COMPARING LOSS-ON-IGNITION WITH DRY COMBUSTION AS A METHOD FOR DETERMINING CARBON CONTENT IN UPLAND AND LOWLAND FOREST ECOSYSTEMS

Peat and forest floor samples (n=307) from sites across continental western Canada are analyzed to determine (a) Carbon/organic matter (C/OM) ratios for different peat and forest floor types, (b) variability in C/OM ratios, and (c) the influence of vegetation type and ash content on C/OM ratios. Mea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCommunications in soil science and plant analysis Vol. 33; no. 15-18; pp. 3419 - 3430
Main Authors Bhatti, J. S., Bauer, Ilka E.
Format Journal Article Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia, PA Taylor & Francis Group 01.11.2002
Taylor & Francis
Subjects
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Biological and medical sciences
Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Generalities
Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils
Soil science
Canada
North America
America
Organic matter
Upland area
Ecosystem
Ash
Vegetation
Combustion
Forest soil
Measurement method
Mineral composition
Lowland
Carbon
Peat
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Summary:Peat and forest floor samples (n=307) from sites across continental western Canada are analyzed to determine (a) Carbon/organic matter (C/OM) ratios for different peat and forest floor types, (b) variability in C/OM ratios, and (c) the influence of vegetation type and ash content on C/OM ratios. Measured C/OM ratios for different peat and forest floor types are between 0.50 and 0.56, with an average of 0.52 over all samples. C/OM ratios change with ash content, with a positive relationship between the two variables if ash content is <20%. In samples with ash contents >20%, C/OM ratios are highly variable and our data suggest a slight decrease in average C/OM ratios with increased mineral content. Measurement error due to loss of structural water from clay minerals and the presence of inorganic C increasingly influence observed C/OM ratios as mineral content increases. While these problems can be partially overcome by use of appropriate analytical technique, LOI may not be a reliable measure of OM content in samples with very high mineral content.
ISSN:0010-3624
1532-2416
DOI:10.1081/CSS-120014535