Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The present work aims at assessing the nitrogen mineralization in aerobic and anaerobic conditions in an incubation experiment and monitoring the N level in plants by the use of chlorophyll meter in order to establish a critical value of the SPAD (Soil Plant Analysis Development) reading for flooded rice crop. Two studies were carried out being one in the lab, with incubation of different kinds of rainfed and lowland soils, in humid and flooded conditions. Nine evaluations of N-NH4 + e N-NO3 - content were carried out. Parallelly, an experiment in the greenhouse has been carried out by using the same soils in the same conditions as the rice crop. At the end of the experiment the green/dry matter, Nitrogen content in the plant tissue and accumulated Nitrogen were determined. For the second study, three field experiments were developed in the crops of 2006/07; 2007/08 and 2008/09, with flooded rice cultivars. For the experiment 1, six limits of values in the chlorophyll meter were established as treatment in the R0 stage and six doses for the 1st topdressing fertilization. Assessment with the chlorophyll meter was carried out and when necessary, nitrogen was applied in order to reach the pre-established reading values in R0. For the experiments 2 and 3, different doses of N were used for the 1st and the 2nd topdressing fertilization, one after the readings were done with chlorophyll meter. For the study 2 green/dry matter, N contend in the tissue and accumulated N were also determined. In study 1 the flooded soils presented the highest N-NH4 + contends released during the experiment. The highest N-NO3 - contends were lowland soils, once the soils presented the highest SOM contends, they also presented the highest contends of N-NH4 + and N-NO3 -. The accumulated N mineral at 102 day in the lowlands was higher when maintained under flood and rainfed when kept humid. The best correlation was obtained between the N-mineral contend and the accumulated N in the plant tissue. For the experiment 1 of the study 2 there was a linear reaction between values of the chlorophyll meter readings in R0 and the N contend in plants, however, the grain productivity had a quadratic behavior when related to the chlorophyll meter readings, being the estimated the critical value of the reading of 36 SPAD units in R0. For the experiments 2 and 3 of the study 2 there was effect of the 1st and the 2nd application of N demonstrated by the chlorophyll meter readings, nevertheless, as the time passed by the readings were similar for all treatments. The green and/or dry matter and the accumulated N responded linearly to the doses of N. there was no interaction effect for the doses of N in the grain productivity in both experiments and its answer was quadratic. The nutritional state evaluation of the plants by the chlorophyll meter, alone, is not a good indicator of the general conditions of the crop and the green or dry matter might help in the interpretation of the results for a better adjust in the topdressing N fertilization. / O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a mineralização de N em condições aeróbicas e anaeróbicas em experimento de incubação e monitorar o nível de N nas plantas com o uso clorofilômetro para estabelecer um valor crítico de leitura SPAD (Soil Plant Analysis Development) para a cultura do arroz irrigado. Foram desenvolvidos dois estudos, sendo o estudo 1 em laboratório, com incubação de diferentes tipos de solos de sequeiro e de várzea, em condições úmidas e alagadas. Foram realizadas nove avaliações dos teores de N-NH4 + e N-NO3 -. Paralelamente, foi desenvolvido um experimento em casa-de-vegetação utilizando-se os mesmos solos nas mesmas condições com o cultivo de arroz. Ao final do experimento determinou-se a matéria verde/seca, teor de N no tecido das plantas e N acumulado. Para o estudo 2 foram desenvolvidos três experimentos a campo, nas safras 2006/07; 2007/08 e 2008/09, com cultivares de arroz irrigado. Para o experimento 1 como tratamentos foram préestabelecidas seis faixas de valores de leitura do clorofilômetro no estádio R0 e seis doses para a 1ª adubação de cobertura. Foram realizadas avaliações com o clorofilômetro e, quando necessário, foi aplicado N para atingir os valores de leitura pré-estabelecidos em R0. Para os experimentos 2 e 3 foram utilizadas diferentes doses de N para a 1ª e 2ª adubação de cobertura, sendo posteriormente realizadas as leituras com o clorofilômetro. Para o estudo 2 também foram determinados a matéria verde/seca, teor de N no tecido das plantas e N acumulado. No estudo 1 os solos alagados apresentaram os maiores teores de N-NH4 + liberados durante o experimento. Os maiores teores de N-NO3 - foram para os solos de várzea úmidos, sendo que os solos que apresentaram maiores teores de MOS, apresentaram também maiores teores de N-NH4 + e NNO3 -. O N mineral acumulado aos 102 dias nos solos de várzea foi maior quando mantidos sob alagamento e nos de sequeiro quando mantidos úmidos. A melhor correlação foi obtida entre o teor de N-mineral e o N acumulado no tecido das plantas. Para o experimento 1 do estudo 2 houve relação linear entre os valores de leituras do clorofilômetro em R0 e o teor de N das plantas, entretanto, a produtividade de grãos teve um comportamento quadrático quando relacionadas com as leituras do clorofilômetro, sendo estimado o valor crítico de leitura de 36 unidades SPAD em R0. Para os experimentos 2 e 3 do estudo 2 houve efeito da 1ª e 2ª aplicação de N evidenciado pelas leituras do clorofilômetro, porém com o passar do tempo as leituras foram semelhantes para todos os tratamentos. A matéria verde e/ou seca e N acumulado responderam linearmente às doses de N. Não houve efeito de interação para as doses de N na produtividade de grãos de ambos experimentos e a resposta desta foi quadrática. A avaliação do estado nutricional das plantas pelo clorofilômetro, isoladamente, não é um bom indicador das condições gerais da lavoura, podendo a matéria verde ou seca ajudar na interpretação dos resultados para um melhor ajuste na adubação de N em cobertura.

Les communautés microbiennes sont des acteurs majeurs du fonctionnement biologique du sol à travers notamment leur implication dans les transformations des cycles biogéochimiques (C, N, P…). Dans les agro-écosystèmes, la diversité de ces communautés est régulièrement modifiée par des perturbations liées aux pratiques agricoles et la question des conséquences de ces modifications pour le maintien du fonctionnement biologique et des fonctionnalités des systèmes agricoles est aujourd’hui centrale. Si le rôle de la diversité biologique pour le fonctionnement des écosystèmes a été bien étudié chez les macro-organismes, et notamment les plantes ; la relation biodiversité/activité est encore très mal connue pour les microorganismes du sol. Pourtant, dans la mouvance agroécologique actuelle, cette connaissance est nécessaire pour définir de nouvelles pratiques culturales intégrant une gestion de la diversité microbienne pour une utilisation durable des agrosystèmes. Dans ce travail, l’objectif général était de tester l’importance de la diversité pour la stabilité (résistance/résilience) et l’activité des communautés microbiennes (bactéries et champignons) impliquées dans les transformations de la matière organique dans le sol, une fonction déterminante pour la fertilité des sols, la qualité de l’environnement et les changements globaux. D’un point de vue expérimental, nos questions ont été abordées par le couplage d’expérimentations au laboratoire avec des échantillonnages réalisés au terrain. Dans un premier travail basé sur une manipulation de la diversité au laboratoire, nous avons montré que la stabilité de la structure et de l’activité des communautés en réponse à différentes perturbations est positivement liée à la diversité microbienne (i.e. nombre d’espèces). Ce lien a ensuite été validé par une expérimentation basée sur un échantillonnage de terrain qui nous a permis de démontrer (i) que la diversité microbiennes peut être modulée (augmentée ou diminuée) en fonction de l’intensité d’usage des sols, et (ii) que la minéralisation de la matière organique est plus intense dans les sols présentant les plus hauts niveaux de diversité. Enfin, dans le cadre d’une expérimentation réalisée au terrain (SOERE-ACBB, Lusignan), nous avons montré que la réponse des communautés de bactéries et de champignons à un apport de résidus de blé, en termes de successions de populations et d’activité de minéralisation de la matière organique, dépend de l’historique cultural du sol. Ces travaux apportent de nouvelles connaissances sur l’importance de la diversité microbienne (richesse, composition) pour la stabilité et l’activité des communautés impliquées dans les transformations de la matière organique dans le sol. Ils montrent également que la modulation de la diversité des communautés microbiennes du sol par les pratiques agricoles, présentes ou passées, peut affecter significativement le turnover de la MOS. / Soil microbial communities act as important agents of the biological soil functioning, particularly through their involvements in the transformations of biogeochemical cycles (C, N, P…). In agro-ecosystems, the diversity of these communities is affected by perturbations associated to agricultural practices, and the significance of these modifications in terms of preservation of biological functioning and sustainability of agricultural systems has emerged as a central issue in the environmental sciences. Whereas the role of biodiversity has been well studied for macroorganisms, in particular for plants; the biodiversity/activity relationship is still largely unknown for soil microorganisms. However, in the current agro-ecological movement, this knowledge is needed to define new agricultural practices including a best management of microbial diversity for the sustainable use of agro-ecosystems. In this context, the objective of this Phd was to test the significance of microbial diversity for the stability (resistance/resilience) and the activity of microbial community (bacteria and fungi) involved in the turnover of soil organic matter, a major function for soil fertility, environment quality and global changes. From an experimental point of view, these issues were addressed by coupling laboratory with field experiments. In a first work, by manipulating microbial diversity in laboratory condition, we have shown that the stability of both microbial genetic structure and activity in response to different perturbations is positively linked to microbial diversity (i.e. number of species). This link was then validated by a sampling based on a field experiment that allowed us to demonstrate that (i) the soil microbial diversity can be modulated (increased or decreased) depending the intensity of land use management, and (ii) the mineralization of organic matter is more intense in the soil with the highest level of diversity. Finally, thanks to an experiment carried out in the field (SOERE-ACBB, Lusignan), we showed that the response of bacterial and fungal communities to wheat residues supply in terms of successions of microbial populations and activities of organic matter mineralization depends on the soil management history. These works provide new insights into the significance of microbial diversity (richness, composition) for the stability and the activity of communities involved in the soil organic matter turnover. They also suggest that the modulation of the diversity of soil microbial communities by agricultural practices, past or present, can significantly affect the turnover of soil organic matter.

Magister Scientiae (Biodiversity and Conservation Biology) / This study examined the magnitude of soil CO2 efflux in an arid South African ecosystem, the flux responses as well as those of key limiting nutrients to soil temperature increases and moisture reductions consistent with a future climate change scenario, and compared measured soil respiration rates with those predicted with empirically and theoretically-based soil respiration models. Measurements of soil respiration rate, temperature, moisture, N and P contents were conducted monthly over a 12-month period in natural environments and those artificially manipulated with replicated open-top warming chambers (average 4.1oC increase) and precipitation exclusion chambers (average 30.1% decrease in rainfall, 26.2% decrease in fog and dewfall) distributed in five different soil-vegetation units.Measured soil respiration rates were over 3-fold less than those reported for temperate and tropical forest ecosystems with 61.5% of the total soil CO2 efflux contributed by root respiration (derived from the differences between moderately vegetated and sparsely vegetated areas) in moderately vegetated soils. Massive increases (up to 15 times) in soil CO2 efflux occurred during wet phases, but even these large CO2 pulses were only comparable in magnitude with soil CO2 effluxes reported for temperate semi-arid grasslands. There was considerable intra-annual and inter-site variability in the magnitude and direction of soil respiration and N and P responses to elevated temperatures and reduced precipitation levels with poor correspondence evident between soil CO2 efflux and soil organic matter content. Soil CO2 effluxes declined in response to precipitation exclusion by 7.1% over all sites and increased in response to warming by 42.1% over all sites. The large increase in response to warming was assisted by a 7.5% enhancement in soil moisture content due to precipitation interception by the chamber walls and its channelling to the soil surface.Relatively smaller respiration increases in response to warming occurred in moderately vegetated soils, these attributed to soil thermal insulation by the plant canopy cover. Soil P and N contents increased in response to warming by 11.3% and 13.3% respectively over all sites, with soil P declining in response to precipitation exclusion by 5.8% over all sites and soil N increasing in response to precipitation exclusion over all sites by 5.8%. Standard least squares regressions quantified the relationships between soil respiration rate and measured soil physical and chemical properties, and their interactions for each of the 5 soil-vegetation units. These relationships were incorporated in an empiricallybased soil respiration (EMR) model which was compared with a theoretically based generalized soil respiration model (GRESP). GRESP model functions included measured Q10 coefficients at soil moisture contents above field capacity, these assumed reduced by half for dry conditions, and maximum retentive and field capacities of soils. EMR modelled soil respiration rates displayed slightly better correspondence with measured soil respiration rates than GRESP modelled soil respiration rates. This apparent from the higher regression coefficients and lower sums of squared residuals, with EMR model residuals also more closely approximating normal distributions. However, despite the EMR model’s slight superiority, it was concluded that more precise laboratory-based measurements of soil retentive and field capacities and their Q10 coefficients at different soil moisture contents could improve the GRESP model’s accuracy thereby providing a more convenient and uncomplicated means of predicting respiration responses to current and future climates over a wide range of arid soil types

No description available.

Recent studies have shown that permafrost soils in the northern circumpolar region store almost twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. Since soil organic carbon (SOC) pools have large regional and landscape-level variability, detailed SOC inventories from across the northern permafrost region are needed to assess potential remobilization of SOC with permafrost degradation and to quantify the permafrost carbon-climate feedback on global warming. This thesis provides high-resolution data on SOC storage in five study areas located in undersampled regions of the continuous permafrost zone (Zackenberg in NE Greenland; Shalaurovo and Cherskiy in NE Siberia; Ary-Mas and Logata in Taymyr Peninsula). The emphasis throughout the five different study areas is put on SOC partitioning within the landscape and soil horizon levels as well as on soil forming processes under periglacial conditions. Our results indicate large differences in mean SOC 0–100 cm storage among study areas, ranging from 4.8 to 30.0 kg C m-2, highlighting the need to consider numerous factors as topography, geomorphology, land cover, soil texture, soil moisture, etc. in the assessment of landscape-level and regional SOC stock estimates. In the high arctic mountainous area of Zackenberg, the mean SOC storage is low due to the high proportion of bare grounds. The geomorphology based upscaling resulted in a c. 40% lower estimate compared to a land cover based upscaling (4.8 vs 8.3 kg C m-2, respectively). A landform approach provides a better tool for identifying hotspots of SOC burial in the landscape, which in this area corresponds to alluvial fan deposits in the foothills of the mountains. SOC burial by cryoturbation was much more limited and largely restricted to soils in the lower central valley. In the lowland permafrost study areas of Russia the mean SOC 0–100 cm storage ranged from 14.8 to 30.0 kg C m-2. Cryoturbation is the main burial process of SOC, storing on average c. 30% of the total landscape SOC 0–100 cm in deeper C-enriched pockets in all study areas. In Taymyr Peninsula, the mean SOC storage between the Ary-Mas and Logata study areas differed by c. 40% (14.8 vs 20.8 kg C m-2, respectively). We ascribe this mainly to the finer soil texture in the latter study area. Grain size analyses show that cryoturbation is most prominent in silt loam soils with high coarse silt to very fine sand fractions. However, in profiles and samples not affected by C-enrichment, C concentrations and densities were higher in silt loam soils with higher clay to medium silt fractions. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

This diploma thesis is focused on changes of stability in organic matter by extraction in different agents. Two soils of a different type and isolated humic acids were used for stability determination. Extraction agents were selected usually used for soil metal extraction, and a changes in the structure of the organic matter was observed. Samples were characterized using FTIR analysis and elemental analysis, the extracts were measured by UV-VIS spectroscopy, absorption ratios E2/E3, E4/E6 were discovered, dynamic light scattering were determined for particle size distributions. Next part of the thesis was the assessment of the change of thermal stability using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, degradation temperatures of the extracted samples were discovered and compared with the original samples.

The submitted diploma thesis aims to extend the use of thermogravimetry for the analysis of organic C and total N contents in soils. The advantages of thermogravimetry in comparison to conventional analytical methods are that it is a versatile technique that provides fast analysis, does not require sample pretreatment and chemicals– and can be used for the analysis of various soil types. The research work performed so far showed correlations between thermogravimetric data and some soil properties. In the past, intact soils exposed to 76% relative humidity (RH) were analyzed by thermogravimetry for these purposes. However, this humidity is problematic to achieve and maintain for most thermogravimeters. Recent work has shown that correlations can be observed in agricultural land exposed to lower RH. Therefore, it can be assumed that a correlation between TG data exists in soils exposed to any RH. TG could then be used to analyze soil properties under any known RH conditions. The aim of this work was to verify this hypothesis and try to incorporate knowledge of RH into the relationships between TG and soil properties. For this reason, intact soils exposed to the relative humidity of 30, 55, and 76% were analyzed in this work. It was demonstrated the dependence between organic C content and mass loss between 320 and 330°C as well as total nitrogen content and mass loss between 410 and 420°C independently of relative humidity. Based on that knowledge, we have derived equations enabling determination of the content of organic C and total N for RH ranging 43% - 76% using mass losses and knowledge of RH. Nevertheless, due to the low number of tested RH, the equations are still only preliminary and need to be improved by analyzing soil samples at a larger number of RH.

The United Nations organization for food and agriculture argues that humanity hastaken the soils of the world for granted. Due to chemical pollution, erosion,salinization, compaction, and acidification, 33 percent of the soils are moderately orhighly degraded. If humanity loses more productive soils, there is a risk that foodinsecurity and poverty would increase as well as the diminishing of severalecosystem services.This study focuses on the anthropogenic external factors that affect the agriculturalfields since the conventional and organic farmers use different methods relating tofertilizers, manure, and pesticides. A comparison of soil organic matter between soilsamples from organic and conventional farms in Sweden was carried out, throughsoil sampling and then analyzed with the combustion method. The study alsoevaluates the effect of erosion on the fields in the sampling region.According to this study’s results, there is no significant difference between theamount of soil organic matter in conventional or organic farming soil in southeastSweden, and there has been no erosion on the fields in the past seven years since theSOM content had neither increased nor decreased. This knowledge can be of furtheruse in soil science studies.

Although, the potential of management induced changes of soil organic matter, soil hydraulic properties (SHPs) and soil physical quality has been studied particularly in relation to tillage, few studies have evaluated combined effect of tillage, crop residue retention and cropping sequence, which are essential components of conservation agriculture (CA), on stratification and storage of soil organic matter, its effect on near-saturated soil hydraulic properties and soil physical quality in intensive cereal based irrigated cropping systems. Hence, the present study critically analyses the effects of CA on organic matter and hydro-physical properties of soil in a long-term CA field trial in NWIGP, India, which is one of the most fragile agro-ecosystems in the world. The objectives were (I) to investigate the stratification of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N ratio and evaluate SR as an indicator of storage of SOC and TN and soil quality for different CA practices, (II) to assess the long-term effect of CA practices and short-term effect of crops on near-saturated soil hydraulic conductivity and water transmission properties, and (III) to assess the effect of CA practices on soil physical quality using capacitive and dynamic indicators. There were four treatments: (1) conventionally tilled rice-wheat cropping system (CT-RW), (2) reduced till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system (RT-RWMB), (3) no-till CA-based rice-wheat-mungbean system (NT-RWMB), and (4) no-till CA-based maize-wheat-mungbean system (NT-MWMB). To achieve these objectives, soil bulk density, SOC and TN were measured in an increment of 5 cm up to 30 cm soil depth. Furthermore, the effects of CA were also evaluated in terms of soil hydro-physical properties. Soil physical properties such as bulk density and soil aggregate distribution were evaluated in two cropping seasons along with near saturated hydraulic properties. Steady state infiltration rates were obtained at four pressure heads by hood infiltrometer consecutively over two cropping seasons, i.e. during harvest season of rice/maize (October 2017) and maximum crop growth stage of wheat (February 2018). Data were analysed in terms of soil hydraulic conductivity, k(h), flow weighted mean pore radius (r0), hydraulically active porosity (ε) and threshold pore radius (rbp), a new pore measure indicative of macropore stability derived by substituting soil’s bubble pressure in the capillary equation. Finally, the effects of CA on soil physical quality in terms of both capacitive and dynamic indicators, derived from soil moisture retention curve and field measured hydraulic conductivity, respectively, were assessed and related with crop yield to infer which indicator better represented the soil physical quality and its effect on crop yield under irrigated intensive cereal based cropping systems. Results showed that CA had profound impacts on distribution of SOC and TN in the soil profile. Significantly higher proportion of both SOC and TN were observed in the top soil in the CA-based treatments as compared with conventional intensive tillage-based treatment. The mean stratification ratio of both SOC and TN were found > 2 in CA-based treatments whereas the same was < 2 in intensive tillage-based treatment. Storage of SOC and TN in the 0-30 cm were found higher in CA-based treatments as compared with the intensive tillage-based treatment. These results on vertical distribution and storage of SOC and TN indicated a relatively better soil carbon sequestration and soil quality in CA-based treatment. The higher concentrations and storage of soil organic matter in CA-based treatments were, however, not translated into significantly (p < 0.05) lower bulk density due to probable compaction effect of no-tillage and harvest machinery and hydraulic pressure exerted by the flooded irrigation water. However, the increased soil organic matter in the top soil in CA-based treatments improved the soil aggregation significantly which helped in enhancing soil structural quality. Improvement in soil structure was reflected in relatively higher near saturated hydraulic conductivity in CA-based treatments. Irrespective of crop seasons, higher k(h) was observed under CA due to formation of macropores with better continuity, greater size and numbers as compared with conventional intensive tillage treatment. Moreover, higher r0 values were observed for a given k(h) for CA treatments suggesting that interaggregate pores are the dominant pathways of infiltration in CA. A relatively smaller temporal variation of rbp was indicative of a more stable macropore system established by rice-based CA as compared with maize-based CA. CA also enhanced hydraulically active macropores as compared with intensive tillage based conventional agriculture. Results also indicated that crops play an important role in relative distribution of the hydraulically active macropores in the root zone. The impact of CA on soil organic matter stratification and soil hydraulic properties were found to be expressed in terms of changes in soil physical quality. Soil moisture retention curves and pore size distributions under different treatments suggested higher soil water storage in structural pores in CA as compared with intensive tillage-based conventional agriculture. The impact of CA on soil physical quality and consequent effect on crop yield was found to be more expressed through dynamic indicators such as hydraulically active porosity rather than capacitive indicators derived from soil moisture retention curve. Overall, this study reveals that conservation agriculture has great potentials to reverse the intensive tillage induced degradation of soil resources in Indo-Gangetic Plains of India by improving the soil hydro-physical properties and soil physical quality.:Table of Contents Declaration i Declaration of Conformity ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents v List of Figures vii List of Tables xi List of Symbols, Abbreviations and Acronyms xiv Abstract xvii 1 Introduction and Background 1 1.1 General Overview 1 1.2 Statement of the Research Problem 5 1.3 Objectives 6 1.4 Research Flow and Chapter Description 7 2 Materials and Methods 9 2.1 Study Area Description 9 2.1.1 Study site 9 2.1.2 Climate 9 2.1.3 Soil 10 2.1.4 Treatments 10 2.1.5 Field Campaigns and Measurement/Analysis 14 2.2 Methods and Theoretical Considerations 14 2.2.1 Soil Sampling and Analysis 14 2.2.1.1 Calculation of Stratification Ratio 15 2.2.1.2 Calculation of SOC and TN Storage 15 2.2.1.3 Aggregate Size Distribution 16 2.2.2 Infiltration Measurements 16 2.2.3 Soil Moisture Retention Experiments 17 2.2.4 Derivation of Hydraulic Properties from Steady State Infiltration Rates 18 2.2.4.1 Near-Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity 18 2.2.4.2 Flow Weighted Mean Pore Radius 20 2.2.4.3 Equivalent Threshold pore Radius 21 2.2.4.4 Hydraulically Active Porosity 21 2.2.5 Determiation of Soil Moisture Charachtristics and Pore Size Distribution 22 2.2.6 Derivation of Soil Physical Quality Indicators 23 2.3 Statistics 25 3 Results and Discussion 26 3.1 Stratification and Storage of Soil Organic Matter 26 3.1.1 Bulk Density 26 3.1.2 Concenrations of SOC 27 3.1.3 Concentrations of TN 28 3.1.4 C/N Ratio 29 3.1.5 Stratification Ratio of SOC, TN and C/N Ratio 30 3.1.6 Storage of SOC and TN 33 3.1.7 Discussion 34 3.1.8 Summary of Results 39 3.2 Soil Hydro-Physical Properties 40 3.2.1 Soil Physical Properties 40 3.2.2 Near-Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity 43 3.2.3 Soil Pore Characteristics-Conductivity Relationship 47 3.2.4 Hydrailically active Porosity 51 3.2.5 Summary of Results 54 3.3 Soil Physical Quality (SPQ) 56 3.3.1 Soil Moisture Retention Curve (SMRC) 56 3.3.2 Soil Pore Size Distribution (SPSD) 58 3.3.3 Capacitive Indicators 59 3.3.4 Dynamic Indicators 60 3.3.5 Relationship between capacitive indicators of SPQ with dynamic indicators of SPQ and long-term crop yield 60 3.3.6 Relationship between dynamic indicator of SPQ (hydraulically active porosity) and Long-term Crop Yield 62 3.3.7 Summary of Results 64 4 Synthesis and Conclusions 65 5 Implications and Outlook 69 References 71

In the Intermountain West, aspen (Populus tremuloides) has declined mainly due to a combination of successional processes, fire suppression and long-term use of ungulates which has led to replacement by conifers, sagebrush or other shrub communities. Conifer encroachment is believed to cause critical changes in the ecosystem properties. In order to understand the impacts of conifer encroachment on soil properties such as soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, soil morphology, and soil chemical properties, and the implications of such changes, it is very important to assess the soil properties under the two vegetation types. The objectives of this study were to i) quantify SOC stocks and their variability in pure aspen forests; ii) evaluate the role of various biotic and abiotic site parameters as drivers of this SOC; iii) evaluate the effect of conifer encroachment on SOC storage, soil morphology, soil microclimate and soil chemical properties. The study was conducted in three catchments in Northern Utah in two phases: i) a transect study with 33 sampling points in a pure aspen community; ii) a paired plot study based on comparing six plots in to aspen and nearby conifer plots as representatives of end-member communities. Soils under aspen were mainly Mollisols, whereas the soils associated with conifers were classified as Alfisols, Inceptisols and Entisols. Even under pure aspen there was a significant SOC variability among sampling points and aspects, and SOC was negatively correlated with soil moisture index and average tree diameter and positively correlated with vegetation density. The paired plot comparison showed that SOC in the mineral soil (0-60 cm) was significantly higher under aspen, while O horizon thickness and C content was higher under conifers. The total SOC (O layer + mineral soil) was not significantly different among the vegetation types, suggesting an upward redistribution of SOC in conifer soils. The soil moisture in summer was also higher under aspen compared to conifers. Other chemical properties were not affected by vegetation types. Our study indicates that i) no differences in SOC can be detected in surface soil horizons (<20 >cm); ii) SOC is highly variable and greatly influenced by soil moisture and forest characteristics; iii) conifer encroachment is likely to alter soil microclimatic and SOC amount and distribution.