Oil-palm and Rainforest Phytoliths Dissolve at Different Rates - with Implications for Silicon Cycling After Transformation of Rainforest Into Oil-palm Plantation
2022 | journal article; research paper. A publication with affiliation to the University of Göttingen.
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Oil-palm and Rainforest Phytoliths Dissolve at Different Rates - with Implications for Silicon Cycling After Transformation of Rainforest Into Oil-palm Plantation
Lühe, B. von der ; Bezler, K.; Hughes, H. J.; Greenshields, B.; Tjoa, A. & Sauer, D. (2022)
Silicon,. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-022-02066-y
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Details
- Authors
- Lühe, Barbara von der ; Bezler, Karin; Hughes, Harold J.; Greenshields, Britta; Tjoa, Aiyen; Sauer, Daniela
- Abstract
- Phytoliths make up the predominant fraction of biogenic silica in plant litter and soils. Thus, they represent a major source of dissolved silicon (Si) in soil-plant systems. Dissolution of phytoliths from Si-accumulating crops such as rice has been well studied in recent years. However, phytolith dissolution in oil-palm plantations remains largely understudied. In this study, we compared dissolution rates of phytoliths isolated from oil-palm fronds, oil-palm litter, and rainforest litter. Our results showed that phytoliths from oil-palm fronds represent an important reservoir of easily dissolvable Si with high dissolution rates (0.44 - 0.69 mg g−1 d−1). Compared to fresh phytoliths from oil-palm fronds, phytoliths isolated from litter showed up to 18 times lower dissolution rates, reflecting silica aging over time. The dissolution rate of phytoliths isolated from rainforest litter (0.067 mg g−1 d−1) was significantly higher than that of phytoliths from oil-palm litter (0.038 mg g−1 d−1). These results demonstrate that transformation of rainforest into oil-palm plantation involves a major change in phytolith production and Si release from litter, considerably altering Si cycling in the soil-plant system. We identified cut-off palm fronds that are usually piled up between the palm rows as most important Si sources maintaining biogeochemical Si cycling in oil-palm plantations.
- Issue Date
- 2022
- Journal
- Silicon
- Project
- SFB 990: Ökologische und sozioökonomische Funktionen tropischer Tieflandregenwald-Transformationssysteme (Sumatra, Indonesien)
SFB 990 | A | A05: Optimierung des Nährstoffmanagements in Ölpalmplantagen und Hochrechnung plot-basierter Treibhausgasflüsse auf die Landschaftsebene transformierter Regenwälder - Organization
- Abteilung Physische Geographie
- ISSN
- 1876-990X
- eISSN
- 1876-9918
- Language
- English
- Subject(s)
- sfb990_journalarticles