European Journal of Soil Science最新文献

In brackish tidal marsh soils, sulfate reduction processes commonly lead to the formation of Fe sulfide minerals, and if the accumulated potential acidity exceeds the ability of other components for neutralisation, can lead to the occurrence of hypersulfidic soil materials, which if disturbed and oxidised, can become extremely acid (sulfate) soils. In estuarine/riverine marshes that are fed by fresh water flowing into an estuary, a pronounced halinity gradient exists along the course of the stream, with upstream portions being fresher and downstream sections being more strongly influenced by salts. Thus, it is expected that hypersulfidic materials will be less prevalent in upstream sections, and this is reflected in the concepts used in soil mapping of the marshes in the Chesapeake Bay estuary (hypersulfidic materials not being recognised when stream halinity is lower than about 2 ppt). This study was designed to examine tidal marsh soils that span a halinity gradient in estuarine/riverine marshes. Soils at eight sites were identified for study that had stream halinity ranging between 0.10 and 8.8 ppt. Soil morphology was described and samples collected from each horizon, which were examined by documenting pH change during moist aerobic incubation (MAI). Surprisingly, all soils, even those with halinity between 0.10 and 1.0 ppt, contained horizons that became extremely acid (pH < 4.0) within 14 weeks during MAI. Examination of salts that developed in the samples during MAI were demonstrated by X-ray diffraction to be mainly sulfate salts, confirming that the acidity was derived from oxidation of sulfide minerals. We expect that occasional pulses of sulfate enriched water, such as occurs during storm events, may provide sufficient stream water sulfate to lead to formation and accumulation of Fe sulfide minerals sufficient to form hypersulfidic materials. Continued rising sea levels under the current warming climate scenario might also exacerbate this worldwide. These observations suggest that a review of the mapping paradigm used in Chesapeake Bay may be in order. Potential modifications to existing soil maps of marshes around Chesapeake Bay should perhaps recognise soils with hypersulfidic materials extending further up the tidal estuary than previously recorded. This work may also have implications for mapping of similar estuarine tidal marsh soils in other parts of the country or the world.

This paper assesses the effect of long-term contrasting tillage practices on topsoil structural characteristics critical for nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions and carbon sequestration across a pedoclimatic gradient. The hypotheses tested are that: (i) aeration is greater in the topsoil of ploughed (to 0.20–0.30 m depth) than in no-till soils and (ii) the effect of tillage practice on soil functionality depends on the context, and thus varies between sites with different pedoclimatic conditions. We evaluated the topsoil characteristics of seven long-term tillage experiments, spread along a 2600-km transect in Europe. A total of 576 soil cores (100-cm³) were sampled from 0 to 0.10 and 0.10 to 0.20 m depths in mouldboard-ploughed and no-tillage treatments after harvest. The soil water content at −30, −60, and −100 hPa matric potential was measured as well as air permeability (k_a) and relative gas diffusivity (D_s/D_o) at −100 hPa, from which soil bulk and gas transport characteristics were derived. Despite large variations in the characteristics among sites, tillage did significantly affect the characteristics across sites. The degree of compactness was less and total pore volume was greater in the ploughed than in the no-till treatments. Still, thresholds indicating suitable conditions for root growth were largely met under both practices. The ploughed soils showed vertical stratification, with a better aeration of the 0–0.10 m soil layer compared to the 0.10–0.20 m layer. No differences were observed between the ploughed 0.10–0.20 m and no-till layers, which were attributed to soil settlement after ploughing. While the D_s/D_o at 0.10–0.20 m depth was favourable for promoting N₂O emissions, the water-filled pore space was below suggested thresholds. Impacts of tillage on soil structural and functional characteristics were both significant and generalisable but also deviated locally. For example, D_s/D_o and k_a generally increased with the air-filled pore volume (ε_a), yet sites with greater ε_a did not necessarily have higher D_s/D_o and k_a. Existing models explaining D_s/D_o and k_a with ε_a were fitted to the measured data and performed best when both depths and tillage practices were assessed altogether. Despite the limited differences at −100 hPa, anoxic conditions may in reality prevail for a longer period under no-till than ploughing.

Dittrich, F., B. Klaes, L. Brandt, N. Groschopf, S. Thiele-Bruhn. 2024. “The Stonesphere in Agricultural Soils: A Microhabitat Associated With Rock Fragments Bridging Rock and Soil.” European Journal of Soil Science 75(6), e70025. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70025.

The caption for Figure 2 is incorrect. The correct caption for Figure 2 is: Relationships between chemical weathering and element mobility, OM accumulation and the production of noncrystalline Fe-(hydr)oxides pointing towards the evolution of a microhabitat in weathered rocks and soils. (a) Physical accumulation of heavy minerals and element depletion through chemical weathering as indicated by Zr concentrations and Ba:Nb ratios. (b) Fe_o concentrations and δ¹³C values indicate an enrichment in noncrystalline Fe-(hydr)oxides with increasing OM content. Typical δ¹³C ranges for CaCO₃ and OM-sourced carbon (C3 plants) are inserted (Hoefs 2009). Variations in δ¹³C and mass transfer coefficients (τ_Zr) depict the fractional loss of Fe (c) and Si (d) with increasing OM content and turnover rates. We apologize for this error.

Friggens, N. L., N. England, J. B. Murton, G. K. Phoenix, and I. P. Hartley. 2025. “BLOSOM: A Plant Growth Facility Optimised for Continuous ¹³C Labelling and Measurement of Soil Organic Matter Dynamics.” European Journal of Soil Science 76, no. 1: e70042.

We apologise for this typographical error to the original manuscript, which does not affect any of the presented data, results or interpretations.

Zhang, S., J. Liu, Y. Feng, X. Hao, Y. Liang, L. Xue, and X. Zhao. 2024. “Optimised Fertilization Mitigated Carbon and Nitrogen Losses in a Solonchak.” European Journal of Soil Science 75, no. 2: e13474. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.13474.

We apologise for these errors.

Estuaries play a vital role in the coastal environment by filtering pollutants and nutrients from catchment runoff. In areas where acid sulfate (AS) soils are abundant, the importance of the estuary as a coastal filter is heightened as AS soils typically stress the marine environment with acidic metal-laden drainage waters. In this study, we took sediment cores from a shallow estuary in Western Finland and used geochemical and palaeoecological methods to investigate how the estuary is affected by loading from AS soils. An overall decrease in diatom species richness and diversity in the estuarine sediments was found, with a clear change from species preferring pelagic conditions to species indicative of more eutrophic conditions. The change coincides with human disturbance during the early 20th century when extensive drainage and rework of forests and peatlands into agricultural use increased. Geochemical analyses show a significant enrichment of Cd, Ni, Co, Zn and Al in the estuarine sediments which correspond to the metal loads originating from the catchment AS soils. Our calculations, however, show that in comparison to the total load of soluble metals from the catchment area, more than 80% of chalcophiles and 70% of Al are transported further out to sea. We hypothesised that a precipitation gradient driven by changes in pH and salinity due to seawater mixing would form along a transect towards the estuary outlet. Instead, we found that physical sedimentation processes are stronger drivers for element transport, as enrichment takes place only in low-energy hydrodynamic conditions at greater water depths. Glacioisostatic land uplift and significant particle transport from the catchment area are further isolating the estuary, effectively moving the saline gradient seawards and diminishing the role of the estuary as a coastal filter. We also found that the estuarine sediments are hypersulfidic and contain stores of potential acidity significantly larger than conventional AS soils. Without proper management, disturbance of the estuarine sediments can cause disastrous consequences at a local level.

The potential for soil carbon (C) sequestration strongly depends on the availability of plant biomass inputs, making its efficient use critical for designing net zero strategies. Here, we compared different biomass processing pathways and quantified the long-term effect of the resulting exogenous organic materials (EOMs) to that of direct plant residue input on soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. We estimated C losses during feed digestion of plant material, storage of manure, composting and anaerobic digestion of plant material and manure, and pyrolysis of plant material, using values reported in the literature. We then applied an extended version of the widely used SOC model RothC with newly developed parameters to quantify the SOC storage efficiency, that is, accounting for both processing losses off-site and decomposition losses of the different EOMs in the soil. Based on simulations for a 39-year long cropland trial in Switzerland, we found that the SOC storage efficiency is higher for plant material directly added to the soil (16%) compared to digestate and manure (3% and 5%, respectively). For compost, the effect was less clear (2% ̶ 18%; mean: 10%) due to a high uncertainty in C-losses during composting. In the case of biochar, 43% of the initial plant C remained in the soil, due to its high intrinsic stability despite C-losses of 54% during pyrolysis. To provide robust recommendations for optimal biomass use, it is essential to consider additional factors such as nutrient availability of EOMs, environmental impacts of soil application, and life cycle assessments for the entire production processes.