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A theoretical analysis of steady state δ 13 C profiles of soil organic matter
Author(s) -
Poage Michael A.,
Feng Xiahong
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2003gb002195
Subject(s) - isotopes of carbon , carbon fibers , carbon cycle , soil water , soil carbon , soil organic matter , environmental science , total organic carbon , carbon 14 , range (aeronautics) , soil science , environmental chemistry , chemistry , ecology , materials science , physics , ecosystem , nuclear physics , mathematics , biology , algorithm , composite number , composite material
Soil organic matter (SOM) is the largest reservoir of terrestrial carbon and plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. Carbon isotope systematics of SOM have been widely used to constrain the dynamics of this important carbon reservoir though interpretation of carbon isotope data remains controversial. It has been widely observed that the 13 C/ 12 C ratio of SOM increases systematically with soil depth though there is little consensus as to which of several mechanisms may be responsible for this pattern. Here we present a process‐based theoretical model of steady state δ 13 C SOM versus depth profiles, which is coupled with a carbon concentration model. We show that widely observed δ 13 C SOM versus depth profiles can be modeled using a reasonable range of model parameters. More importantly, we show that coupling carbon isotope data with carbon concentrations in soils allows for tighter constraints on model parameters that have biological and environmental significance.