Hostname: page-component-6bb9c88b65-kfd97 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-20T01:58:03.318Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Estimating active carbon for soil quality assessment: A simplified method for laboratory and field use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Ray R. Weil ,
Kandikar R. Islam ,
Melissa A. Stine ,
Joel B. Gruver  and
Susan E. Samson-Liebig
Ray R. Weil*
Affiliation:
Professor of Soil Science
Melissa A. Stine
Affiliation:
Former Graduate Assistants, Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture, H.J. Patterson Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
Joel B. Gruver
Affiliation:
Former Graduate Assistants, Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture, H.J. Patterson Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
Susan E. Samson-Liebig
Affiliation:
Soil Scientist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Quality Institute, Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, 1701 10th Ave SW, Mandan, ND 58554–0459.
*
R.R. Weil (rwl7@umail.umd.edu).
Get access

Abstract

A simple method of estimating changes in biologically active soil carbon (C) could help evaluate soil quality impacts of alternative management practices. Most reports of permanganate for active C determination use highly concentrated solutions (0.333 M) that are difficult to work with and tend to react with a large fraction of soil C that is not well distinguished from total organic C. We report on a highly simplified method in which dilute, slightly alkaline KMnO4 reacts with the most readily oxidizable (active) forms of soil C, converting Mn(VII) to Mn(II), and proportionally lowering absorbance of 550 nm light. The amount of soil C that reacted increased with concentration of KMnO4 used (0.01 to 0.1 M), degree of soil drying (moist fresh soil to air-dried for 24 hour) and time of shaking (1–15 minutes). Shaking of air-diy soil in a 0.02 M KMnO4 solution for 2 minutes produced consistent and management-sensitive results, both in the laboratory and with a field kit that used a hand-held colorimeter. Addition of 0.1 M. CaCl2 to the permanganate reagent enhanced settling of the soil after shaking, eliminating the need for centrifugaron in the field kit. Results from the laboratory and field-kit protocols were nearly identical (R2 = 0.98), as were those from an inter-laboratory sample exchange (R2 = 0.91). The active soil C measured by the new procedure was more sensitive to management effects than total organic C, and more closely related to biologically mediated soil properties, such as respiration, microbial biomass and aggregation, than several other measures of soil organic C.

Keywords

active soil carbonanalytical methodsfield kitmicrobial biomasspermanganate oxidizable carbonsoil organic mattersoil aggregate stabilitysoil quality assessmentsoil quality indicators

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , March 2003 , pp. 3 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bartlett, R.J., and James, B.R.. 1993. Redox chemistry of soils. Advances in Agronomy 50:151–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, M.J., Moody, P.W., Connolly, R.D., and Bridge, B.J.. 1998. The role of active fractions of soil organic matter in physical and chemical fertility of Ferrosols. Australian J. Soil Res. 36:809–819.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blair, G.J., Lefroy, R.D.B., and Lise, L.. 1995. Soil carbon fractions based on their degree of oxidation, and the development of a carbon management index for agricultural systems. Australian J. Agric. Res. 46:1459–1466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blair, G.J., Lefroy, R., Whitbread, A., Blair, N., and Conteh, A.. 2001. The development of the KMnO4 oxidation technique to determine labile carbon in soil and its use in a carbon management index. In Lal, R., Kimble, J., Follet, R., and Stewart, B. (eds.). Assessment Methods for Soil Carbon. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL. p. 323–337.Google Scholar
Blair, N., and Crocker, G.J.. 2000. Crop rotation effects on soil carbon and physical fertility of two Australian soils. Australian J. Soil Res. 38:71–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brady, N.C., and Weil, R.R.. 2002. The Nature and Properties of Soils. 13th ed.Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.Google Scholar
Brander, G., Pugh, D., and Bywater, R.. 1982. Veterinary Applied Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Bailliere and Tindall, London.Google Scholar
Cotton, F.A., and Wilkinson, G.. 1965. Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, 4th ed.InterScience Publishers, John Wiley and Sons, New York, p. 839–840.Google Scholar
DeLuca, T.H., and Keeney, D.R.. 1993. Soluble organics and extractable nitrogen in paired prairie and cultivated soil of central Iowa. Soil Sci. 155:219–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doutre, D.A., Hay, G.W., Hood, A., and Van Loon, G.W.. 1978. Spectrophotometric methods to determine carbohydrates in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 10:457–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregorich, E.G., Carter, M.R., Angers, D.A., Monreal, C.M., and Ellert, B.H.. 1994. Towards a minimum data set to assess soil organic matter quality in agricultural soils. Canadian J. Soil Sci. 74:367–385.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gruver, J.B. 1999. Relationships between farmer perceptions of soil quality and management sensitive soil parameters. MS thesis, University of Maryland, College Park.Google Scholar
Islam, K.R., and Weil, R.R.. 1997. Stability of soil quality indices across seasons and regions. 1997 Agronomy Abstracts. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI. p. 215.Google Scholar
Islam, K.R., and Weil, R.R.. 1998a. Microwave irradiation of soil for routine measurement of microbial biomass carbon. Biol. and Fert. Soils 27:408–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Islam, K.R., and Weil, R.R.. 1998b. A rapid microwave digestion method for colorimetric measurement of soil organic carbon. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 29:2269–2284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Islam, K.R., and Weil, R.R.. 2000. Soil quality indicator properties in mid-Atlantic soils as influenced by conservation management. J. Soil and Water Conserv. 55:69–78.Google Scholar
Janzen, H.H., Campbell, C.A., Brandt, S.A., Lafond, G.P., and Townley-Smith, L.. 1992. Light fraction organic matter in soils from long term crop rotations. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 56:1799–1806.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joergensen, R.G., Muller, T., and Wolters, V.. 1996. Total carbohydrates of the soil microbial biomass in 0.5M K2SO4 soil extracts. Soil Biol. Biochem. 28:1147–1153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, K.M., and Sieburth, J.M.. 1977. Dissolved carbohydrates in seawater. I. A precise Spectrophotometric analysis for monosaccharides. Marine Chem. 5:1–13.Google Scholar
Kemper, W.D., and Rosenau, R.C.. 1986. Aggregate stability and size distribution Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1. Physical and Mineralogical Methods—Agronomy Monograph no. 9. 2nd ed.Agronomy Society of America, Madison, WI.Google Scholar
Kennedy, A.C., and Papendick, R.I.. 1995. Microbial characteristics of soil quality. J. Soil and Water Conserv. 50:243–248.Google Scholar
Lefroy, R.D.B., Blair, G.J., and Strog, W.M.. 1993. Changes in soil organic matter with cropping as measured by organic carbon fractions and 13C natural isotope abundance. Plant and Soil 155/156:399–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lever, M. 1972. A new reaction for colorimetric determination of carbohydrates. Anal. Biochem. 47:273–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liebig, M., and Doran, J.. 1999. Evaluation of farmers' perceptions of soils quality indicators. Amer. J. Alternative Agric. 14:11–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loginow, W., Wisniewski, W., Gonet, S.S., and Ciescinska, B.. 1987. Fractionation of organic carbon based on susceptibility to oxidation. Polish J. Soil Sci. 20:47–52.Google Scholar
Magdoff, F.R. 1996. Soil organic matter fractions and implications for interpreting organic matter tests. In Magdoff, F.R., Tabatabai, M.A., Hanlon, E.A. Jr, (eds.). Soil Organic Matter: Analysis and Interpretations. SSSA Spec. Publ. No. 46. Soil Science Society of America. Madison, WI. p. 11–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moody, P.W., Yo, S.A., and Aitken, R.L.. 1997. Soil organic carbon, permanganate fractions, and the chemical properties of acidic soils. Australian J. Soil Res. 35:1301–1308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paustian, K., Collins, H.P., and Paul, E.A.. 1997. Management controls on soil carbon. In Paul, E. A., Paustian, K., Elliot, E.T., and Cole, C.V.. (eds.). Soil Organic Matter in Temperate Agroecosystems. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. p. 15–49.Google Scholar
Saviozzi, A., Biasci, A., Riffaldi, R., and Levi-Minzi, R.. 1999. Long-term effects of farmyard manure and sewage sludge on some soil biochemical characteristics. Biol. and Fert. Soils 30:100–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sikora, L.J., Yakovchenko, V., Cambardella, C.A., and Doran, J.W.. 1996. Assessing soil quality by testing organic matter. In Magdoff, F.R., Tabatabai, M.A., Hanlon, E.A. Jr, (eds.). Soil Organic Matter: Analysis and Interpretations. SSSA Spec. Publ. No. 46. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI. p. 41–50.Google Scholar
Skoog, D.A., and West, D.M.. 1969. Applications of oxidation-reduction reagents to volumetric organic analysis. Chapter 21, Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry. 2nd edn.Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York.Google Scholar
SPSS Inc. 1999. SYSTAT for Windows. Release 9.01, Standard Version. SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL.Google Scholar
Stanford, G. 1978. Evaluation of ammonium release by alkaline permanganate extraction as an index of soil nitrogen availability. Soil Sci. 126:244–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swift, L.W. 1939. A System of Chemical Analysis (Qualitative and Quantitative) for the Common Elements. Prentice-Hall, New York. p. 53–63.Google Scholar
USDA-NRSC. 1998. Soil Quality Test Kit Guide. Soil Quality Institute, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Agricultural Research Service, US Dept of Agriculture, Lincoln, NE and Washington, DC.Google Scholar
USDA-NRCS. 1999. Soil Quality Card Design Manual. Version 1.0. A Guide to Develop Locally Adapted Conservation Tools. Soil Quality Institute, Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Dept of Agriculture, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
van de Werf, H., and Verstrate, W.. 1987. Estimation of active soil microbial biomass by mathematical analysis of respiration curves: Calibration of the test procedure. Soil Biol. and Biochem. 19:261–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walkley, A., and Black, I.A.. 1947. Determination of organic matter in the soil by chromic acid digestion. Soil Sci. 63:251–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wander, M.M., and Bidart, M.G.. 2000. Tillage practice influences on the physical protection, bioavailability and composition of paniculate organic matter. Biol. and Fert. Soils 32:360–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wander, M.M., and Drinkwater, L.E.. 2000. Fostering soil stewardship through soil quality assessment. Applied Soil Ecol. 15:61–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitbread, A.M., Blair, G.J., and Lefroy, R.D.B.. 2000. Managing legume leys, residues and fertilisers to enhance the sustainability of wheat cropping systems in Australia 2. Soil physical fertility and carbon. Soil and Tillage Res. 54:77–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wollum, A.G. 1994. Soil sampling for microbiological analysis. In Weaver, R.W., Angle, S., Bottomley, P., Bezdicek, D., Smith, S., Tabatabai, A., and Wollum, A. (eds.). Methods of Analysis. Part 2. Microbiological and Biochemical Properties. Soil Science Society of America. Madison, WI. p. 1–14.Google Scholar