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The Significance of the Rate of Organic Matter Decomposition on the Aggregation of Soil
Author(s) -
Meredith H. L.,
Kohnke H.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1965.03615995002900050022x
Subject(s) - decomposition , chemistry , organic matter , incubation , soil organic matter , environmental chemistry , soil structure , dispersion (optics) , soil water , aggregate (composite) , agronomy , soil science , environmental science , organic chemistry , materials science , physics , biology , optics , composite material , biochemistry
Laboratory studies of different types and amounts of organic materials added to a moist soil resulted in maximum release of CO 2 after about 48 hours and in maximum stability of soil aggregates after about 2 weeks incubation. The experiments indicated that a fairly rapid and sustained rate of decomposition of organic residues is a necessity in the stabilization of soil aggregates. Corn stover was more effective than corn cobs—when ground to similar fineness. The benzene‐alcohol and the alkali soluble extracts from a soil that had been incubated with ground corn stalks greatly increased the aggregate stability when added to an otherwise untreated soil. The benzenealcohol soluble fraction likely reduced the rate of wetting of soil aggregates. As a consequence the dispersion effect of water was less pronounced. Water‐soluble extracts had little influence on stabilizing soil aggregates.