plants Review Silicon Cycling in Soils Revisited Jörg Schaller 1,* , Daniel Puppe 1, Danuta Kaczorek 1,2 , Ruth Ellerbrock 1 and Michael Sommer 1,3 1 Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), 15374 Müncheberg, Germany;
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[email protected] (M.S.) 2 Department of Soil Environment Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), 02-776 Warsaw, Poland 3 Institute of Environmental Science and Geography, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +49-33432-82371 Abstract: Silicon (Si) speciation and availability in soils is highly important for ecosystem functioning, because Si is a beneficial element for plant growth. Si chemistry is highly complex compared to other elements in soils, because Si reaction rates are relatively slow and dependent on Si species. Consequently, we review the occurrence of different Si species in soil solution and their changes by polymerization, depolymerization, and condensation in relation to important soil processes. We show that an argumentation based on thermodynamic endmembers of Si dependent processes, as currently done, is often difficult, because some reactions such as mineral crystallization require months to years (sometimes even centuries or millennia). Furthermore, we give an overview of Si reactions in soil solution and the predominance of certain solid compounds, which is a neglected but important parameter controlling the availability, reactivity, and function of Si in soils. We further discuss the drivers of soil Si cycling and how humans interfere with these processes. The soil Si cycle is of major importance for ecosystem functioning; therefore, a deeper understanding of drivers of Si cycling (e.g., predominant speciation), human disturbances and the implication for important soil properties (water storage, nutrient availability, and micro aggregate stability) is of fundamental relevance.