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Effects of temperature on soil organic carbon fractions contents, aggregate stability and structural characteristics of humic substances in a Mollisol

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Under a global warming scenario, understanding the response of soil organic carbon fractions and aggregate stability to temperature increases is important not only for better understanding and maintaining relevant ecosystem services like soil fertility and crop productivity, but also for understanding key environmental processes intimately related with the maintenance of other regulatory ecosystem services like global climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. An increase in temperature would accelerate the mineralization of soil organic carbon. However, the properties of organic carbon remained in soil after mineralization is not well known.

Materials and methods

Mollisol was collected at 0–20-cm depth from maize (Zea mays L.) field in Northeast China. A 180-day incubation experiment was conducted at three different temperatures (10, 30, and 50 °C) under constant soil moisture (60 % water holding capacity). Soil samples were assayed for total organic carbon (TOC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), easily oxidizable organic carbon (EOC), humic fractions carbon, aggregate-associated carbon, and water stability of aggregates. Elemental analysis and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to characterize humic acid and humin fractions.

Results and discussion

The contents of soil TOC, EOC, humic fractions carbon, and aggregate-associated carbon decreased with the increase in temperature. The proportion of 2–0.25-mm macroaggregate and the mean weight diameter (MWD) of aggregates also decreased. The C, H, N, S, alkyl C, and O-alkyl C contents of humic acid and humin decreased, whereas the O, aromatic C, and carbonyl C contents increased. The H/C, aliphatic C/aromatic C, and O-alkyl C/aromatic C ratios in humic acid and humin fractions decreased.

Conclusions

The increase in temperature has a negative impact on soil organic carbon content, soil aggregation, and aggregate stability. Moreover, humic acid and humin molecules become less aliphatic and more decomposed with the increase in temperature.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key Technology R&D Program of China (2013BAD07B02, 2013BAC09B01), the Science and Technology Development Planning Project of Jilin Province (LFGC14301), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41471196, 31470506). We would like to thank the editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resource and Environmental Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, People’s Republic of China

    Yong Wang, Shuqing Gao, Cuilan Li & Jinjing Zhang

  2. Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environments, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, 130124, People’s Republic of China

    Lichun Wang

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  1. Yong Wang
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  2. Shuqing Gao
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  3. Cuilan Li
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Correspondence to Jinjing Zhang or Lichun Wang.

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Responsible editor: Leo Condron

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Wang, Y., Gao, S., Li, C. et al. Effects of temperature on soil organic carbon fractions contents, aggregate stability and structural characteristics of humic substances in a Mollisol. J Soils Sediments 16, 1849–1857 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1379-4

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