Amorphous Silica Preservation in an Anthropogenic Soil: An Explorative Study of "Plaggen" Soils
(2013) Silicones and Silicone-Modified Materials Symposium / 243rd National Spring Meeting of the American-Chemical-Society 1154. p.3-14- Abstract
- Amorphous Silica (ASi) is present in considerable amounts in most soils and serves as a (micro-)nutrient for many plants. However, our understanding of the response of this important nutrient pool to human or natural disturbances is still very limited. One of the reasons for this is the long time scales involved. This explorative study focuses on the effect of a historical agricultural system, called plaggen management, that was applied on sandy areas in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany over a period of ca. 1000 yrs on ASi dynamics. The system was designed to maintain high nutrient levels (including C and Si) on arable fields through the addition of mixtures rich in animal manure and vegetation residues. The continuous addition of ASi... (More)
- Amorphous Silica (ASi) is present in considerable amounts in most soils and serves as a (micro-)nutrient for many plants. However, our understanding of the response of this important nutrient pool to human or natural disturbances is still very limited. One of the reasons for this is the long time scales involved. This explorative study focuses on the effect of a historical agricultural system, called plaggen management, that was applied on sandy areas in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany over a period of ca. 1000 yrs on ASi dynamics. The system was designed to maintain high nutrient levels (including C and Si) on arable fields through the addition of mixtures rich in animal manure and vegetation residues. The continuous addition of ASi over such a long time period allows to study if and to what extent ASi is preserved in such a soil system and how Si addition affects the build-up and availability of ASi pools. We quantified ASi pools (Na2CO3 extraction) in a soil profile with plaggen application, and a reference soil without plaggen application. Other measured soil properties were soil organic carbon (SOC) and grain size distribution. There was an important SOC (+20%) and ASi accumulation (+70%) and preservation at the plaggen site. Si losses from the soil column through leaching and crop harvest might thus be restricted by application of organic residue and Si fertilisation to maintain sustainable nutrient concentrations in the topsoil. Net C and Si accumulation rates were 45 kg C ha(-1) y(-1) and 77 kg SiO2 ha(-1) y(-1) respectively, not accounting for the removal of ASi through plant uptake nor for the mineralisation of part of the SOC. The vertical distribution of ASi within the profile, suggests that, contrary to SOC, most of the added ASi has remained stably stored in the soils and that only a smaller, labile pool was removed, most likely through dissolution rather than through plant uptake. Our results indicate that ASi addition leads to a build-up of Si pools in these sandy soils. While this results in increased Si availability, this effect is limited because most ASi remains stored for long time spans. To consolidate our preliminary research results, to answer unresolved questions and to validate proposed hypotheses, future research should: (I) collect additional profiles with higher vertical resolution; (2) include other Si fractions; (3) analyse the relationship between ASi and SOC to better understand the coupling of the ASi and C cycles; (4) develop a modelling approach that would allow one to investigate how ASi pools in soils may respond to future changes. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4376281
- author
- Clymans, Wim LU ; Verbeeck, Toon ; Tielens, Sander ; Struyf, Eric ; Vandevenne, Floor and Govers, Gerard
- organization
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Progress in Silicones and Silicone-Modified Materials
- volume
- 1154
- pages
- 3 - 14
- publisher
- The American Chemical Society (ACS)
- conference name
- Silicones and Silicone-Modified Materials Symposium / 243rd National Spring Meeting of the American-Chemical-Society
- conference dates
- 2012-03-25 - 2012-03-29
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000331591200001
- scopus:84905270812
- ISSN
- 0097-6156
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 360deaa3-f27d-4d27-9aaa-1a46a9e5e084 (old id 4376281)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 13:58:54
- date last changed
- 2022-01-27 22:11:30
@inproceedings{360deaa3-f27d-4d27-9aaa-1a46a9e5e084,
abstract = {{Amorphous Silica (ASi) is present in considerable amounts in most soils and serves as a (micro-)nutrient for many plants. However, our understanding of the response of this important nutrient pool to human or natural disturbances is still very limited. One of the reasons for this is the long time scales involved. This explorative study focuses on the effect of a historical agricultural system, called plaggen management, that was applied on sandy areas in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany over a period of ca. 1000 yrs on ASi dynamics. The system was designed to maintain high nutrient levels (including C and Si) on arable fields through the addition of mixtures rich in animal manure and vegetation residues. The continuous addition of ASi over such a long time period allows to study if and to what extent ASi is preserved in such a soil system and how Si addition affects the build-up and availability of ASi pools. We quantified ASi pools (Na2CO3 extraction) in a soil profile with plaggen application, and a reference soil without plaggen application. Other measured soil properties were soil organic carbon (SOC) and grain size distribution. There was an important SOC (+20%) and ASi accumulation (+70%) and preservation at the plaggen site. Si losses from the soil column through leaching and crop harvest might thus be restricted by application of organic residue and Si fertilisation to maintain sustainable nutrient concentrations in the topsoil. Net C and Si accumulation rates were 45 kg C ha(-1) y(-1) and 77 kg SiO2 ha(-1) y(-1) respectively, not accounting for the removal of ASi through plant uptake nor for the mineralisation of part of the SOC. The vertical distribution of ASi within the profile, suggests that, contrary to SOC, most of the added ASi has remained stably stored in the soils and that only a smaller, labile pool was removed, most likely through dissolution rather than through plant uptake. Our results indicate that ASi addition leads to a build-up of Si pools in these sandy soils. While this results in increased Si availability, this effect is limited because most ASi remains stored for long time spans. To consolidate our preliminary research results, to answer unresolved questions and to validate proposed hypotheses, future research should: (I) collect additional profiles with higher vertical resolution; (2) include other Si fractions; (3) analyse the relationship between ASi and SOC to better understand the coupling of the ASi and C cycles; (4) develop a modelling approach that would allow one to investigate how ASi pools in soils may respond to future changes.}},
author = {{Clymans, Wim and Verbeeck, Toon and Tielens, Sander and Struyf, Eric and Vandevenne, Floor and Govers, Gerard}},
booktitle = {{Progress in Silicones and Silicone-Modified Materials}},
issn = {{0097-6156}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{3--14}},
publisher = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
title = {{Amorphous Silica Preservation in an Anthropogenic Soil: An Explorative Study of "Plaggen" Soils}},
volume = {{1154}},
year = {{2013}},
}