Stability of black carbon in soils across a climatic gradient

Submitted by Erin Rasmussen on

Publication Type:

Journal Article

Authors:

Cheng, Chih-Hsin; Johannes Lehmann; Thies, Janice E.; Burton, Sarah D.

Source:

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, Volume 113, Number G02027 (2008)

URL:

http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/publ/JGeophysRes%20113,%20G02027,%202008%20Cheng.pdf

Abstract:

The recalcitrant properties of black carbon (BC) grant it to be a significant pool ofstable organic C (OC) in soils. Up to now, however, the longevity of BC under differentclimates is still unclear. In this study, we used BC samples from historical charcoal blastfurnace sites to examine the stability of BC across a climatic gradient of mean annualtemperatures (MAT) from 3.9 to 17.2 C. The results showed that OC concentrationand OC storage in the BC-containing soils at a soil depth of 0