TY - JOUR A1 - Zhang, Zhuodong A1 - Wieland, Ralf A1 - Reiche, Matthias A1 - Funk, Roger A1 - Hoffmann, Carsten A1 - Li, Yong A1 - Sommer, Michael T1 - Wind modelling for wind erosion research by open source computational fluid dynamics JF - Ecological informatics : an international journal on ecoinformatics and computational ecolog N2 - The open source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) wind model (CFD-WEM) for wind erosion research in the Xilingele grassland in Inner Mongolia (autonomous region, China) is compared with two open source CFD models Gerris and OpenFOAM. The evaluation of these models was made according to software technology, implemented methods, handling, accuracy and calculation speed. All models were applied to the same wind tunnel data set. Results show that the simplest CFD-WEM has the highest calculation speed with acceptable accuracy, and the most powerful OpenFOAM produces the simulation with highest accuracy and the lowest calculation speed. Gerris is between CFD-WEM and OpenFOAM. It calculates faster than OpenFOAM, and it is capable to solve different CFD problems. CFD-WEM is the optimal model to be further developed for wind erosion research in Inner Mongolia grassland considering its efficiency and the uncertainties of other input data. However, for other applications using CFD technology, Gerris and OpenFOAM can be good choices. This paper shows the powerful capability of open source CFD software in wind erosion study, and advocates more involvement of open source technology in wind erosion and related ecological researches. KW - Computational fluid dynamics KW - Wind modelling KW - Open source KW - Wind erosion KW - Gerris KW - OpenFOAM KW - SAMT Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2011.02.001 SN - 1574-9541 VL - 6 IS - 5 SP - 316 EP - 324 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wieland, Ralf A1 - Dalchow, Claus A1 - Sommer, Michael A1 - Fukuda, Kyoko T1 - Multi-Scale Landscape Analysis (MSLA) a method to identify correlation of relief with ecological point data JF - Ecological informatics : an international journal on ecoinformatics and computational ecolog N2 - A common problem in ecology is identifying the relationship between relief and site properties obtainable only by point measurements. The method of Multi-Scale Landscape Analysis (MSLA) identifies such correlations. MSLA combines frequency filtering of the digital elevation model (DEM) with an estimation of the optimum filter coefficients using an optimization procedure. Tested using point data of soil decarbonation from a German young moraine landscape, MSLA provided significant results. Implemented within open source software SAMT. MSLA is comfortable and flexible to use, offering applications for numerous other spatial analysis problems. KW - Landscape structure KW - DEM KW - Fourier transformation KW - Wavelet transformation KW - Singular value decomposition KW - SAMT Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2010.09.002 SN - 1574-9541 VL - 6 IS - 2 SP - 164 EP - 169 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steinhoefel, Grit A1 - Breuer, Jörn A1 - von Blanckenburg, Friedhelm A1 - Horn, Ingo A1 - Kaczorek, Danuta A1 - Sommer, Michael T1 - Micrometer silicon isotope diagnostics of soils by UV femtosecond laser ablation JF - Chemical geology : official journal of the European Association for Geochemistry N2 - This study presents the first Si isotope data of the principle Si pools in soils determined by a UV femtosecond laser ablation system coupled to a multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS). This method reveals accurate and precise Si isotope data on bulk materials, and at high spatial resolution, on the mineral scale. The following Si pools have been investigated: a) the Si source to soils on all major silicate minerals on thin sections from bedrock fragments in the soil profiles; b) bulk soils (particle size <2 mm) after fusion to glass beads with an iridium-strip heater or pressed into powder pellets: c) separated clay fractions as pressed powder pellets and e) separated phytoliths as pressed powder pellets. Multiple analyses of three rock standards, BHVO-2, AGV-1 and RGM-1 as fused glass beads and as pressed powder pellets, reveal delta(30)Si values within the expected range of igneous rocks. The MPI-DING reference glass KL2-G exhibits the same Si isotope composition after remelting by an iridium-strip heater showing that this technique does not alter the isotope composition of the glass. We used this approach to investigated two immature Cambisols developed on sandstone and paragneiss in the Black Forest (Germany), respectively. Bulk soils show a largely uniform Si isotope signature for different horizons and locations, which is close to those of primary quartz and feldspar with delta(30)Si values around -0.4 parts per thousand. Soil clay formation is associated with limited Si mobility, which preserves initial Si isotope signatures of parental minerals. An exception is the organic horizon of the paragneiss catchment where intense weathering leads to a high mobility of Si and significant negative isotope signatures as low as to -1.00 parts per thousand in bulk soils. Biogenic opal in the form of phytoliths, exhibits negative Si isotope signatures of about -0.4 parts per thousand. These results demonstrate that UV femtosecond laser ablation MC-ICP-MS provides a tool to characterize the Si isotope signature of the principle Si pools left behind after weathering and Si transport have altered soils. These results can now serve as a fingerprint of the residual solids that can be used to explain the isotope composition of dissolved Si in soil solutions and river water, which is mostly enriched in the heavy isotopes. KW - Silicon isotopes KW - Soils KW - UV femtosecond laser ablation KW - MC-ICP-MS Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2011.05.013 SN - 0009-2541 VL - 286 IS - 3-4 SP - 280 EP - 289 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mueller, Marina Elsa Herta A1 - Koszinski, Sylvia A1 - Brenning, Alexander A1 - Verch, Gernot A1 - Korn, Ulrike A1 - Sommer, Michael T1 - Within-field variation of mycotoxin contamination of winter wheat is related to indicators of soil moisture JF - Plant and soil N2 - Humidity is an important determinant of the mycotoxin production (DON, ZEA) by Fusarium species in the grain ears. From a landscape perspective humidity is not evenly distributed across fields. The topographically-controlled redistribution of water within a single field rather leads to spatially heterogeneous soil water content and air humidity. Therefore we hypothesized that the spatial distribution of mycotoxins is related to these topographically-controlled factors. To test this hypothesis we studied the mycotoxin concentrations at contrasting topographic relief positions, i.e. hilltops and depressions characterized by soils of different soil moisture regimes, on ten winter wheat fields in 2006 and 2007. Maize was the preceding crop and minimum tillage was practiced in the fields. The different topographic positions were associated with moderate differences in DON and ZEA concentrations in 2006, but with significant differences in 2007, with six times higher median ZEA and two times higher median DON detected at depression sites compared to the hilltops. The depression sites correspond to a higher topographic wetness index as well as redoximorphic properties in soil profiles, which empirically supports our hypothesis at least for years showing wetter conditions in sensitive time windows for Fusarium infections. KW - Wheat KW - Mycotoxins KW - Within-field variation KW - Topography KW - Humidity KW - Soil redoximorphic feature Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0695-5 SN - 0032-079X SN - 1573-5036 VL - 342 IS - 1-2 SP - 289 EP - 300 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kayler, Z. E. A1 - Kaiser, Michael A1 - Gessler, A. A1 - Ellerbrock, Ruth H. A1 - Sommer, Michael T1 - Application of delta C-13 and delta N-15 isotopic signatures of organic matter fractions sequentially separated from adjacent arable and forest soils to identify carbon stabilization mechanisms JF - Biogeosciences N2 - Identifying the chemical mechanisms behind soil carbon bound in organo-mineral complexes is necessary to determine the degree to which soil organic carbon is stabilized belowground. Analysis of delta C-13 and delta N-15 isotopic signatures of stabilized OM fractions along with soil mineral characteristics may yield important information about OM-mineral associations and their processing history. We anlayzed the delta C-13 and delta N-15 isotopic signatures from two organic matter (OM) fractions along with soil mineral proxies to identify the likely binding mechanisms involved. We analyzed OM fractions hypothesized to contain carbon stabilized through organo-mineral complexes: (1) OM separated chemically with sodium pyrophosphate (OM(PY)) and (2) OM occluded in micro-structures found in the chemical extraction residue (OM(ER)). Because the OM fractions were separated from five different soils with paired forest and arable land use histories, we could address the impact of land use change on carbon binding and processing mechanisms. We used partial least squares regression to analyze patterns in the isotopic signature of OM with established mineral and chemical proxies indicative for certain binding mechanisms. We found different mechanisms predominate in each land use type. For arable soils, the formation of OM(PY)-Ca-mineral associations was identified as an important OM binding mechanism. Therefore, we hypothesize an increased stabilization of microbial processed OM(PY) through Ca2+ interactions. In general, we found the forest soils to contain on average 10% more stabilized carbon relative to total carbon stocks, than the agricultural counter part. In forest soils, we found a positive relationship between isotopic signatures of OM(PY) and the ratio of soil organic carbon content to soil surface area (SOC/SSA). This indicates that the OM(PY) fractions of forest soils represent layers of slower exchange not directly attached to mineral surfaces. From the isotopic composition of the OM(ER) fraction, we conclude that the OM in this fraction from both land use types have undergone a different pathway to stabilization that does not involve microbial processing, which may include OM which is highly protected within soil micro-structures. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-2895-2011 SN - 1726-4170 VL - 8 IS - 10 SP - 2895 EP - 2906 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kaiser, Michael A1 - Walter, K. A1 - Ellerbrock, Ruth H. A1 - Sommer, Michael T1 - Effects of land use and mineral characteristics on the organic carbon content, and the amount and composition of Na-pyrophosphate-soluble organic matter, in subsurface soils JF - European journal of soil science N2 - Land use and mineral characteristics affect the ability of surface as well as subsurface soils to sequester organic carbon and their contribution to mitigation of the greenhouse effect. There is less information about the effects of land use and soil properties on the amount and composition of organic matter (OM) for subsurface soils as compared with surface soils. Here we aimed to analyse the long-term (>= 100 years) impact of arable and forest land use and soil mineral characteristics on subsurface soil organic carbon (SOC) contents, as well as on amount and composition of OM sequentially separated by Na pyrophosphate solution (OM(PY)) from subsurface soil samples. Seven soils with different mineral characteristics (Albic and Haplic Luvisol, Colluvic and Haplic Regosol, Haplic and Vertic Cambisol, Haplic Stagnosol) were selected from within Germany. Soil samples were taken from subsurface horizons of forest and adjacent arable sites continuously used for > 100 years. The OM(PY) fractions were analysed for their OC content (OC(PY)) and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Multiple regression analyses for the arable subsurface soils indicated significant positive relationships between the SOC contents and combined effects of the (i) exchangeable Ca (Ca(ex)) and oxalate-soluble Fe (Fe(ox)) and (ii) the Ca(ex) and Al(ox) contents. For these soils the increase in OC (OC(PY) multiplied by the relative C=O content of OM(PY)) and increasing contents of Ca(ex) indicated that OM(PY) mainly interacts with Ca2+. For the forest subsurface soils (pH < 5), the OC(PY) contents were related to the contents of Na-pyrophosphate-soluble Fe and Al. The long-term arable and forest land use seems to result in different OM(PY)-mineral interactions in subsurface soils. On the basis of this, we hypothesize that a long-term land-use change from arable to forest may lead to a shift from mainly OM(PY)-Ca2+ to mainly OM(PY)-Fe3+ and -Al3+ interactions if the pH of subsurface soils significantly decreases to < 5. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2010.01340.x SN - 1351-0754 VL - 62 IS - 2 SP - 226 EP - 236 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER -