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Dissolution and Re‐crystallization Processes of Active Calcium Carbonate in Soil Developed on Tufa
Author(s) -
Tamir Guy,
Shenker Moshe,
Heller Hadar,
Bloom Paul R.,
Fine Pinchas,
Bar-Tal Asher
Publication year - 2012
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/sssaj2012.0041
Subject(s) - calcareous , tufa , calcium carbonate , carbonate , mineralization (soil science) , environmental chemistry , dissolution , chemistry , organic matter , crystallization , soil organic matter , geology , mineralogy , soil science , soil water , organic chemistry , paleontology
Carbonates are an important component of soil found in dry regions. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the origin of C in soil carbonate and to assess the effect of applied organic residues on carbonate dissolution and crystallization. We measured the δ 13 C of organic carbon (OC), active and total carbonates down to a depth of 260 cm of a calcareous soil developed in a tufa deposit. We found a parallel decrease of the active CaCO 3 –δ 13 C and OC‐δ 13 C from –10.5 to –13.6‰ and from –24.6 to –26.4‰, respectively, in the soil profile. Furthermore, the active CaCO 3 –δ 13 C and the concentrations of Ca and Mg in the soil solution during incubation of soil samples from the top 0‐ to 10‐cm layer (soil δ 13 C = –11.5‰) with and without addition of pasteurized chicken manure (PCM, –23.2‰) were determined. The active CaCO 3 –δ 13 C wasn't affected by time and treatment and with a δ 13 C 14.1‰ higher than the soil organic matter (SOM). The sum of soil solution Ca and Mg concentrations in the PCM treatment decreased in the first days of the incubation and then increased linearly due to released protons by the nitrification processes. The tufa and the soil formed on it have two likely sources for the C in the active carbonate fraction; biogenic carbonates deposited during tufa formation and SOM mineralization and re‐crystallization of soil carbonates. Application of an N‐rich amendment to this calcareous soil enhanced the dissolution and re‐crystallization of calcium carbonate.