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There is increased interest in the terrestrial silicon cycle in the last decades as its different compounds and species have large implications for ecosystem performance in terms of soil nutrient and water availability, ecosystem productivity as well as ecological aspects such as plant-microbe and plant-animal feedbacks. The currently existing analytical methods are limited. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis is suggested being a promising tool to differentiate between the different Si species. We report here on the differentiation of varying Si-species/Si-binding (in synthetic material) using FTIR-analyses. Therefore, we collected FTIR-spectra of five different amorphous silica, Ca-silicate, sodium silicate (all particulate), a water-soluble fraction of amorphous silica and soil affected by volcanic activity and compared their spectra with existing data. A decrease of the internal order of the materials analyzed was indicated by peak broadening of the Si-O-Si absorption band. Peak shifts at this absorption band were induced by larger ions incorporated in the Si-O-Si network. Additionally, short-range ordered aluminosilicates (SROAS) have specific IR absorption bands such as the Si-O-Al band. Hence, SROAS and Si phases containing other ions can be distinguished from pure amorphous Si species using FTIR-analyses.

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Silicon (Si) speciation and availability in soils is highly important for ecosystem functioning, because Si is a beneficial element for plant growth. Si chemistry is highly complex compared to other elements in soils, because Si reaction rates are relatively slow and dependent on Si species. Consequently, we review the occurrence of different Si species in soil solution and their changes by polymerization, depolymerization, and condensation in relation to important soil processes. We show that an argumentation based on thermodynamic endmembers of Si dependent processes, as currently done, is often difficult, because some reactions such as mineral crystallization require months to years (sometimes even centuries or millennia). Furthermore, we give an overview of Si reactions in soil solution and the predominance of certain solid compounds, which is a neglected but important parameter controlling the availability, reactivity, and function of Si in soils. We further discuss the drivers of soil Si cycling and how humans interfere with these processes. The soil Si cycle is of major importance for ecosystem functioning; therefore, a deeper understanding of drivers of Si cycling (e.g., predominant speciation), human disturbances and the implication for important soil properties (water storage, nutrient availability, and micro aggregate stability) is of fundamental relevance.

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The colloidal stability of nanoparticles NP in soil solution is important to assess their potential effects on ecosystems. The aim of this work was to elucidate the interactions between initial particle size di, particle number concentration (N0) as well as the characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) for stabilizing Ag NP and TiO2 NP. In batch experiments using time-resolved dynamic light scattering (DLS), we investigated the aggregation of TiO2 NP (79 nm, 164 nm) and citrate-stabilised Ag NP (73 nm, 180 nm) in Ca2+ solution (2 mM) and two soil solutions, one extracted from a farmland and one from a floodplain soil (each containing 2 mM Ca2+). Our results demonstrate that the initial particle size and the particle number concentration affected aggregation more strongly in the presence of DOM than without DOM. The composition of DOM also affected aggregate size: NP formed larger aggregates in the presence of hydrophilic DOM than in the presence of hydrophobic DOM. Hydrophilic DOM showed a larger charge density than hydrophobic DOM. If Ca2+ is present, it may bridge DOM molecules, which may lead to greater NP destabilization. The results demonstrate that DOM interaction with NP may not only vary for different DOM characteristics (i.e. charge density) but may also be influenced by the presence of multivalent cations and different NP material; thus the effect of DOM on NP colloidal stability is not uniform.

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Soil microbial communities play an important role in forest ecosystem functioning, but how climate change will affect the community composition and consequently bacterial functions is poorly understood. We assessed the effects of reduced precipitation with the aim of simulating realistic future drought conditions for one growing season on the bacterial community and its relation to soil properties and forest management. We manipulated precipitation in beech and conifer forest plots managed at different levels of intensity in three different regions across Germany. The precipitation reduction decreased soil water content across the growing season by between 2 to 8% depending on plot and region. T-RFLP analysis and pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene were used to study the total soil bacterial community and its active members after six months of precipitation reduction. The effect of reduced precipitation on the total bacterial community structure was negligible while significant effects could be observed for the active bacteria. However, the effect was secondary to the stronger influence of specific soil characteristics across the three regions and management selection of overstorey tree species and their respective understorey vegetation. The impact of reduced precipitation differed between the studied plots; however, we could not determine the particular parameters being able to modify the response of the active bacterial community among plots. We conclude that the moderate drought induced by the precipitation manipulation treatment started to affect the active but not the total bacterial community, which points to an adequate resistance of the soil microbial system over one growing season.

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The application of biochar to soil is a potential tool for the long-term sequestration of C and a possible mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Among the various processes available to produce biochar, hydrothermal carbonization is one technique that is suitable for moist feedstock like digestates from biogas production. The aim of this study was to investigate the stability of C and emissions of NO after the addition of (i) digested wheat ( L.) straw (digestate) and (ii) hydrothermally carbonized (HTC) char of wheat straw as well as (iii) HTC char of digested wheat straw to two soil horizons that differed in C content. The HTC chars were obtained from wheat straw and digested wheat straw that were hydrothermally carbonized at 230°C for 6 h. The digestate and HTC chars were mixed with soil and incubated in 125-mL vessels. The GHG emissions of CO and NO were measured at regular intervals. Additionally, after 108 d, N was applied in the form of NHNO equivalent to 100 kg N ha. After 500 d of incubation, the digestate had lost 34% of C, while the soil mixture with the corresponding HTC char lost 12% of C in the form of CO from the topsoil. The estimated bi-exponential half-life of the recalcitrant C was more than 50% longer for the carbonized material than for the untreated digestate. The NO emissions from both HTC chars were significantly reduced compared with untreated digestate. The reductions were up to 64% for the topsoil and 60% for the subsoil samples. These laboratory results show that HTC holds the potential to increase the C stability of fermented and carbonized biomasses and to reduce NO emissions.

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Biomass carbonized via hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) yields a liquid and a carbon (C)-rich solid called hydrochar. In soil, hydrochars may act as fertilizers and promote C sequestration. We assumed that the chemical composition of the raw material (woodchips, straw, grass cuttings, or digestate) determines the properties of the liquid and solid HTC products, including their degradability. Additionally, we investigated whether easily mineralizable organic components adsorbed on the hydrochar surface influence the degradability of the hydrochars and could be removed by repetitive washing. Carbon mineralization was measured as CO production over 30 d in aerobic incubation experiments with loamy sand. Chemical analysis revealed that most nutrients were preferably enriched in the liquid phase. The C mineralization of hydrochars from woodchips (2% of total C added), straw (3%), grass (6%), and digestate (14%) were dependent on the raw material carbonized and were significantly lower (by 60-92%; < 0.05) than the mineralization of the corresponding raw materials. Washing of the hydrochars significantly decreased mineralization of digestate-hydrochar (up to 40%) but had no effect on mineralization rates of the other three hydrochars. Variations in C mineralization between different hydrochars could be explained by multiple factors, including differences in the O/C-H/C ratios, C/N ratios, lignin content, amount of oxygen-containing functional groups, and pH. In contrast to the solids, the liquid products were highly degradable, with 61 to 89% of their dissolved organic C being mineralized within 30 d. The liquids may be treated aerobically (e.g., for nutrient recovery).

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