Rewetting CO2 pulses in Australian agricultural soils and the influence of soil properties

Abstract

An incubation study determined the effect of one dry-rewetting (DRW) event on the turnover of carbon (C), phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N). Thirty-two soils were collected from different climatic regions of southern Australia, varying in soil type, land use and agronomic management history. We hypothesised that respiration and nutrient pulses are related to soil physio-chemical properties. Respiration (CO2 release) was measured intensively for 90 h after rewetting. C mineralisation (Cmin) model fitting was used to describe the amount of mineralisable C (Co90 h) and the proportional mineralisation rate (k). Compared to constantly moist soils, 13 soils showed increases in both Co90 h and k, ind..