Physical and chemical protection of soil organic carbon in three agricultural soils with different contents of calcium carbonate

The amount of organic carbon physically protected by entrapment within aggregates and through polyvalent cation–organic matter bridging was determined on non-calcareous and calcareous soils. The composition of organic carbon in whole soils and <53 m soil fractions was determined by 13C NMR analysis. High energy photo-oxidation was carried out on <53 m fractions and results from the NMR spectra showed 17–40% of organic carbon was in a condensed aromatic form, most likely charcoal (char). The concept that organic material remaining after photo-oxidation may be physically protected within aggregates was investigated by treating soils with a mild acid prior to photo-oxidation. More organic material was protected in the calcareous than the non-calcareous soils, regardless of whether the calcium occurred naturally or was an amendment. Acid treatment indicated that the presence of exchangeable calcium reduced losses of organic material upon photo-oxidation by about 7% due to calcium bridging. These results have implications for N fertiliser recommendations based upon organic carbon content. Firstly, calcium does not impact upon degradability of organic material to an extent likely to affect N fertiliser recommendations. Secondly, standard assessment techniques overestimate active organic carbon content in soils with high char content.