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Molecular Weight of Dissolved Organic Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phenolics in Grassland Soils
Corresponding Author
David L. Jones
School of the Environment & Natural Resources, Environment Centre Wales, Bangor Univ., Gwynedd, LL57 2UW UK
Corresponding author ([email protected])Search for more papers by this authorVictoria B. Willett
School of the Environment & Natural Resources, Environment Centre Wales, Bangor Univ., Gwynedd, LL57 2UW UK
Search for more papers by this authorElizabeth A. Stockdale
School of Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, Agriculture Building, Newcastle Univ., Newcastle on Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
Search for more papers by this authorAndrew J. Macdonald
Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems Dep., Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ UK
Search for more papers by this authorDaniel V. Murphy
Soil Biology Group, School of Earth and Environment, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Univ. of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009 Australia
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
David L. Jones
School of the Environment & Natural Resources, Environment Centre Wales, Bangor Univ., Gwynedd, LL57 2UW UK
Corresponding author ([email protected])Search for more papers by this authorVictoria B. Willett
School of the Environment & Natural Resources, Environment Centre Wales, Bangor Univ., Gwynedd, LL57 2UW UK
Search for more papers by this authorElizabeth A. Stockdale
School of Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, Agriculture Building, Newcastle Univ., Newcastle on Tyne, NE1 7RU UK
Search for more papers by this authorAndrew J. Macdonald
Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems Dep., Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ UK
Search for more papers by this authorDaniel V. Murphy
Soil Biology Group, School of Earth and Environment, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Univ. of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009 Australia
Search for more papers by this authorAll rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher.
Abstract
Accurate characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil is vital for understanding its functional significance. In this study, we used ultrafiltration to determine the molecular weight (MW) distribution of dissolved organic C (DOC), N (DON), and phenolics in two contrasting agricultural grassland soils. This MW fractionation (>100, 10–100, 1–10, and <1 kDa) was undertaken with soil solutions, distilled water extracts, and 2 mol L−1 KCl extracts. We showed that water or KCl extracts removed different amounts and forms of DOM than those in soil solution extracted by the centrifugation technique. Therefore, the ecological significance of such batch extraction methods and associated data requires careful consideration. Overall, soil solutions from the two grassland soils possessed different MW signatures, although the majority of DON and DOC was recovered in the higher MW fractions (>1 kDa) in both soils. This high-MW fraction contained a significant amount of organic N, however, and was no more enriched in phenolic-containing substances than the low-MW fraction. Our results are consistent with the view that soil solutions contain a diverse size range of organic compounds but that the high-MW fraction does not contain a disproportionate amount of phenolics or N.
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