Permanganate Oxidizable Carbon Reflects a Processed Soil Fraction that is Sensitive to Management

Abstract

Permanganate oxidizable C (POXC; i.e., active C) is a relatively new method that can quantify labile soil C rapidly and inexpensively. Despite limited reports of positive correlations with particulate organic C (POC), microbial biomass C (MBC), and other soil C fractions, little is known about what soil fractions POXC most closely refl ects. We measured POXC across a wide range of soil types, ecosystems, and geographic areas (12 studies, 53 total sites, n = 1379) to: (i) determine the relationship between POXC and POC, MBC and soil organic C (SOC) fractions, and (ii) determine the relative sensitivity of POXC as a labile soil C metric across a range of environmental and management conditions. Permanganate oxidizable C was signifi cantly related to POC, MBC, and SOC, and these relationships were strongest when data were analyzed by individual studies. Permanganate oxidizable C was more closely related to smaller-sized (53-250 μ m) than larger POC fractions (250- 2000 μ m), and more closely related to heavier (>1.7 g cm -3) than lighter POC fractions, indicating that it refl ects a relatively processed pool of labile soil C. Compared with POC, MBC, or SOC, POXC demonstrated greater sensitivity to changes in management or environmental variation in 42% of the signifi cant experimental factors examined across the 12 studies. Our analysis demonstrates the usefulness of POXC in quickly and inexpensively assessing changes in the labile soil C pool. © Soil Science Society of America.