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dc.contributor.authorHirmas, Daniel
dc.contributor.authorBillings, Sharon A.
dc.contributor.authorSullivan, Pamela L.
dc.contributor.authorLehmeier, Christoph A.
dc.contributor.authorBagchi, Samik
dc.contributor.authorMin, Kyungjin
dc.contributor.authorBrecheisen, Zachary
dc.contributor.authorHauser, Emma
dc.contributor.authorStair, Rena
dc.contributor.authorFlournoy, Rebecca
dc.contributor.authorRichter, Daniel deB.
dc.date.accessioned2019-11-15T16:04:51Z
dc.date.available2019-11-15T16:04:51Z
dc.date.issued2018-04-18
dc.identifier.citationBillings, S.A., Hirmas, D., Sullivan, P.L., Lehmeier, C.A., Bagchi, S., Min, K., Brecheisen, Z., Hauser, E., Stair, R., Flournoy, R. and Richter, D. deB ., 2018. Loss of deep roots limits biogenic agents of soil development that are only partially restored by decades of forest regeneration. Elem Sci Anth, 6(1), p.34. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.287en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/29767
dc.description.abstractRoots and associated microbes generate acid-forming CO2 and organic acids and accelerate mineral weathering deep within Earth’s critical zone (CZ). At the Calhoun CZ Observatory in the USA’s Southern Piedmont, we tested the hypothesis that deforestation-induced deep root losses reduce root- and microbially-mediated weathering agents well below maximum root density (to 5 m), and impart land-use legacies even after ~70 y of forest regeneration. In forested plots, root density declined with depth to 200 cm; in cultivated plots, roots approached zero at depths >70 cm. Below 70 cm, root densities in old-growth forests averaged 2.1 times those in regenerating forests. Modeled root distributions suggest declines in density with depth were steepest in agricultural plots, and least severe in old-growth forests. Root densities influenced biogeochemical environments in multiple ways. Microbial community composition varied with land use from surface horizons to 500 cm; relative abundance of root-associated bacteria was greater in old-growth soils than in regenerating forests, particularly at 100–150 cm. At 500 cm in old-growth forests, salt-extractable organic C (EOC), an organic acid proxy, was 8.8 and 12.5 times that in regenerating forest and agricultural soils, respectively. The proportion of soil organic carbon comprised of EOC was greater in old-growth forests (20.0 ± 2.6%) compared to regenerating forests (2.1 ± 1.1) and agricultural soils (1.9 ± 0.9%). Between 20 and 500 cm, [EOC] increased more with root density in old-growth relative to regenerating forests. At 300 cm, in situ growing season [CO2] was significantly greater in old-growth forests relative to regenerating forests and cultivated plots; at 300 and 500 cm, cultivated soil [CO2] was significantly lower than in forests. Microbially-respired δ13C-CO2 suggests that microbes may rely partially on crop residue even after ~70 y of forest regeneration. We assert that forest conversion to frequently disturbed ecosystems limits deep roots and reduces biotic generation of downward-propagating weathering agents.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was funded by the National Science Foundation grants EAR-1331846 and DBI-1262795.en_US
dc.publisherUniversity of California Pressen_US
dc.rightsCopyright: © 2018 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.subjectBiotic weatheringen_US
dc.subjectcritical zone biogeochemistryen_US
dc.subjectland conversionen_US
dc.subjectsoil organic acidsen_US
dc.subjectin situ CO2en_US
dc.subjectforest successionen_US
dc.titleLoss of deep roots limits biogenic agents of soil development that are only partially restored by decades of forest regenerationen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
kusw.kuauthorHirmas, Daniel
kusw.kuauthorBillings, Sharon A.
kusw.kuauthorSullivan, Pamela L.
kusw.kudepartmentEcology and Evolutionary Biologyen_US
kusw.kudepartmentGeography and Atmospheric Scienceen_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1525/elementa.287en_US
kusw.oaversionScholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscripten_US
kusw.oapolicyThis item meets KU Open Access policy criteria.en_US
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccessen_US


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Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as: Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.