TY - JOUR A1 - Gocke, Martina A1 - Liang, Wu A1 - Sommer, Michael A1 - Kuzyakov, Yakov T1 - Silicon uptake by wheat - effects of Si pools and pH JF - Journal of plant nutrition and soil science = Zeitschrift für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde N2 - Silicon (Si), although not considered essential, has beneficial effects on plant growth which are mostly associated with the ability to accumulate amorphous (phytogenic) Si, e.g., as phytoliths. Phytogenic Si is the most active Si pool in the soil-plant system because of its great surface-to-volume ratio, amorphous structure, and high water solubility. Despite the high abundance of Si in terrestrial biogeosystems and its importance, e.g., for the global C cycle, little is known about Si fluxes between soil and plants and Si pools used by plants. This study aims at elucidating the contribution of various soil Si pools to Si uptake by wheat. As pH affects dissolution of Si pools and Si uptake by plants, the effect of pH (4.5 and 7) was evaluated. Wheat was grown on Si-free pellets mixed with one of the following Si pools: quartz sand (crystalline), anorthite powder (crystalline), or silica gel (amorphous). Silicon content was measured in aboveground biomass, roots, and soil solution 4 times in intervals of 7 d. At pH 4.5, plants grew best on anorthite, but pH did not significantly affect Si-uptake rates. Total Si contents in plant biomass were significantly higher in the silica-gel treatment compared to all other treatments, with up to 26 mg g(-1) in aboveground biomass and up to 17 mg g(-1) in roots. Thus, Si uptake depends on the conversion of Si into plant-available silicic acid. This conversion occurs too slowly for crystalline Si phases, therefore Si uptake from treatments with quartz sand and anorthite did not differ from the control. For plants grown on silica gel, real Si-uptake rates were higher than the theoretical value calculated based on water transpiration. This implies that Si uptake by wheat is driven not only by passive water flux but also by active transporters, depending on Si concentration in the aqueous phase, thus on type of Si pool. These results show that Si uptake by plants as well as plant growth are significantly affected by the type of Si pool and factors controlling its solubility. KW - anorthite KW - global Si cycle KW - phytogenic silica KW - quartz KW - silica gel KW - soil Si pools KW - Triticum aestivum L Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201200098 SN - 1436-8730 SN - 1522-2624 VL - 176 IS - 4 SP - 551 EP - 560 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Koszinski, Sylvia A1 - Gerke, Horst H. A1 - Hierold, Wilfried A1 - Sommer, Michael T1 - Geophysical-based modeling of a kettle hole catchment of the morainic soil landscape JF - Vadose zone journal N2 - Soilscapes of the post-glacial morainic regions of the youngest glaciation are characterized by small hydrological kettle hole catchments forming hummocky soil landscapes. The spatial heterogeneity of subsurface structures as well as erosion-controlled pedogenesis under arable land use may complicate hydrological modeling. Our aim was to generate a soil landscape model for a small representative kettle hole catchment based on geoelectrical exploration and soil profile information. For a 1-ha catchment located in the northeastern German lowlands near the town of Prenzlau, electrical resistivity transects were determined by a multi electrode system (IMPETUS 12 Fs) and electrical conductivity (ECa) was mapped by using the electromagnetic induction (EMI) device EM38DD in both the vertical and horizontal modes. The 1-m digital elevation model (DEM) was obtained by kriging from high resolution manual elevation data determined with a leveling device (ZEISS Ni 40). Soil profile data from 26 boreholes distributed radially around the central pond were used to identify boundaries between soil horizons. The soil is characterized by varying topography and morphology of diagnostic horizons such as M- (colluvium), Bt- (clay illuviation), and C- (parent glacial till). By EMI mapping we identified (i) the boundary between erosive and colluvial areas around the kettle hole, and modeled (ii) the subsurface morphology of loamy horizons. Electrical resistivity tomography results coincide with these findings and allow for distinguishing between sandy and loamy dominated areas both in vertical and horizontal direction, respectively. This soil model of soil textural properties could be used for hydrological modeling. Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2013.02.0044 SN - 1539-1663 VL - 12 IS - 4 PB - Soil Science Society of America CY - Madison ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sommer, Michael A1 - Jochheim, H. A1 - Höhn, Axel A1 - Breuer, Jörn A1 - Zagorski, Z. A1 - Busse, J. A1 - Barkusky, Dietmar A1 - Meier, K. A1 - Puppe, D. A1 - Wanner, Manfred A1 - Kaczorek, Danuta T1 - Si cycling in a forest biogeosystem - the importance of transient state biogenic Si pools JF - Biogeosciences N2 - The relevance of biological Si cycling for dissolved silica (DSi) export from terrestrial biogeosystems is still in debate. Even in systems showing a high content of weatherable minerals, like Cambisols on volcanic tuff, biogenic Si (BSi) might contribute > 50% to DSi (Gerard et al., 2008). However, the number of biogeosystem studies is rather limited for generalized conclusions. To cover one end of controlling factors on DSi, i.e., weatherable minerals content, we studied a forested site with absolute quartz dominance (> 95 %). Here we hypothesise minimal effects of chemical weathering of silicates on DSi. During a four year observation period (05/2007-04/2011), we quantified (i) internal and external Si fluxes of a temperate-humid biogeosystem (beech, 120 yr) by BIOME-BGC (version ZALF), (ii) related Si budgets, and (iii) Si pools in soil and beech, chemically as well as by SEM-EDX. For the first time two compartments of biogenic Si in soils were analysed, i.e., phytogenic and zoogenic Si pool (testate amoebae). We quantified an average Si plant uptake of 35 kg Si ha(-1) yr(-1) - most of which is recycled to the soil by litterfall - and calculated an annual biosilicification from idiosomic testate amoebae of 17 kg Si ha(-1). The comparatively high DSi concentrations (6 mg L-1) and DSi exports (12 kg Si ha(-1) yr(-1)) could not be explained by chemical weathering of feldspars or quartz dissolution. Instead, dissolution of a relictic, phytogenic Si pool seems to be the main process for the DSi observed. We identified canopy closure accompanied by a disappearance of grasses as well as the selective extraction of pine trees 30 yr ago as the most probable control for the phenomena observed. From our results we concluded the biogeosystem to be in a transient state in terms of Si cycling. Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-4991-2013 SN - 1726-4170 VL - 10 IS - 7 SP - 4991 EP - 5007 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER -