ABSTRACT GRUVER, JOEL BROOKS. Impact Of
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ABSTRACT GRUVER, JOEL BROOKS. Impact of Management and Texture on Soil Organic Matter Fractions. (Under the direction of Michael G. Wagger.) Growing concerns about elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 and associated climate change have increased interest in C sequestration. While general increases in conservation management (e.g., conservation tillage, inclusion of cover crops and forages in rotations, land application of organic wastes) may enhance C sequestration, efficient utilization of soil as a C sink will require identification of soil systems with high potential for sequestration and improved methods of monitoring soil C. The objectives of this research were to: 1) investigate the historical roots, theoretical and experimental validation and subsequent impact of the C saturation relationships proposed by Jan Hassink, 2) investigate the effects of management and texture on soil structure and C fractions using soil from two long term experiments, 3) develop new methods of soil structural disruption and physical fractionation that address shortcomings in existing methods, 4) investigate the impact of antecedent C on aggregate and C dynamics following structural disruption and amendment and 5) evaluate the simplified MnoxC method proposed by Weil et al. (2003). Collectively, the literature we reviewed did not support broad application of simple C saturation relationships such as those proposed by Hassink; however, the abundance of strong relationships between soil C and fine mineral content reported in the literature suggests that soil texture is a useful indicator of soil capacity for C accumulation when other capacity factors (e.g. temperature, mineralogy) are relatively constant. Results from two incubation experiments demonstrated the modulating effect of antecedent C on soil C and aggregate dynamics following structural disruption and residue addition. Positive effects of residue and structural disruption on aggregation were greatest in soil with low antecedent C. Residue decomposed more rapidly in soil with high antecedent C but had a greater priming effect in soil with low antecedent C. Addition of a 15N labeled nitrate source revealed that immobilization of nitrate-N within microaggregates is a minor process irrespective of structural disruption and antecedent C. Carbon contained in the micromacro fine fraction (least dispersible < 20 µm fraction of stable macroaggregates isolated using a new fractionation method) of soils from an Organic Transition (OT) experiment (Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, NC) was sensitive to C input regime but unrelated to fine mineral content (unlike 3 other fine fractions). Strong tillage system effects on C fractions, aggregation and texture (tillage intensity↑ = ↓C, aggregate stability and sand content) were identified in soil from the Nine Tillage Systems (NTS) experiment (Upper Piedmont Research station in Reidsville, NC). These results were integrated with historical soil measurements and crop yields into a comprehensive review of the NTS experiment. Permanganate oxidizable C (Weil et al. (2003) method) results for soil from the OT and NTS experiments indicate that MnoxC is a sensitive measure of management effects on soil C. We also found however that the volume (20 ml) and concentration (20 mM) of permanganate recommended by Weil et al. do not combine to provide a sufficient excess of permanganate to maintain linearity over the range of C levels commonly found in agricultural soils. We developed a correction method that provides reasonable correction for soils within a 3x range of MnoxC levels and improves the sensitivity of MnoxC to changes in soil C resulting from differences in tillage and organic matter additions. Impact of Management and Texture on Soil Organic Matter Fractions by Joel Brooks Gruver A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Soil Science Raleigh, North Carolina 2007 APPROVED BY ______________________________ ______________________________ Dean Hesterberg Wei Shi ______________________________ _______________________________ Shuijin Hu Michael Wagger Chair of Advisory Committee BIOGRAPHY My interest in plants and soil emerged early, nutured by many hours of childhood explorations in Wyman Park (Baltimore, MD) and the farms where my family kept honeybees. After 7 years of mostly weekend visits to Gruverland, my family built a house… and I became a country boy! Undergraduate study at Principia College (Elsah, IL) strengthened my scientific interests and opened my eyes to the diverse cultures of the world. After a year in transition, during which I worked on a local organic farm and read sustainable agriculture literature voraciously, I finally flew the coop and landed a 1 year farm management internship at the Hampshire College Farm (Amherst, MA). This highly formative experience convinced me that I should pursue a career in the agricultural sciences. After a short stint at Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR), I transfered to the University of Maryland (College Park, MD). Four years of collaboration with Ray Weil fine-tuned my teaching skills and led to visiting faculty positions at Tufts University and (Sommerville, MA) and Principia College. Next I headed south to North Carolina where I became the first manager of the Student Farm at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (Goldsboro, NC). After two very fulfilling seasons, I relocated to Raleigh and embarked on a PhD program in the NCSU Soil Science Department. Five years later, despite many distractions (5 classes taught at Central Carolina Community College (Pittsboro, NC), ~ 40 conference presentations and a wedding), I am now an assistant professor in the Agriculture Department at Western Illinois University (Macomb, IL) and my dissertation is complete ! ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful for all the support I have received from: my family - Mom, Dad, Nate and Feather, my friends at NCSU - Ken F, Robert W, Scottie D, Steve C, Kannan I, Suba M, Sarah O, Laura O, Samba A, Chris B, Dr. Kamprath and many more, my committee members, and my wife, Lisa ! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER I: THE HASSINK HYPOTHESES: A 10 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE.. 1 Abstract ..................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2 Historical context ...................................................................................................... 2 Structure of review.................................................................................................... 5 Discussion of component 1: Particulate C content is controlled primarily by management, while fine C content is controlled primarily by fine mineral content... 6 Textural regulation of POM-C ................................................................................ 7 Interactions between management and texture ........................................................ 7 Management effects on fine C.................................................................................. 8 Accumulation of fine C............................................................................................ 8 Depletion of fine C .................................................................................................. 9 Textural regulation of fine C ................................................................................. 10 Relationships between fine mineral content and soil C .......................................... 11 Variation in fine C with depth ............................................................................... 11 Relationship between fine C loading and fine mineral content............................... 12 C enrichment vs. C loading ................................................................................... 13 Artifacts of fractionation ....................................................................................... 14 Functional significance of fine C loading .............................................................. 14 Distribution of fine materials within soil matrices ................................................. 16 Summary of component 1:..................................................................................... 16 Discussion of component 2: The amount of C that can be protected by OMI is finite and related to fine mineral content. ................................................................ 17 Do soils have a finite matric protection capacity (MPC) ?..................................... 18 Evidence of fine C saturation ................................................................................ 19 Evidence supporting finite MPC in meta-data ....................................................... 19 Regression approaches.......................................................................................... 20 Are the mechanisms underlying MPC finite?......................................................... 22 Sorptive preservation ...........................................................................................