HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hunt, J. F. Articles by Dail, D. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hunt, J. F. Articles by Dail, D. B. Agricola Articles by Hunt, J. F. Articles by Dail, D. B. Related Collections Sorption/Exchange Plant and Soil Interactions Soil Organic Matter

TECHNICAL REPORTS

Plant and Environment Interactions

Influence of Decomposition on Chemical Properties of Plant- and Manure-Derived Dissolved Organic Matter and Sorption to Goethite

^a Dep. of Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Maine, 5722 Deering Hall, Orono, ME 04469-5722, U.S.A.
^b USDA-ARS, New England Plant, Soil, and Water Lab., Orono, ME 04469

^* Corresponding author (ohno{at}maine.edu)

Received for publication April 5, 2006. Sorption of dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays an important role in maintaining the fertility and quality of soils in agricultural ecosystems. Few studies have examined the effects of decomposition on DOM sorption and chemical characteristics. This study investigated the sorption to goethite (-FeOOH) of fresh and decomposed hydrophilic (HPL) and hydrophobic (HPB) DOM fractions extracted from the shoots and roots of crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), corn (Zea mays L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], hairy vetch (Vicia villosa L.), and dairy and poultry manures. Sorption was positively related to apparent molecular weight (MW_AP), aromaticity as measured by absorptivity at 280 nm, and phenolic acid content. A 10-d laboratory microbial decomposition of the source organic matter generally increased the sorption of the extracted DOM onto goethite. The decomposition effect on sorption was greater for the HPL fractions than for the HPB fractions. There was a decrease in the MW_AP values of the DOM samples following sorption to goethite. In many cases the reduction in MW_AP was large, indicating a strong preference by goethite for the higher MW_AP DOM fractions. The results of this laboratory-based research demonstrate that microbial processes affect the chemical characteristics of DOM which may affect the distribution of soil organic C pools.

Abbreviations: C_TS, total soluble carbon • DI-H₂O, deionized distilled water • DOM, dissolved organic matter • HPB, hydrophobic • HPL, hydrophilic • ICP–AES, inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry • MW_AP, apparent molecular weight