Geochemical fingerprint and soil carbon of sandy alfisols

Abstract

Soil carbon storage is affected by particle-size fractions and Fe oxides. We assessed soil carbon concentrations in different particle-size fractions, determined the soil chemical composition of the soil, and weathering and mineralogy of sandy soils of the Wisconsin Central Sands, USA. Three land uses were studied (agriculture, forest, and prairie). The soils contained a minimum of 830 g sand kg−1 up to 190 cm soil depth. Approximately 46% of the sand was in the 250–500 µm fraction, and 5% was <125 µm. Soil carbon ranged from 5 to 13 g kg−1 in the topsoil, and decreased with depth. The <45 µm fraction tended to have high concentrations of carbon, ranging from 19 to 43 g kg−1 in the topsoil. Silicon content was over 191 g Si kg−1, and was lowest in the Bt horizons (191–224 g Si kg−1). Up to 29 g Fe kg−1 and 39 g Al kg−1 were present in the soil, and were highest in the Bt horizons. These soils were mostly quartz, and diopside was found throughout the soil profiles. Weathering indices, such as the Ruxton Ratio, showed that the C horizons were the least weathered and the Bt horizons were more weathered. We conclude that most of the carbon in these soils is held in the <45 µm fraction, and soil carbon and total Fe were lowest in the coarser size fractions.