Kimberly A. Magrini, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, Ronald Follett, USDA-ARS Soil Plant Nutrient Research Unit, 2150 Centre Avenue, Bldg. D, Ste 100, Ft. Collins, CO 80526-8119, and John M. Kimble, USDA-NRCS, 7220 S. Hampton Rd., Lincoln, NE 68506.
We analyzed a set of well-characterized native soil samples taken from the western U.S. Corn Belt and Great Plains with analytical pyrolysis coupled with molecular beam mass spectrometry (py-MBMS) to assess soil carbon chemistry and the organic forms wherein SOC is sequestered in agricultural soils by determining if correlations exist within the mass spectral results and the characterization data. We then used multivariate statistical analysis to discover such correlations and if they could be developed into estimative models. The samples came from eleven sites located within eight mid-western states (CO, NE, IA, ND, MT, TX, MO, MN). Sample characterization parameters included % soil organic carbon (SOC), particulate organic matter carbon (POM C), mineral carbon (Cmin), depth, site, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), soil δ13C, and SOC calendar age (determined from 14C age). We found that estimative correlations for samples collected across a large geographic region exist (at or greater than 90%) for SOC, POM C, Cmin, SMBC, soil δ13C, and 80% for SOC calendar age derived from radiocarbon 14 dating. We determined that samples from soil developed from water-sorted sediments on a tilled-floor lake plain were significantly different from all other samples. Additionally, 14C age of the SOC was correctly estimated for deeper and younger Aeolian soils and may also provide a low-resolution indicator of climate change impacts on soils.
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