. 561,782 bytes in 16 files, NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder CO

  • Van Hemelryck H, Fiener P, Van Oost K, Govers G (2009) The effect of soil redistribution on soil organic carbon: an experimental study. Biogeosciences Discussions 6:5031–5071

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VandenBygaart AJ, Gregorich EG, Angers DA (2003) Influence of agricultural management on soil organic carbon: a compendium and assessment of Canadian studies. Can J Soil Sci 83:363–380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Withington CL, Sanford JRL (2007) Decomposition rates of buried substrates increase with altitude in the forest-alpine tundra ecotone. Soil Biol Biochem 39:68–75

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan H, Wang S, Wang C, Zhang G, Patel N (2005) Losses of soil organic carbon under wind erosion in China. Global Change Biol 11:828–840

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo K (2003) Erosion and storage of soil organic carbon in upland hillslope ecosystems, Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley. pp 259

  • Yoo K, Amundson R, Heimsath A, Dietrich W (2005a) Process-based model linking pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) activity to sediment transport and soil thickness. Geology 33:917–920. doi:10.1130/G21831.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo K, Amundson R, Heimsath A, Dietrich W (2005b) Erosion of upland hillslope soil organic carbon: coupling field measurements with a sediment transport model. Global Biogeochem Cy 19:GB3003. doi:10.1029/2004GB002271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo K, Amundson R, Heimsath A, Dietrich W (2006) Spatial patterns of soil organic carbon on hillslopes: integrating geomorphic processes and the biological C cycle. Geoderma 130:47–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang D, Hui D, Luo Y, Zhou G (2008) Rates of litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems: global patterns and controlling factors. J Plant Ecol 1–9. doi:10.1093/jpe/rtn002

  • Zhou G, Guan L, Wei X, Tang X, Liu S, Liu J, Zhang D, Yan J (2008) Factors influencing leaf litter decomposition: an intersite decomposition experiment across China. Plant Soil 311:61–72. doi:10.1007/s11104-008-9658-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zibilske LM, Materon LA (2005) Biochemical properties of decomposing cotton and corn stem and root residues. Soil Sci Soc Am J 69:378–386

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

I thank Margaret S. Torn, John Harte, and Jennifer W. Harden for their help during the field and lab work phases and comments on earlier versions of the manuscript; Mark Harmon for his advice regarding sample processing and for providing me with his spreadsheet for the double-exponential decay model; Daniela Cusack, Garrison Sposito, James Kirchner, the editor, and two antonymous reviewers for comments on earlier versions of this manuscript; Daniel Keck for help in the laboratory; and Laurie Koteen and Jonathan Sanderman for assistance in plant identification. This project was supported by National Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2003-35107-13601 from the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service;a National Research Initiative Competitive Grant No. 2007-35107-17893 from the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; and faculty startup funds from the University of California, Merced.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, 4225 N. Hospital Rd, Castle # 47, Atwater, CA, 95301, USA

    Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

Authors
  1. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asmeret Asefaw Berhe.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Zucong Cai.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Berhe, A.A. Decomposition of organic substrates at eroding vs. depositional landform positions. Plant Soil 350, 261–280 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0902-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0902-z

Keywords

  • Carbon sequestration
  • Litterbags
  • Deep vs. near-surface decomposition
  • Toposequence