TY  - JOUR
A1  - Puppe, Daniel
A1  - Kaczorek, Danuta
A1  - Wanner, Manfred
A1  - Sommer, Michael
T1  - Dynamics and drivers of the protozoic Si pool along a 10-year chronosequence of initial ecosystem states
JF  - Ecological engineering : the journal of ecotechnology
N2  - The size and dynamics of biogenic silicon (BSi) pools influence silicon (Si) fluxes from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. The research focus up to now was on the role of plants in Si cycling. In recent studies on old forests annual biosilicification rates of idiosomic testate amoebae (i.e. TA producing self-secreted silica shells) were shown to be of the order of Si uptake by trees. However, no comparable data exist for initial ecosystems. We analyzed the protozoic BSi pool (idiosomic TA), corresponding annual biosilicification rates and readily available and amorphous Si fractions along a 10-year chronosequence in a post-mining landscape in Brandenburg, Germany.
 Idiosomic Si pools ranged from 3 to 680 g Si ha(-1) and were about 3-4 times higher at vegetated compared to uncovered spots. They increased significantly with age and were related to temporal development of soil chemical properties. The calculation of annual biosilicification resulted in maxima between 2 and 16 kg Si ha(-1) with rates always higher at vegetated spots. Our results showed that the BSi pool of idiosomic TA is built up rapidly during the initial phases of ecosystem development and is strongly linked to plant growth. Furthermore, our findings highlight the importance of TA for Si cycling in young artificial ecosystems. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
KW  - Idiosomic Si pool
KW  - Amorphous silica
KW  - Terrestrial ecosystem development
KW  - Artificial catchment
KW  - Si fractions
KW  - Biosilicification
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.06.011
SN  - 0925-8574
SN  - 1872-6992
VL  - 70
SP  - 477
EP  - 482
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  -