Impact of andosolization on pedogenic Fe oxides in ferrallitic soils

Andic properties; Bambouto Mountains; Cameroon; DOM-ferrihydrite; Fe oxides; Mössbauer spectroscopy; Biogeochemistry; Biological materials; Crystalline materials; Dissolution; Grading; Hematite; Kaolinite; Organic compounds; Volcanoes; Weathering; Fe oxide; Ferrihydrites; Ssbauer spectroscopies; Soils

Abstract :

[en] The accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM), poorly crystalline Fe oxides and metal-humus complexes is a trait of non-allophanic Andosols. The process of andosolization, which may occur in ferrallitic soils with high organic matter content, can involve transformation from well crystallized Fe oxides to poorly crystallized Fe oxides and Fe-humus complexes. This study investigates such changes in pedogenic Fe mineral associations for a soil toposequence between 1500 and 2260 m altitude along the southern flank of the volcanic Bambouto Mountains, Western Cameroon. The soils consist of highly weathered material, dominated by kaolinite, gibbsite and Fe oxides, grading to Protoandic Umbrisols at high altitude, recording an increase in SOM content with increasing altitude. As revealed by selective extraction analysis, the relative amount of poorly crystalline Fe oxides is low in the Bt and Bo horizons of low-altitude pedons, as well as in deep subsurface horizons of the high-altitude pedons. In contrast, it is significantly higher in the A and Bw horizons of the high-altitude pedons, with a clear increase with increasing altitude. Mössbauer spectroscopy analysis of B horizon samples identifies goethite as the dominant Fe oxide phase in nearly all pedons, with higher hematite contents in a mid-altitude zone marked by lower annual rainfall than in other parts of the toposequence. The Mössbauer spectra also reveal the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM)-ferrihydrite, whose abundance is greatest in the Bw horizon of the high-altitude pedons, with an increase in relative abundance with increasing altitude. The observed patterns are attributed to dissolution-reprecipitation of Fe oxides that initially formed through ferrallitic weathering of volcanic parent materials that were roughly uniform along the toposequence. At high altitude, coupled hematite dissolution and DOM-ferrihydrite formation are favoured by high organic matter contents and low pH, related to cool humid environmental conditions and their effect on the vegetation and organic matter cycling. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

Disciplines :

Environmental sciences & ecology

Author, co-author :

Van Ranst, E.; Ghent University, Department of Geology (WE13), Gent, Belgium

Mees, F.; Royal Museum for Central Africa, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Tervuren, Belgium

De Grave, E.; Ghent University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Gent, Belgium

Ye, L.; Ghent University, Department of Geology (WE13), Gent, Belgium

Cornelis, Jean-Thomas ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Ingénierie des biosystèmes (Biose) > Echanges Eau-Sol-Plantes

Delvaux, B.; Université catholique de Louvain, Earth and Life Institute – Soil Science, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Language :

English

Title :

Impact of andosolization on pedogenic Fe oxides in ferrallitic soils

Publication date :

2019

Journal title :

Geoderma

ISSN :

0016-7061

eISSN :

1872-6259

Publisher :

Elsevier B.V.

Volume :

347

Pages :

244-251

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 26 June 2019

Statistics

Number of views

48 (0 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

210 (0 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

OpenAlex citations

Bibliography

AFNOR, Qualité du sol – Prétraitement des échantillons pour analyses physico-chimiques. NF ISO 11464, Décembre 2006, 2006.
Balan, E., Allard, T., Fritsch, E., Sélo, M., Falguères, M., Chabaux, F., Pierret, M.-C., Calas, G., Formation and evolution of lateritic profiles in the middle Amazon basin: insights from radiation-induced defects in kaolinite. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 69 (2005), 2193–2204.
Bardy, M., Fritsch, E., Derenne, S., Allard, Th., do Nascimento, N.R., Bueno, G.T., Micromorphology and spectroscopic characteristics of organic matter in waterlogged Podzols of the upper Amazon Basin. Geoderma 145 (2008), 222–230.
Bascomb, C.L., Distribution of pyrophosphate-extractable iron and organic carbon in soils of various groups. J. Soil Sci. 19 (1968), 251–268.
Bigham, J.M., Fitzpatrick, R.W., Schulze, D.G., Iron oxides. Dixon, J.B., Schulze, D.G., (eds.) Soil Mineralogy with Environmental Applications, 2002, Soil Science Society of America, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 323–366.
Bitondo, D., Tabi, F.O., Kengmegne, S.S.A., Ngoucheme, M., Mvondo Ze, A.D., Micronutrient concentrations and environmental concerns in an intensively cultivated Typic Dystrandept in Mount Bambouto, Cameroon. Open J. Soil Sci. 3 (2013), 283–288.
Blakemore, L.C., Searly, P.L., Daly, B.K., Methods for Chemical Analysis of Soils. NZ Bureau Scientific Report No. 80. 1981, Lower Hutt, New Zealand, 103.
Caner, L., Bourgeon, G., Sur les possibilités de reconstitution paléo-environnementale offertes par les andosols des hautes terres tropicales. Exemple des Nilgiri (Inde du Sud). C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Sciences de la Terre et des planètes/Earth Planet. Sci. 333 (2001), 725–731.
Caner, L., Bourgeon, G., Toutain, F., Herbillon, A.J., Characteristics of non-allophanic Andisols derived from low-activity clay regoliths in the Nilgiri Hills (Southern India). Eur. J. Soil Sci. 51 (2000), 553–563.
Caner, L., Toutain, F., Bourgeon, G., Herbillon, A.J., Occurrence of sombric-like subsurface A horizons in some andic soils of the Nilgiri Hills (Southern India) and their palaeoecological significance. Geoderma 117:3–4 (2003), 251–265.
Caner, L., Petit, S., Joussein, E., Fritsch, E., Herbillon, A.J., Accumulation of organo-metallic complexes in laterites and the formation of Aluandic Andosols in the Nilgiri Hills (southern India): similarities and differences with Umbric Podzols. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 62 (2011), 754–764.
Chauvel, A., Lucas, Y., Boulet, R., On the genesis of the soil mantle of the region of Manaus, Central Amazonia, Brasil. Experientia 43 (1987), 234–241.
Childs, C.W., Ferrihydrite: a review of structure, properties and occurrence in relation to soils. Z. Pflanzenernähr. Bodenk. 155 (1992), 441–448.
Cornell, R.M., Schwertmann, U., The Iron Oxides – Structure, Properties, Reactions, Occurrences and Uses. Part II. 2nd edition, 2003, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim, 664.
Curi, N., Franzmeier, D.P., A toposequence of Oxisols from the Central Plateau of Brazil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 48 (1984), 341–346.
da Motta, P.E.F., Kämpf, N., Iron oxide properties as support to soil morphological features for prediction of moisture regimes in Oxisols of Central Brazil. Z. Pflanzenernähr. Bodenk. 155 (1992), 385–390.
do Nacimento, N.R., Bueno, G.T., Fritsch, E., Herbillon, A.J., Allard, T., Melfi, A.J., Astolfo, R., Boucher, H., Li, Y., Podzolization as a deferralitization process: a study of an Acrisol-Podzol sequence derived from Palaeozoic sandstones in the northern upper Amazon Basin. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 55 (2004), 523–538.
do Nacimento, N.R., Fritsch, E., Bueno, G.T., Bardy, M., Grimaldi, C., Melfi, A.J., Podzolization as a deferralitization process: dynamics and chemistry of ground and surface waters in a Acrisol-Podzol sequence of the upper Amazon Basin. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 59 (2008), 911–924.
Doube, M., Pedogenesis, Classification and Charge Properties of the Bambouto Soil Sequence (West-Cameroon). (Unpublished PhD thesis), 1989, State University of Ghent, Belgium, Faculty of Sciences, Gent, Belgium, 217.
Doube, M., Van Ranst, E., La Pédogenèse Comparée et la Valeur Agricole des Sols Représentatifs des Hauts-Plateaux de l'Ouest Cameroun. Etude Morphologique des Profils. MESRES. 1984, Centre Univ. Dschang, Dschang, Cameroun, 72.
Duchaufour, P., Pédologie. I. Pédogènese et Classification. I. 1977, Masson, Paris, 496.
Fontes, M.P.F., Weed, S.B., Iron oxides in selected Brazilian Oxisols: I. mineralogy. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55 (1991), 1143–1149.
Fontes, M.P.F., Bowen, L.H., Weed, S.B., Iron oxides in selected Brazilian Oxisols. II. Mössbauer studies. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55 (1991), 1150–1155.
Fritsch, E., Morin, G., Bedidi, A., Bonnin, D., Balan, E., Caquineau, S., Calas, G., Transformation of haematite and Al-poor goethite to Al-rich goethite and associated yellowing in a ferralitic clay soil profile of the middleAmazon Basin (Manaus, Brazil). Eur. J. Soil Sci. 56 (2005), 575–588.
Fritsch, E., Allard, Th., Benedetti, M.F., Bardy, M., do Nascimento, N.R., Li, Y., Calas, G., Organic complexation and translocation of ferric iron in podzols of the Negro River watershed. Separation of secondary Fe species from Al species. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73:7 (2009), 1813–1825.
Fritsch, E., Balan, E., do Nascimento, N.R., Allard, T., Bardy, M., Bueno, G. et al., Derenne, S., Melfi, A.J., Calas, G., 2011. Deciphering the weathering processes using environmental mineralogy and geochemistry: towards a general model of laterite and podzol genesis in the Upper Amazon Basin. Compt. Rendus Geosci. 343, 188–198.
Gamble, E.E., Daniels, R.B., Iron and silica in water, acid ammonium oxalate, and dithionite extracts of some North Carolina coastal plain soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 36 (1972), 939–943.
Herbillon, A.J., Mineralogy of oxisols and oxic materials. Theng, B.K., (eds.) Soils with Variable Charge, 1980, New Zealand Society of Soil Science, Christchurch, 109–126.
Hieronymus, B., Etude géologique de quelques types d'altérations dans l'Ouest du Cameroun. Ann. Fac. Sci. du Cameroun 10 (1972), 39–68.
Huang, W.H., Keller, W.D., Dissolution of clay minerals in dilute organic acids at room temperature. Am. Mineral. 56:5–6 (1971), 1082–1095.
Huang, P.M., Wang, M.K., Kämpf, N., Schulze, D.G., Aluminum Hydroxides. Dixon, J.B., Schulze, D.G., (eds.) Soil Mineralogy with Environmental Applications, 2002, Soil Science Society of America, Inc, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 261–289.
IUSS Working Group WRB, World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014, update 2015: International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps. World Soil Resources Reports No. 106, 2015, FAO, Rome, 192.
Kengni, L., Tekoudjou, H., Tematio, P., Pamo Tedonkeng, E., Tankou, C.M., Lucas, Y., Probst, J.L., Rainfall variability along the southern flank of the Bambouto mountain (West-Cameroon). J. Cameroon Acad. Sci. 8:1 (2009), 45–52.
Kuété, M., Exploitation des ressources naturelles dans les environs de Dschang: Impact environmental. Vicat, J.P., Bilong, P., (eds.) Géosciences au Cameroun, Collection Géocam, 2/1999, 1999, Presse Univ. de Yaoundé, 47–54.
Malucelli, F., Terribile, F., Colombo, C., Mineralogy, micromorphology and chemical analysis of andosols on the Island of São Miguel (Azores). Geoderma 88 (1999), 73–98.
Mehra, O.P., Jackson, M.L., Iron oxide removal from soils and clays by a dithionite-citrate system buffered with sodium bicarbonate. Clays Clay Miner. 7 (1960), 317–327.
Morin, S., Fundamental dissymmetries of the western Cameroon highlands and their consequences on human occupancy. Case of mount Bambouto. Man and Tropical Mountain Review, 1988, Sepanrit, Bordeaux, 29–59.
Morin, S., Hautes terres et bassins de l'Ouest Cameroun. Rev. Géog. Cameroun VIII:2 (1989), 81–92 (Université de Yaoundé).
Parfitt, R.L., Childs, C.W., Eden, D.N., Ferrihydrite and allophane in four Andepts from Hawaii and implications for their classification. Geoderma 41 (1988), 223–241.
Peretyashko, T., Sposito, G., Reducing capacity of terrestrial humic acids. Geoderma 137 (2006), 140–158.
Poulton, S.W., Canfield, D.E., Development of a sequential extraction procedure for iron: implications for iron partitioning in continentally derived particulates. Chem. Geol. 214 (2005), 209–221.
Prasetyo, B.H., Gilkes, R.J., Properties of iron oxides from red soils derived from volcanic tuff in West Java. Aust. J. Soil Res. 32 (1994), 781–794.
R Core Team, R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. 2018, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria URL https://www.R-project.org/.
Regnoult, J.M., Synthèse Géologique du Cameroun. 1986, Ministère des Mines et de l'Energie, Yaoundé, 119.
Rhoton, F.E., Bigham, J.M., Norton, L.D., Smeck, N.E., Contribution of magnetite to oxalate-soluble iron in soils and sediments from the Maumee River basin of Ohio. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45 (1981), 645–649.
Schwertmann, U., Inhibitory effect of soil organic matter on the crystallization of amorphous ferric hydroxide. Nature 212 (1966), 645–646.
Schwertmann, U., Murad, E., The nature of iron oxide – organic iron association in a peaty environment. Clay Miner. 23 (1988), 291–296.
Schwertmann, U., Taylor, R.M., Iron oxides. Dixon, J.B., Weed, S.B., (eds.) Soil Minerals in soil environments, 1989, Soil Science Society of America, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 379–438.
Schwertmann, U., Wagner, F., Knicker, H., Ferrihydrite-humic associations: magnetic hyperfine interactions. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 69 (2005), 1009–1015.
Soil Survey Staff, Keys to Soil Taxonomy. 12th edition, 2014, USDA and NRCS, 360.
Tchoua, F., Contribution à l'étude géologique et pétrologique de quelques volcans de la Ligne du Cameroun (Monts Manengouba et Bambouto). Thèse Doct. Ès Sci. 1974, Univ. Clermont-Ferrand, 346 (unpublished).
Tematio, P., Etude cartographique et pétrologique des sols à caractères ferrallitiques et andosoliques dans les monts Bambouto (Ouest-Cameroon): influence de la lithologie et des facteurs du milieu sur la nature et la distribution des sols en région de montagne tropicale humide. (PhD thesis), 2005, Université de Yaoundé I, Cameroun.
Tematio, P., Kengni, L., Bitom, D., Hodson, M., Fopoussi, J.C., Leumbé Leumbé, O., Mpakam, H.G., Tsozué, D., Soils and their distribution in Bambouto volcanic mountain, West Cameroon Highlands, Central Africa. J. Afr. Earth Sci. 39 (2004), 447–457.
Tematio, P., Tsafack, E.I., Kengni, L., Effects of tillage, fallow and burning on selected properties and fertility status of Andosols in the Mounts Bambouto, West Cameroon. Agric. Sci. 2 (2011), 334–340.
Tsozué, D., Bitom, D., Lucas, Y., Biogeochemistry of iron, aluminium and silicon in humid tropical mountainous soils (Bambouto Mountain, West Cameroon). Open Geol. J. 3 (2009), 70–81.
Ugolini, F.C., Dahlgren, R.A., Soil development in volcanic ash. Glob. Environ. Res. 6 (2002), 69–81.
Van Ranst, E., Doube, M., Mvondo Ze, A., Stoops, G., Debaveye, J., Excursion pédologique dans les Hauts-Plateaux du Cameroun Occidental (Région de Bafou). 8ème Réunion de Corrélation des Sols de l'Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre organisée par la FAO, 1987, Centre Univ. Dschang, Discipline des Sciences du Sol, 48.
Van Ranst, E., Doube, M., Mees, F., Dumon, M., Ye, L., Delvaux, B., Andosolization of ferrallitic soils in the Bambouto Mountains (West Cameroon) revisited. Geoderma 340 (2019), 81–93.
Vandenberghe, R.E., De Grave, E., Application of Mössbauer spectroscopy in earth sciences. Yosida, Y., Langouche, G., (eds.) Mössbauer Spectroscopy, 2013, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, 91–185.
Vandenberghe, R.E., De Grave, E., de Bakker, P.M.E., On the methodology of the analysis of Mössbauer spectra. Hyperfine Interact 83 (1994), 29–49.
Wieland, E., Stumm, W., Dissolution kinetics of kaolinite in acidic aqueous solutions at 25°C. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 56:9 (1992), 3339–3355.