Friggens, N.L. orcid.org/0000-0002-5536-6312, England, N., Murton, J.B. orcid.org/0000-0002-9469-5856 et al. (2 more authors) (2025) BLOSOM: A plant growth facility optimised for continuous 13C labelling and measurement of soil organic matter dynamics. European Journal of Soil Science, 76 (1). e70042. ISSN 1351-0754
Abstract
Changes in soil carbon (C) stocks are largely driven by rhizosphere processes forming new soil organic matter (SOM) or stimulating SOM decomposition by rhizosphere priming effects (RPEs). Quantifying these changes is challenging and requires high spatial sampling densities or plant–soil experiments with highly distinct C isotopic signatures for plants and soils. Current methods for quantifying new SOM formation and RPEs rely on low labelling intensities, which introduces high levels of uncertainty. Here, we describe the design and operation of an experimental laboratory facility—BLOSOM (Botanical Labelling Observatory for Soil Organic Matter)—optimised for continuous 13C labelling of plants at high labelling intensities (> 500‰) to quantify new SOM formation and RPEs in temperature-controlled soils from 216 experimental units. Throughout a > 6-month experimental period, independent control of soil and air temperature was achieved across diurnal cycles averaging at 5.24°C ± 0.05°C and 21.4°C ± 1.2°C, respectively. BLOSOM can maintain stable CO2 concentrations and δ13C isotopic composition within 5% of setpoints (CO2: 440 ppm, δ13C: 515‰) across a > 6-month period. This high-precision control on atmospheric enrichment enables the detection of new SOM formation with a total uncertainty of ±39% to ±3% for a theoretical range of 0.5%–10% new SOM formation, respectively. BLOSOM has the potential improve quantification and mechanistic understanding of new SOM formation and RPEs across many different combinations of plants, soils and simulated climatic conditions to mimic a wide range of ecosystems and climate scenarios.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). European Journal of Soil Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society of Soil Science. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Keywords: | experimental facility; isotopic labelling; nature based solutions; rhizosphere priming effect; SOC stocks; SOM formation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL NE/S010122/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Jan 2025 10:05 |
Last Modified: | 17 Jan 2025 10:06 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/ejss.70042 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:221736 |