The effect of clay minerals, litter quality, and earthworms on soil organic matter storage, clay macro-porosity is more important than surface area

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60077344%3A_____%2F25%3A00617586" target="_blank" >RIV/60077344:_____/25:00617586 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/67985858:_____/25:00617586 RIV/00216208:11310/25:10500042 RIV/00216208:11690/25:10500042

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0341816225001742?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0341816225001742?via%3Dihub</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2025.108872" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.catena.2025.108872</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

The effect of clay minerals, litter quality, and earthworms on soil organic matter storage, clay macro-porosity is more important than surface area

Original language description

Consensus holds that clay minerals play an important role in accumulation of soil organic matter, especially mineral associated organic matter (MAOM). However, little is known about how clay minerals interact with litter and soil fauna. This study used a series of year long microcosms experiments to observe the carbon (C) storage trajectories of three soil forming substrates dominated by the individual clay minerals of kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite, supplied by litter from two tree species with contrasting carbon (C) to nitrogen (N) ratios (alder and oak), in the presence or absence of earthworms. We tested the hypothesis that MAOM would become a major source of soil organic matter. We expected storage to increase with increasing surface area of clay minerals (kaolinite < illite < montmorillonite), litter decomposability (oak < alder), and earthworm processing. Experiment showed that illite provided the greatest C storage in mineral layer (in average 0.53 g microcosms1) followed by montmorillonite (0.25 g) and kaolinite (0.10 g), despite highest surface area of montmorillonite. C storage also appeared higher in soils supplied by alder litter relative to those supplied by oak litter. Soils with earthworms showed higher C storage relative to those evolving in the absence of earthworms. Most of the C stored in soils resided in the particulate organic matter fraction (POM), most pores of montmorillonite were nm size, too small to accommodate POM, while illite showed the highest proportion of micrometer size pores. Statistics detected a positive correlation between C storage, microbial biomass, respiration, and hot water extractable carbon. Results also showed that incorporation of POM from litter into mineral soil is a crucial transfer. This process becomes more pronounced in the presence of earthworms and easily decomposable litter.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

40104 - Soil science

Project

Result was created during the realization of more than one project. More information in the Projects tab.

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Catena

ISSN

0341-8162

e-ISSN

1872-6887

Volume of the periodical

252

Issue of the periodical within the volume

MAY 2025

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

108872

UT code for WoS article

001437269500001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85218877883