Black carbon contributes to organic matter in young soils in the Morteratsch proglacial area (Switzerland)
Black carbon contributes to organic matter in young soils in the Morteratsch proglacial area (Switzerland)
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DOI：
10.5194/bg-10-1265-2013
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发表时间：
2013-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
4.9
通讯作者：
Egli, M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Eckmeier, E.;Mavris, C.;Egli, M.
自19世纪50年代冰川扩张达到最大值以来，欧洲阿尔卑斯山脉的大部分冰川正逐渐暴露出来。全球变暖和气候变化也促进了以前冰川地区沉积物的暴露。在这些前冰期地区，最初的土壤已经开始发育，因此它们可以提供从0年到150年的连续时间序列。有机质的积累是土壤形成的重要因素，其在年轻土壤和冰川前田表面的积累不仅有原生来源的影响，也有遥远来源的影响。尽管烧焦的有机物可能是高山土壤中有机碳的重要组成部分，但人们对冰川前田土壤中的黑碳知之甚少。本研究的目的是研究黑碳（BC）是否存在于前冰期地区的初始土壤中，并估计其对土壤有机质的相对贡献。我们调查了分布在Morteratsch （Upper Engadine, Switzerland）整个前冰期地区的35个地点的土壤样本，涵盖了从0到150年的时间序列。使用苯聚羧酸（BPCA）标记法测定了细土中的BC浓度。我们发现，整个地区都存在烧焦有机质，并且在最年轻的土壤中，烧焦有机质是土壤有机质的主要化合物，总碳有机质浓度很低。细土中BC的绝对浓度一般较低，但暴露超过40年的土壤中BC的绝对浓度增加。特定的初始微生物群落可能在土壤进化的最初几年受益于这一额外的C源，并可能促进土壤早期发育。
Most glacier forefields of the European Alps are being progressively exposed since the glaciers reached their maximum expansion in the 1850s. Global warming and climate changes additionally promote the exposure of sediments in previously glaciated areas. In these proglacial areas, initial soils have started to develop so that they may offer a continuous chronosequence from 0 to 150-yr-old soils.The build-up of organic matter is an important factor of soil formation, and not only autochthonous but also distant sources might contribute to its accumulation in young soils and surfaces of glacier forefields. Only little is known about black carbon in soils that develop in glacier forefields, although charred organic matter could be an important component of organic carbon in Alpine soils.The aim of our study was to examine whether black carbon (BC) is present in the initial soils of a proglacial area, and to estimate its relative contribution to soil organic matter. We investigated soil samples from 35 sites distributed over the whole proglacial area of Morteratsch (Upper Engadine, Switzerland), covering a chronosequence from 0 to 150 yr. BC concentrations were determined in fine earth using the benzene polycarboxylic acid (BPCA) marker method. We found that charred organic matter occurred in the whole area, and that it was a main compound of soil organic matter in the youngest soils, where total C-org concentrations were very low. The absolute concentrations of BC in fine earth were generally low but increased in soils that had been exposed for more than 40 yr. Specific initial microbial communities may profit from this additional C source during the first years of soil evolution and potentially promote soil development in its early stage.