The mineralisation rates or soil organic matter are influenced by temperature and moisture.
I am trying to classify climates, using associations between cumulated annual rainfall and annual average temperature.
Has anyone ever tried to study how soil organic matter or carbon levels where related to the combination of these two easily accesible climate parameters (temperature and rainfall)?
Observed level of SOM or SOC is distinct from the rate of mineralisation of course.
But using climate data is could be interesting to estimate mineralisation rates using only rainfall and temperature (if the relationship is good, and perhaps adjusting with soil texture).
Any ideas?
Keryn Paul provided some insights in this paper:
"Temperature and Moisture Effects on Decomposition"
The relationship of soil organic matter and factors such as temperature has been investigated by Hans Jenny is some very good work.
The father of pedology Dokuchaev intimated that factors influenced soil formation. Soil = C O R P T where C is climate, O is organisms P is parental material and T is time.
Hans Jenny in 1941 gave this verbal equation soil is a consequence of climate microbes and plants relief parent mineralology and time.
Climate refers to the temperature and rainfall mostly.
Organic matter generation is hampered at low precipitation as plant material is curtailed. The best soils in North America at nearly equal evaporation and precipitation which does not demineralize the soils under these conditions under grass and grazing optimum soil organic matter can develop.
Dr. William Albrecht has some very good work which show how climate affects soil fertility and animal and human health.
When minerals are optimally available conditions are favorable for plant organic matter production at elevated temperatures the respiration of organic matter can outpace its production.
Dear J. C. Tarafdar, I did not see any attached files could you re submit them for our information. Thanks, Paul Reed Hepperly
Dear Dr Fungenzi.
Thank you for your question. I think we have made a start in this field for forested land. One approach is that for temperature (as compared to other factors) vs stored organic matter or its accumulation over time. Another one is the general sensitivity of forest organic matter decomposition to temperature. Starting with newly shed litter there is a development as the litter decomposes, at least for boreal and temperate systems, from a temperature sensitivity to no or almost no sensitivity at all. I have written a book on this topic 'Plant Litter, Decomposition, Humus Formation, Carbon Sequestration' (B.Berg, C McClaugherty, Springer Verlag). 4th edition is now under way
Attached are a few files and if you send a mail to my mail address [email protected] I will be happy to send an e-copy of the 3rd edition, printed in 2014.
Best regards
Björn Berg
Dear Dr Fungenzi
Its possible to do the relationship between rainfall and temperature, Please check the below article it may help you
" Influence of temperature and organic matter content on soil respiration in a deciduous oak forest "
Temperature, rainfall got definite relationship with vegetation and soil organic matter and soil organic carbon. These are long established phenomenon.
Greetings. I agree with@ Bikas S Mahapatra. More rainfall imply several species of vegetation growing especially at favorable temperatures. With a lot of vegetation , decaying plant tissues or dead decomposing vegetation increase organic materials content on the top soil increasing soil organic matter and consequently soil organic carbon which can also easily mineralize in presence of moisture and favorable temperature to release plant available nutrients.
In wetter environments the tendency is more plant biomass can relate to a higher soil organic matter. Where precipitation is much in excess of evaporation the mineral content and the soil organic matter contents can suffer.
The worlds best soils have come from mineral rich areas where precipitation and evaporation are nearly equal under these conditions the high grass prairie lands from a very rich habitat which leads to conservation of mineral content and the accumulation of soil organic matter in deep top soil profiles which accumulate soils which are very productive for cropping.
The function of mycorrhizal fungi on the grassland and presence of grazing herbivores appear to critical for best soil development. The mycorrhizal fungi produce glycoproteins which give the aggregated nature of rich prairie soils. The prairie soils are rich in soil organic matter which may be a function of glomalin glycoprotein of the grass dominated and forb communities which conserve and built soils optimally. While geological physical chemical components are very important the biology of the primary plants work together with symbiotic microbes soil insects earthworms and many other organisms which are not usually appreciated by the unaided eyes.
Meterological geochemical and biological factors work together in the soil forming process.
Statistical analysis of ANOVA as well as Multiple Regression could give you a good relation between and among these components.
Bonjour Dr Fungenzi
The recent work by Zhongkui Luo, Guocheng Wang and Enli Wang in Nature Communications seems to fit at least partially with your question.
Global subsoil organic carbon turnover times dominantly controlled by soil properties rather than climate.
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