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Decomposition Rate Constants of Size and Density Fractions of Soil Organic Matter

DLO Research Inst. for Agrobiology and Soil Fertility (AB-DLO), P.O. Box 129, 9750 AC Haren, the Netherlands

*Corresponding author (j.hassink{at}ab.agro.nl).

ABSTRACT

One of the main drawbacks of models describing soil organic matter turnover is that most pools cannot be experimentally identified. The aim of this study was to define meaningful soil organic matter fractions that can be physically isolated and to determine their decomposition rate constants so that they can be incorporated into models. This would be a major step toward verification of models. In this study, soil organic matter was separated into five fractions: the light (density <1.13 g cm^–3), intermediate (density 1.13–1.37 g cm^–3), and heavy (density >1.37 g cm^–3) fractions of macroorganic matter (>150 µm) and the microaggregate fractions with particle sizes between 20 and 150 µm and smaller than 20 µm. The decomposition rate constants of the fractions decreased in the order light, intermediate, and heavy macroorganic matter (23.9, 9.8, and 3.9 x 10^–4 d^–1, respectively) and were lowest for C in the microaggregate fractions <20 and 20 to 50 µm (0.5–0.7 x 10^–4 d^–1). Since the rate constants of the fractions seemed not to depend on soil texture, they can probably be applied widely. We propose to use these fractions as the principal pools in future soil organic matter models.

Received for publication December 19, 1994.

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