Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Changes in organic carbon concentration and organic matter compound of erosion-delivered soil aggregates

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key property for both fertility and carbon level control in the atmosphere. SOC changes in soils are ruled by tillage and erosion. Initial SOC erosion was investigated using a laboratory rainfall simulator. Six precipitation events were modelled on cultivated, bare Cambisol monolith with various slope steepness and surface roughness under a constant intensity of 80 mm h−1. The total amount of soil loss was divided into four aggregate size classes (<0.05, 0.05–0.25, 0.25–1.00, >1.00 mm). Altogether, 72 sediment and 16 in situ samples were analysed. The results show a loss of SOC concentration that increased at all aggregate sizes, the highest (~200 %) found in the smallest grain size, while conversely nitrogen concentration decreased in the 250–1000 μm class. Consequently, soil organic matter (SOM) compounds underwent changes during the initial erosion processes in soil losses of all aggregate sizes. The detached SOM was less polymerised and had more aromatic character compared to that of the in situ soil in all aggregate size classes. The type of SOM enrichment found through the soil loss in this study is a result of two parallel processes within initial erosion phenomenon: (I) chemical degradation of the most labile SOM components and (II) mineralogical changes in the smallest aggregate class (<0.05 mm) that results in a considerable amount of quartz leaving the aggregates and remaining on the surface. The results suggest that tillage operations regarding stability of the smallest aggregates have particular importance in SOC conservation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Bauer J, Weihermüller L, Huisman JA, Herbst M, Graf A, Séquaris JM, Vereecken H (2012) Inverse determination of heterotrophic soil respiration response to temperature and water content under field conditions. Biogeochemistry 108:119–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beguería S, Angulo-Martínez M, Gaspar L, Navas A (2015) Detachment of soil organic carbon by rainfall splash: experimental assessment on three agricultural soils of Spain. Geoderma 245–246:21–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellamy PH, Loveland PJ, Bradley RI, Lark RM, Kirk GJD (2005) Carbon losses from all soils across England and Wales 1978–2003. Nature 437:245–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronic CJ, Lal R (2005) Soil structure and management: a review. Geoderma 124:3–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burt R, Soil Survey Staff (ed) 2004 Kellogg Soil survey laboratory methods manual. Soil survey investigation report No. 42 USDA NRCS, Lincoln

  • Buurman P, van Lagen B, Velthorst EJ (eds) (1996) Manual for soil and water analysis. Backhuys, Leiden

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaplot V, Cooper M (2015) Soil aggregate stability to predict organic carbon outputs from soils. Geoderma 243–244:205–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chin YP, Aiken G, Loughlin EO (1994) Molecular weight, polydispersity, and spectroscopic properties of aquatic humic substances. Environ Sci Technol 28:1853–1858

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Janssens IA (2006) Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change. Nature 440:165–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dövényi Z (ed) (2010) Inventory of microregions in Hungary. MTAFKI Budapest, Hungary In Hungarian

    Google Scholar 

  • Farsang A, Kitka G, Barta K, Puskás I (2012) Estimating element transport rates on sloping agricultural land at catchment scale (Velence mts., NW Hungary). Carpathian J Earth. Environ Sci 7(4):15–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Freibauer A, Rounsevell MDA, Smith P, Verhagen J (2004) Carbon sequestration in the agricultural soils of Europe. Geoderma 122(1):1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Häring V, Fischer H, Cadisch G, Stahr K (2013) Implication of erosion on the assessment of decomposition and humification of soil organic carbon after land use change in tropical agricultural systems. Soil Biol Biochem 65:158–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassink J (1997) The capacity of soils to preserve organic C and N by their association with clay and silt particles. Plant Soil 191:77–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Her N, Amy G, Sohn J, Gunten U (2008) UV absorbance ratio index with size exclusion chromatography (URI-SEC) as an NOM property indicator. J Water Supply 57(1):35–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacinthe PA, Lal R, Owens LB, Hothem DL (2004) Transport of labile carbon in runoff as affected by land use and rainfall characteristics. Soil Tillage Res 77:111–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin K, Cornelis W, Schiette W, Lu J, Buysse T, Baert H, Wu H, Yao Y, Cai D, Jin J, Neve S, Hartmann R, Gabriels D (2008) Redistribution and loss of soil organic carbon by overland flow under various soil management practices on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Soil Use Manag 24:181–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahle P, Möller J, Baum C, Gurgel A (2013) Tillage-induced changes in the distribution of soil organic matter and the soil aggregate stability under a former short rotation coppice. Soil Tillage Res 133:49–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemper DW, Rosenau RC (1986) Aggregate stability and aggregate size distribution. In: Klute A (ed) Methods of Soil Analysis Part 1. ASA-SSSA, Madison, pp 425–442

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirkels FMSA, Cammeraat LH, Kuhn NJ (2014) The fate of soil organic carbon upon erosion, transport and deposition in agricultural landscapes—a review of different concepts. Geomorphology 226:94–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn NJ, Armstrong EK, Ling AC, Connolly KL, Heckrath G (2012) Interrill erosion of carbon and phosphorus from conventionally and organically farmed Devon silt soils. Catena 91:94–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2004a) Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science 304:1623–1627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2004b) Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. Geoderma 123(1–2):1–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Le Quéré C, Raupach MR, Canadell JG, Marland G (2009) Trends in the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide. Nat Geosci 2:831–836

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu S, Tan Z, Li Z, Zhao S, Yuan W (2011) Are soils of Iowa USA currently a carbon sink or source? Simulated changes in SOC stock from 1972 to 2007. Agric Ecosyst Environ 140:106–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu MY, Chang QR, Qi YB, Liu J, Chen T (2014) Aggregation and soil organic carbon fractions under different land uses on the tableland of the Loess Plateau of China. Catena 115:19–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noponen MRA, Healey JR, Soto G, Haggar JP (2013) Sink or source—the potential of coffee agroforestry systems to sequester atmospheric CO2 into soil organic carbon. Agric Ecosyst Environ 175(1):60–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinton JN, Govers G, Van Oost K, Bardgett RD (2010) The impact of agricultural soil erosion on biogeochemical cycling. Nat Geosci 3:311–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabbi SMF, Wilson BR, Lockwood PV, Daniel H, Young IM (2014) Soil organic carbon mineralization rates in aggregates under contrasting land uses. Geoderma 216:10–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt MWI, Torn MS, Abiven S, Dittmar T, Guggenberger G, Janssens I, Kleberg M, Kogel-Knabner I, Lehmann J, Manning DAC, Nannipieri P, Rasse DP, Weiner S, Trumbore S (2011) Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property. Nature 478:49–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shepherd MA, Harrison R, Webb J (2002) Managing soil organic matter—implications for soil structure on organic farms. Soil Use Manag 18(s1):284–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spaccini R, Piccolo A (2013) Effects of field managements for soil organic matter stabilization on water-stable aggregate distribution and aggregate stability in three agricultural soils. J Geochem Explor 129:45–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stockmann U, Adams M, Crawford JW, Field DJ, Henakaarchchi N, Jenkins M, McBratney AB, de Courcelles VR, Singh K, Wheeler I, Abbott L, Angers DA, Baldock D, Bird M, Brookes PC, Chenu C, Jastrow JD, Lal R, Lehmann J, O’Donnell AG, Parton WJ, Whitehead D, Zimmermann M (2013) The knowns, known unknowns and unknowns of sequestration of soil organic carbon. Agric Ecosyst Environ 164(1):80–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss P, Pitty J, Pfeffer M, Mentler A (2000) Rainfall simulation for outdoor experiments. In: Jamet P, Cornejo J (eds) Current research methods to assess the environmental fate of pesticides. INRA Editions, Idaho Falls, pp 329–333

    Google Scholar 

  • Su YG, Wu L, Zhou ZB, Liu YB, Zhang YM (2013) Carbon flux in deserts depends on soil cover type. Soil Biol Biochem 58:332–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szabó J, Jakab G, Szabó B (2015) Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of runoff and soil loss dynamics under simulated rainfall. Hung Geogr Bull 64(1):25–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tan KH (2003) Humic matter in soil and the environment principles and controversies. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tang X, Guan D (2014) Organic carbon stocks and erosion in the soils of Guangdong, South China. Environ Earth Sci 72:2597–2606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tisdall JM, Oades JM (1982) Organic matter and water stable aggregates in soils. J Soil Sci 33:141–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Oost K, Quine TA, Govers G, De Gryze S, Six J, Harden JW, Ritchie JC, McCarty GW, Heckrath G, Kosmas C, Giraldez JV, Marques da Silva JR, Merckx R (2007) The impact of agricultural soil erosion on the global carbon cycle. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1145724

    Google Scholar 

  • Verma BC, Datta SP, Rattan RK, Singh AK (2013) Labile and stabilized fractions of soil organic carbon in some intensively cultivated alluvial soils. J Environ Biol 34:1069–1075

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Z, Govers G, Steegen A, Clymans W, Van den Putte A, Langhans C, Merckx R, Van Oost K (2010) Catchment-scale carbon redistribution and delivery by water erosion in an intensively cultivated area. Geomorphology 124:65–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Z, Van Oost K, Govers G (2015) Predicting the long-term fate of buried organic carbon in colluvial soils. Glob Biogeochem Cycles. doi:10.1002/2014GB004912

    Google Scholar 

  • Watteau F, Villemin G, Bartoli F, Schwartz C, Morel J (2012) 0–20 µm aggregate typology based on the nature of aggregative organic materials in a cultivated silty topsoil. Soil Biol Biochem 46:103–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wen H, Niu D, Fu H, Kang J (2013) Experimental investigation on soil carbon, nitrogen, and their components under grazing and livestock exclusion in steppe and desert steppe grasslands, Northwestern China. Environ Earth Sci 70(7):3131–3141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiaux F, Cornelis JT, Cao W, Vanclooster M, Van Oost K (2014) Combined effect of geomorphic and pedogenic processes on the distribution of soil organic carbon quality along an eroding hillslope on loess soil. Geoderma 216:36–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Reference Base for Soil Resources (2007) World soil resources reports No. 103. FAO, Rome

  • Yamashita T, Flessa H, John B, Helfrich M, Ludwig B (2006) Organic matter in density fractions of water-stable aggregates in silty soils: effect of land use. Soil Biol Biochem 38:3222–3234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ye X, Tang S, Cornwell WK, Gao S, Huang Z, Dong M, Cornelissen JHC (2015) Impact of land-use on carbon storage as dependent on soil texture: evidence from a desertified dryland using repeated paired sampling design. J Environ Manag 150(1):489–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zámbó L, Weidinger T (2006) Investigations of karst corrosional soil effects based on ranfall simulation experiment. In: Kiss A, Mezősi G, Sümeghy Z (eds) Táj, környezet és társadalom. Ünnepi tanulmányok Keveiné Bárány Ilona professzor asszony tiszteletére, Szeged, pp 757–765 (In Hungarian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang S, Zhang X, Liu Z, Sun Y, Liu W, Dai L, Fu S (2014) Spatial heterogeneity of soil organic matter and soil total nitrogen in a Mollisol watershed of Northeast China. Environ Earth Sci 72(1):275–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) PD-100929, which is kindly acknowledged here. G. Jakab was supported by the János Bolyai research fellowship by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The authors are also grateful to the Egegyümölcs Ltd. for providing the study site. Special thanks to K. Fehér for the laboratory support, L. Bassa, G. Buttafuoco and the unknown reviewers for improving the quality of this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geographical Institute RCAES, HAS, Budaörsi út 45, 1112, Budapest, Hungary

    Gergely Jakab, Zoltán Szalai, Erzsébet Mészáros & Balázs Madarász

  2. Department of Environmental and Landscape Geography, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary

    Judit Szabó & Zoltán Szalai

  3. Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Szent István University, Páter Károly u. 1., 2100, Gödöllő, Hungary

    Csaba Centeri & Boglárka Szabó

  4. Institute for Geochemical Research RCAES, HAS, Budaörsi út 45, 1112, Budapest, Hungary

    Tibor Németh & Péter Sipos

Authors
  1. Gergely Jakab
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Judit Szabó
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zoltán Szalai
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Erzsébet Mészáros
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Balázs Madarász
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Csaba Centeri
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Boglárka Szabó
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Tibor Németh
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Péter Sipos
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gergely Jakab.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jakab, G., Szabó, J., Szalai, Z. et al. Changes in organic carbon concentration and organic matter compound of erosion-delivered soil aggregates. Environ Earth Sci 75, 144 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-5052-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-5052-9

Keywords