Three studies were completed to investigate the influence of mineral assemblage on soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling and pedogenesis in forest soils. Two studies utilized a lithosequence of four parent materials (rhyolite, granite, basalt, limestone/volcanic cinders) under Pinus ponderosa, to explicitly quantify the contribution of parent material mineral assemblage to the character of the resulting soil. The first study explored variation in pedogenesis and elemental mass loss as a product of parent material through a combination of quantitative X-ray diffraction and elemental mass balance. Results indicated significant differences in degree of soil development, profile characteristics, and mass flux according to parent material.The second study utilized the same lithosequence of soils, but focused on organic C cycling. This study explored variation in SOC content among soils of differing mineralogy and correlations among soil physiochemical variables, SOC content, soil microbial community composition and respiration rates. Metal-humus complex and Fe-oxyhydroxide content emerged as important predictors of SOC dynamics across all parent materials, showing significant correlation with both SOC content and bacterial community composition. Results indicated that within a specific ecosystem, SOC dynamics and microbial community vary predictably with soil physicochemical variables directly related to mineralogical differences among soil parent materials.The third study focused specifically on the influence of goethite and gibbsite on dissolved organic matter characteristics and microbial communities which utilize DOM as a growth substrate. Iron and aluminum oxides were selected for this study due to their wide spread occurrence in soils and their abundance of reactive surface area, qualities which enable them to have a significant effect on SOC transported through forest soils. Results indicated that exposure to goethite and gibbsite surfaces induces significant differences in DOM quality, including changes in thermal properties, molecular structure, and concentrations of P and N. Investigation of the decomposer communities indicated that exposure to goethite and gibbsite surfaces caused significant differences in microbial community structure.These investigations emphasize the important role of mineral assemblage in shaping soil characteristics and regulating the cycling of C in soils, from the molecular scale to the pedon scale.

Plant roots are critical weathering agents in deep soils, yet the impact of resulting mineral transformations on the vast deep soil carbon (C) reservoir are largely unknown. Root-driven weathering of primary minerals may cause the formation of reactive secondary minerals, which protect mineral-organic associations (MOAs) for centuries or millennia. Conversely, root-driven weathering may also transform secondary minerals, potentially enhancing the bioavailability of C previously protected in MOAs. Here we examined the impact of root-driven weathering on MOAs and their capacity to store C over pedogenic time scales. I compared soil that experienced root-driven weathering, resulting in the formation of discrete rhizosphere zones in deep soil horizons (100-160 cm) of the Santa Cruz Marine Terrace chronosequence (65 ka-226 ka), with adjacent soil that experienced no root growth. Using a combination of radiocarbon, mass spectrometry, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and X-ray spectromicroscopy approaches, we characterized MOA transformations in relation to changes in C content, turnover and chemistry across four soils ranging in age (65 ka-226 ka). We found that the onset of root-driven weathering (65-90 ka) increased the amount of C associated with poorly crystalline iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) phases, particularly highly-disordered nano-goethite. The increase in C coincided with greater overall C concentrations, longer C residence times, and a greater abundance of microbially-derived C. Continued root-driven weathering (137-226 ka) did not significantly change the amount of C associated with crystalline Fe and Al phases, but resulted in a decline in the amount of C associated with poorly crystalline metal phases. This decline in C associated to poorly crystalline phases coincided with a decrease in C concentrations and potential turnover rates, and a shift toward plant-derived C. In contrast, soil not affected by root-driven weathering showed low amounts of C bound to poorly crystalline Fe and Al phases regardless of soil age and, correspondingly, lower C concentrations and estimated residence times. My results demonstrate that root-driven formation and disruption of poorly crystalline Fe and Al phases directly controls both C accrual and loss in deep soil. Hence root impacts on soil C storage are dependent on soil weathering stage, a consideration critical for predictions of the vulnerability of deep soil C to global change.