Effects of Ca2+ on migration of dissolved organic matter in limestone
soils of the southwest China karst area
Abstract
The capacity of carbon sequestration of limestone soils in karst areas
is unclear and needs to be studied, and there are few reports on the
effect of calcium ions content on the migration and transformation of
soil dissolved organic matter (DOM). In this paper, the leaching process
of DOM from four-layered soil samples of two limestone soil profiles was
systematically studied by soil column experiment with different Ca2+
concentration runoff. The results show that the elution of DOM can be
divided into two stages, a rapid release and dilution stage and a nearly
stable DOM release stage. After the elution, the average DOC loss rates
are 61.9%, 75.5%, 70.9% and 49.1% for four samples, H1, H2, S1, and
S2, respectively. When the Ca2+ concentration of eluent increases, the
following phenomena occur: 1) The DOC loss rate decreased, which was
reduced by 0.6-7.5% in this study. 2) The elution rate decreased and
the desorption activation energy increased. 3) The molecular weight and
the aromaticity of effluent DOM increased and decreased respectively. 4)
The humic-like components were eluted less. The results demonstrate the
higher Ca2+ concentration reduces the elution of soil DOM, improves the
aromaticity of retained soil organic matter (SOM), and may inhibit SOM
utilization and degradation by microorganisms. This study helps to
understand better the transport and fate of SOM in karst regions, and
provides theoretical support for soil planning management and carbon
sink increase in karst areas.