Spohn, Marie
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
The aim of this study was to better understand how soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents and the C:N ratio are related to soil texture, pH, and exchangeable aluminum and calcium in forest soils.For this purpose, we studied 1992 temperate and boreal forest soils located all over Sweden. We measured organic C and N as well exchangeable aluminum, calcium, and pH in the organic layer and three depth increments in the mineral soil (down to 65 cm), and analyzed the relationship between element contents, soil texture, and soil pH as well as their interactions.Soil C concentration and the C:N ratio were negatively related to soil pH. The C concentration was on average 2.6 times higher in very acidic soils (pH < 4.0) than in soils with pH > 5.0, in the uppermost 10 cm of the mineral soil. In contrast, N varied much less with pH, particularly in the organic layer, but was related to soil texture. The N concentration was 2.3 times higher in clayey and fine silty soils than in sandy soils, while the C concentration was only 1.85 times higher in clayey and fine silty soils than in sandy soils (in the uppermost 10 cm). Differences in C and N concentrations between clayey and fine silty soils compared to sandy soils were largest in the class of soils with pH > 5.0 and smallest in the class of soils with pH
Soil organic carbon; Soil nitrogen; C:N ratio; Mineral-associated organic matter; Soil pH; Charge density; Aluminum; Calcium
Geoderma
2024, volume: 441, article number: 116746
Publisher: ELSEVIER
Soil Science
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/127951