Soil mineralogy control on SOC stability in soils
EMSL Project ID
60880
Abstract
Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) pools and stability are influenced by interactions between climate, management, and soil properties. Numerous studies have determined the size and stability of SOC pools by incubation and other analytical methods. Few studies have linked the stability of SOC pools to soil clay mineralogy. However, these studies have not directly linked the stability of the SOC pools to the interactions between the SOC and soil mineralogy at molecular and structural configurations. Understanding these interactions at such scales offers not only a fundamental understanding of factors controlling SOC stability but means to upscale the stability of SOC pools to field, regional and continental scales by utilizing the spatial distribution of major soil minerals (smectite, kaolinite and mixed mineralogy) and climate gradient.
The objectives of this research are to (i) investigate the soil mineralogy control on SOC stability in soils at a molecular scale and (ii) elucidate on the potential to map the SOC stability using spatial distribution of soil mineralogy and other soil properties, that are currently available for the U.S. In the best-case scenario soil cores with low and high OC and clay representing three major soil mineralogy classes for a total of 12 samples will be analyzed. Alternatively, 6 cores representing three major mineralogy classes with low and high OC will be analyzed. Priority will be given to sites associated with research network stations such as Long-Term Agro-Ecosystem Research (LTAR). The proposed research project will benefit from the MONet soil program that offers state of the art measurement methods and database facilities to support multiscale approaches for assessing the SOC stability. The research is a multipurpose collaborative effort that includes several partners such as DOI-BER, USDA-ARS, and DOE-PNNL.
Project Details
Project type
MONet
Start Date
2023-05-05
End Date
N/A
Status
Active
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)
Team Members