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Chemically stabilized soil organic carbon fractions in a reclaimed minesoil chronosequence: implications for soil carbon sequestration

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Abstract

With adoption of appropriate reclamation strategies, minesoils can sequester significant amount of soil organic carbon (SOC). The objective of this study was to isolate different SOC fractions and coal-C in a reclaimed minesoil chronosequence and assess effects of increasing time since reclamation on each SOC fraction and selected soil properties. The chronosequence was comprised of four minesoils with time since reclamation ranging between 2 and 22 years. Total SOC (TSOC, summation of all SOC fractions), ranged between 20 and 8 g kg−1, respectively, at the oldest (Mylan Park) and youngest (WVO1) minesite, indicating increasing SOC sequestration along the chronosequence. The humin fraction accounted for about 43 and 7 % of TSOC, respectively, at Mylan Park and WVO1, indicating increasing humification and biochemical stabilization of SOC with increasing time since reclamation. At WVO1, >60 % of TSOC was apportioned among the acid-hydrolysable (labile) and mineral-bound SOC fractions. Total soil carbon (TSC, TSOC + coal-C) were significantly (p < 0.05) related to the humin fraction in older minesoils, whereas with the acid-hydrolysable (labile) fraction in the younger minesoils indicating that C stabilization mechanisms differed substantially along the chronosequence. Coal-C was unrelated to any SOC fraction at all minesites indicating that SOC sequestration estimations in this chronosequence was unaffected by coal-C. Soil cation exchange capacity and electrical conductivity were significantly (p < 0.05) related to the humin fraction at Mylan Park while to the acid-hydrolysable and mineral-bound SOC fractions at WVO1 indicating that the relative influences of different SOC fractions on soil quality indicators differed substantially along the chronosequence.

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Abbreviations

AHSOC:

65 % HNO3 Hydrolysable soil organic carbon

ARSC:

Residual soil carbon after 65 % HNO3 hydrolysis

BHSOC:

Base (0.5 M NaOH) hydrolysable soil organic carbon

CEC:

Cation exchange capacity

EC:

Electrical conductivity

FBHSOC:

Final base (0.5 M NaOH) hydrolysable soil organic carbon

FBRSC:

Residual soil carbon after final base hydrolysis

HFSOC:

10 % HF Hydrolysable soil organic carbon

HFRSC:

Residual soil carbon after 10 % HF hydrolysis

RSC:

Residual soil carbon after each step of sequential fractionation

SOC:

Soil organic carbon

SOM:

Soil organic matter

TSC:

Total soil carbon

TSOC:

Total soil organic carbon

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the scientific contribution no. 3153 from the West Virginia Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, Morgantown, WV for supporting this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, P.O. Box 1658, Vernon, TX, 76385, USA

    Sriroop Chaudhuri

  2. Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, West Virginia University, 1102 Agricultural Sciences Building, P.O. Box 6108, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6108, USA

    Louis M. McDonald, Eugenia M. Pena-Yewtukhiw & Jeff Skousen

  3. Department of Agronomy and Soils, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Mimi Roy

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  1. Sriroop Chaudhuri
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  2. Louis M. McDonald
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Correspondence to Sriroop Chaudhuri.

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Chaudhuri, S., McDonald, L.M., Pena-Yewtukhiw, E.M. et al. Chemically stabilized soil organic carbon fractions in a reclaimed minesoil chronosequence: implications for soil carbon sequestration. Environ Earth Sci 70, 1689–1698 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2256-8

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