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DOI

  • Qiqi Wang
    University of Amsterdam
  • Sara L Bauke
    University of Bonn
  • Deying Wang
    School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Bangor University
  • Yi Zhao
    The University of Science and Technology Liaoning
  • Rüdiger Reichel
    Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-3
  • Davey L Jones
    School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Bangor University
  • David R Chadwick
    School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Bangor University
  • Albert Tietema
    University of Amsterdam
  • Roland Bol
    Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH

The significance of sulphur (S) availability for crop yield and quality is highlighted under the global S deficiency scenario. However, little is known about the temporal trend in belowground organic S mineralisation when restoring land to productive agricultural systems, particularly for the deeper soil parts. Therefore, we investigated the decomposition of 35S-labelled methionine in surface (0-30 cm) and subsurface soil (30-60 cm and 60-90 cm) over a 48-year recultivation chronosequence (sampled after1, 8, 14, 24 and 48 years). Soil total sulphur (TS) significantly (p < 0.05) increased in surface soil but not in subsurface soils after 48 years of recultivation. Overall, the immobilisation of 35S-methionine (35S-MB) in subsurface soils relative to year 1 significantly decreased over the chronosequence but did not change in the surface samples. The 35S-MB values in subsurface soils were positively corrected with soil carbon (C) stoichiometry (Pearson correlation, p < 0.05), suggesting the immobilisation of methionine was likely constrained by microbial C demand in deep soil. Compared to year 1, 35S-SO42- released from 35S-methionine significantly declined throughout the older (≥ 8 years) soil profiles. Significant (p < 0.05) changes in the organic 35S partition (35S immobilisation and 35S released as sulphate) were observed in year 8 after the soil was recultivated with N-fixing alfalfa or fertilisers. Whereas, after that (≥ 14 years), soil organic S partition remained affected when conventional tillage and agricultural crops dominated this site. Indicating that the effect of recultivation on organic S decomposition depends on the manner of recultivation management. Our study contributes to an improved understanding of amino acid S and organic S mineralisation under severe anthropogenic disturbance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)175409
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume951
Early online date13 Aug 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2024
Externally publishedYes
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