Sokol et al. (2024): Reduced accrual of mineral-associated organic matter after two years of enhanced rock weathering in cropland soils, though no net losses of soil organic carbon

Noah W. Sokol, Jaeeun Sohng, Kimber Moreland, Eric Slessarev, Heath Goertzen, Radomir Schmidt, Sandipan Samaddar, Iris Holzer, Maya Almaraz, Emily Geoghegan, Benjamin Houlton, Isabel Montañez, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Kate Scow IN: Biogeochemistry, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-024-01160-0

Enhanced rock weathering, the application of crushed silicate rock to soil, can remove atmospheric carbon dioxide by converting it to (bi) carbonate ions or solid carbonate minerals. However, few studies have empirically evaluated ERW in field settings. A critical question remains as to whether additions of crushed rock might positively or negatively affect soil organic matter —Earth’s largest terrestrial organic carbon pool and a massive reservoir of organic nitrogen. Here, in three irrigated cropland field trials in California, USA, we investigated the effect of crushed meta-basalt rock additions on different pools of soil organic carbon and nitrogen (i.e., mineral-associated organic matter, MAOM, and particulate organic matter, POM), active microbial biomass, and microbial community composition.

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