Microaggregate-associated carbon as a diagnostic fraction for management-induced changes in soil organic carbon in two Oxisols

Carbon stabilization by macroaggregate-occluded microaggregates (Mm) has been proposed as a principal mechanism for long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in temperate alternative agricultural and (af)forested systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of the Mm fraction for long-term C stabilization in Oxisols and to validate its diagnostic properties for total SOC changes upon changes in land use. Soil samples were taken from the 0-5 and 5-20 cm soil layers of native forest vegetation (NV), conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) systems at an experimental site near Passo Fundo and one near Londrina in Southern Brazil. After aggregate-size separations by wet-sieving, macroaggregate-occluded water-stable microaggregates (53-250 μm) (Mm) were isolated from large (>2000 μm) and small (>250 μm) macroaggregates. Particulate organic matter located inside the Mm (intra-Mm-POM) and the mineral fraction (< 53 μm) associated with the Mm (mineral-Mm) were separated from the POM fraction located outside the Mm (inter-Mm-POM) by density flotation followed by mechanical dispersion. Sand-free Mm-C concentrations on a macroaggregate basis were generally greater under NV and NT compared to CT in the 0-5 cm depth at both sites. Our findings support the importance of Mm (especially the mineral-Mm fraction) as long-term C-stabilization sites in highly weathered tropical soils under sustainable agricultural and natural systems. At both sites, significant differences in total SOC stocks (g C m-2) among different land use systems were always accompanied by parallel Mm-C stock differences. Though total SOC did not differ among land use systems in the 0-20 cm depth at both sites, Mm-C stocks were greater under NT compared to the CT treatment in the 0-20 cm depth at the Londrina site. We concluded that in these highly weathered tropical soils the Mm-C fraction is a more responsive fraction to management changes than total SOC and represents a diagnostic fraction for present as well as potential total SOC changes upon land-use change.