Extension of the soil monitoring network via tea bag initiatives: A 3000 km latitudinal gradient in European Russia.

The increasing popularity and recognition of citizen science approaches to monitor soil health have promoted the idea to assess soil microbial decomposition based on a standard litter sample - tea bags. Although tea bag initiatives are expanding across the world, the global datasets remain biased in regard to investigating regions and biomes. This study aimed to expand the tea bag initiative to European Russia, which remains a "white spot" on the tea bag index map. We also added urban soils into the analysis, which were underestimated previously. We compared the standard and local tea brands to explore possible adaptations of the standard approach to regions with limited access to standard tea brands. The established monitoring network included natural and urban sites in six vegetation zones along a 3000 km latitudinal gradient. There was a very close linear relationship (R2 = 0.94-0.98) in the mass loss of alternative and standard tea litter. The mass loss of green tea in soil along the latitudinal gradient showed an increasing trend from north to south. Variations in the microbial decomposition of green tea were mainly explained by the latitudinal gradient, with low soil temperature identified as key factors hampering decomposition. Mass loss of the more recalcitrant rooibos tea was mainly determined via land use, with decomposition rates on average 1.3 times higher in urban soils. This pattern was in line with higher soil temperatures and pH in urban sites compared to natural counterparts. The findings of our study could prove valuable in extending the tea bag network of soil decomposition assessment into broader territories, including urban areas. Additionally, they could facilitate the involvement of citizen science and complete the database for C cycle modeling depending on climatic conditions.

Author Correction: Microbial spatial footprint as a driver of soil carbon stabilization.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Microbial spatial footprint as a driver of soil carbon stabilization.

Increasing the potential of soil to store carbon (C) is an acknowledged and emphasized strategy for capturing atmospheric CO2. Well-recognized approaches for soil C accretion include reducing soil disturbance, increasing plant biomass inputs, and enhancing plant diversity. Yet experimental evidence often fails to support anticipated C gains, suggesting that our integrated understanding of soil C accretion remains insufficient. Here we use a unique combination of X-ray micro-tomography and micro-scale enzyme mapping to demonstrate for the first time that plant-stimulated soil pore formation appears to be a major, hitherto unrecognized, determinant of whether new C inputs are stored or lost to the atmosphere. Unlike monocultures, diverse plant communities favor the development of 30-150 µm pores. Such pores are the micro-environments associated with higher enzyme activities, and greater abundance of such pores translates into a greater spatial footprint that microorganisms make on the soil and consequently soil C storage capacity.

Quantification of priming and CO2 respiration sources following slurry-C incorporation into two grassland soils with different C content.

The fate of incorporated slurry-C was examined in a laboratory experiment using two UK grassland soils, i.e. a Pelostagnogley (5.1 %C) and a Brown Earth (2.3 %C). C3 and C4 slurries were incorporated into these two wet-sieved (C3) soils (from 4-10 cm depth). Gas samples were collected 0.2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 20, 30 and 40 days after slurry application and analyzed for CO2 concentration and delta13C content. Slurry incorporation into the soil strongly increased soil CO2 respiration compared with the unamended soil. Total (40 day) cumulative CO2 flux was higher for the Pelostagnogley than the Brown Earth. The 13C natural abundance tracer technique enabled quantification of the sources of respired CO2 and priming effects (days 0-9). Proportionally more slurry-derived C was respired from the Pelostagnogley (46%) than the Brown Earth (36%). The incorporated slurry-C was lost twice as fast as the native soil C in both soils. Slurry incorporation induced a priming effect, i.e. additional release of soil-derived C, most pronounced in the Pelostagnogley (highest C content). The majority of respired soil-derived C (>70%) was primed C. The study indicated that potential reductions in ammonia volatilisation following slurry injection to grasslands might be negated by enhanced loss of primed soil C (i.e. pollution swapping).

Determination of alkali metals by laser-induced atomic-ionization in flames.

The technique of laser-induced atomic-ionization (AI) in flames has been used for direct determination of Na, K, Rb, and Cs in samples such as water, high-purity alkali metals and their salts and polymeric organosilicon compounds. Different procedures for sample introduction into the flame were studied: (a) the sample was placed onto the cathode of the detector (this gave limits of detection for Na and Cs of 4 x 10(-16) and 2 x 10(-15) g, respectively), (b) electrothermal vaporization and (c) aspiration of the sample into the flame. To reduce the interference of SiO(2) in the AI determination of K in polymeric organosilicon compounds (at the level of 10(-3)-10(-5)%), a procedure involved additional electrical heating of the FID cathode was developed. The efficiency of certain schemes for the laser stepwise and two-photon excitation of atoms was compared for determination of Na.

Laser atomic-ionization determination of caesium in flames.

The laser atomic-ionization (AI) method has been developed for determination of caesium in flames. The limit of detection for caesium in pure aqueous solution is 4 pg ml . The interference of Li, Na, K, Rb, Ca and Fe with the AI signal of caesium has been investigated and explained. The analytical potential of this method has been demonstrated by determination of caesium in water samples, in the concentration range 0.1-1 ng ml .

Intracavity spectroscopy with a photon detector based on stepwise atom photo-ionization.

A method of measuring atomic-absorption factors by means of a photon detector based on stepwise atom photo-ionization is proposed for the first time. This method can be widely used in laser analytical spectroscopy.