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Title: Redox Fluctuations Control the Coupled Cycling of Iron and Carbon in Tropical Forest Soils

Journal Article · · Environmental Science and Technology
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth and Environmental Sciences Area; Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Physical and Life Sciences Directorate
  2. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Physical and Life Sciences Directorate
  3. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab.
  4. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
  5. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth and Environmental Sciences Area

In this paper, oscillating redox conditions are a common feature of humid tropical forest soils, driven by an ample supply and dynamics of reductants, high moisture, microbial oxygen consumption, and finely textured clays that limit diffusion. However, the net result of variable soil redox regimes on iron (Fe) mineral dynamics and associated carbon (C) forms and fluxes is poorly understood in tropical soils. Using a 44-day redox incubation experiment with humid tropical forest soils from Puerto Rico, we examined patterns in Fe and C transformations under four redox regimes: static anoxic, "flux 4-day" (4d oxic, 4d anoxic), "flux 8-day" (8d oxic, 4d anoxic) and static oxic. Prolonged anoxia promoted reductive dissolution of Fe-oxides, and led to an increase in soluble Fe(II) and amorphous Fe oxide pools. Preferential dissolution of the less-crystalline Fe pool was evident immediately following a shift in bulk redox status (oxic to anoxic), and coincided with increased dissolved organic C, presumably due to acidification or direct release of organic matter (OM) from dissolving Fe(III) mineral phases. The average nominal oxidation state of water-soluble C was lowest under persistent anoxic conditions, suggesting that more reduced organic compounds were metabolically unavailable for microbial consumption under reducing conditions. Anoxic soil compounds had high H/C values (and were similar to lignin-like compounds) whereas oxic soil compounds had higher O/C values, akin to tannin- and cellulose-like components. Cumulative respiration derived from native soil organic C was highest in static oxic soils. These results show how Fe minerals and Fe-OM interactions in tropical soils are highly sensitive to variable redox effects. Shifting soil oxygen availability rapidly impacted exchanges between mineral-sorbed and aqueous C pools, increased the dissolved organic C pool under anoxic conditions implying that the periodicity of low-redox events may control the fate of C in wet tropical soils.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344; AC02-05CH11231; AC02-76SF00515; SCW1478; DEB-1457805; EAR-1331841; DEB-0620910; TES-DE-FOA-0000749
OSTI ID:
1647140
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1561901
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-750645; 936267
Journal Information:
Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 52, Issue 24; ISSN 0013-936X
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 58 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

“Switching on” iron in clay minerals journal January 2019
Online supercritical fluid extraction mass spectrometry (SFE-LC-FTMS) for sensitive characterization of soil organic matter journal January 2019
Soil Oxygen Limits Microbial Phosphorus Utilization in Humid Tropical Forest Soils journal November 2018