[en] The amount of water available to leach solutes from soil is one of the major features determining mineral weathering, mineral neoformation and soil properties. It affects the fate of dissolved silicon (Si), which may follow four routes: leaching, mineral synthesis, adsorption, uptake by plants forming phytoliths. Here, we quantify the reservoirs of bioavailable Si and phytolithic Si in topsoils (0–20 cm) from wet tropical Andosols along a climosequence where mean annual rainfall (MAR) increases from 2650 to 4400 mm with increasing altitude (65–375 m asl) in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. We assessed bioavailable Si through CaCl2 extraction in soil, and foliar analysis in banana plants. We evaluated the pool of phytolithic Si through Na2CO3 extraction and heavy liquid separation. The Na2CO3 extraction was performed on both the bulk soil and oxalate–treated soil (ox-Na2CO3) cleared of its amorphous aluminosilicates. The Andosols have reached an advanced weathering stage. Their secondary products included (Al, Fe)–humus complexes, ferrihydrite, gibbsite, poorly crystalline Al hydroxide, and aluminous allophanic substances. The contents of organic C, metal-humus, ferrihydrite and gibbsite increased in soils in the wettest conditions (>3000 mm) whereas allophane content concomitantly decreased. Silicon leaf content varied little (3.8–5.3 g kg−1), but slightly decreased with increasing MAR (r = −0.48). Bioavailable Si content in soil decreased from 63 to 12 mg kg−1 with increasing MAR (r = −0.92), and was strongly correlated (r = +0.95) to that of phytolithic Si as assessed after ox-Na2CO3 extraction, linked to fresh, labile phytoliths. The Si/Al atomic ratio of the ox-Na2CO3 extract regularly decreased from 1.06 to 0.37 with increasing MAR, hence corroborating strongest desilication in soils in the wettest conditions. In these highly leached, gibbsitic Andosols, rainfall is thus the major driver of plant Si availability.
F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique FRIA - Fonds pour la Formation à la Recherche dans l'Industrie et dans l'Agriculture
Funding text :
C. Vander Linden is supported by the Belgian Science National Foundation for Scientific Research ( FNRS ), and the Research Foundation for Industry and Agriculture (FRIA) [F 3/5/5 – MCF/FC]. The research was supported by FNRS-FRIA N° 1.E061.16F and the ‘Fonds Spécial de Recherche’ of UCLouvain FSR-2016/FSR-2018. Z. Li is supported by FSR-2015, the Aspirant (ASP) – FNRS and Chargé de recherches (CR)- FNRS of Belgium. We warmly thank Alexis Durviaux for his constant involvement in field and laboratory work.
Alexandre, A., Bouvet, M., Abbadie, L., The role of savannas in the terrestrial Si cycle: a case-study from Lamto, Ivory Coast. Glob. Planet. Change 78 (2011), 162–169.
Alexandre, A., Meunier, J.-D., Colin, F., Koud, J.-M., Plant impact on the biogeochemical cycle of silicon and related weathering processes. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 61 (1997), 677–682.
Anda, M., Dahlgren, R.A., Mineralogical and surface charge characteristics of Andosols experiencing long-term, land-use change in West Java, Indonesia. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr., 2020, 1–12.
Barão, L., Clymans, W., Vandevenne, F., Meire, P., Conley, D., Struyf, E., Pedogenic and biogenic alkaline-extracted silicon distributions along a temperate land-use gradient. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 65 (2014), 693–705.
Barboni, D., Bonnefille, R., Alexandre, A., Meunier, J.D., Phytoliths as paleoenvironmental indicators, West Side Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 152 (1999), 87–100, 10.1016/S0031-0182(99)00045-0.
Barrett, L.R., A strand plain soil development sequence in Northern Michigan, USA. Catena 44:3 (2001), 163–186.
Bartoli, F., Crystallochemistry and surface properties of biogenic opal. J. Soil Sci. 36 (1985), 335–350.
Bartoli, F., The biogeochemical cycle of silicon in two temperate forest ecosystems. Ecol. Bull., 1983, 469–476.
Bartoli, F., Burtin, G., Herbillon, A.J., Disaggregation and clay dispersion of oxisols: Na resin, a recommended methodology. Geoderma 49 (1991), 301–317.
Beckwith, R.S., Reeve, R., Studies on soluble silica in soils. I. The sorption of silicic acid by soils and minerals. Soil Res. 1 (1963), 157–168.
Blakemore, L.C., Soil Bureau laboratory methods. A method for chemical analysis of soils. NZ Soil Bur. Sci. Pep. 10 (1981), A5–9.
Blecker, S.W., McCulley, R.L., Chadwick, O.A., Kelly, E.F., Biologic cycling of silica across a grassland bioclimosequence. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles, 20, 2006.
Brahy, V., Deckers, J., Delvaux, B., Incipient podzolization and weathering caused by complexation in a forest Cambisol on loess as revealed by a soil solution study. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 51:3 (2000), 475–484.
Cabanes, D., Weiner, S., Shahack-Gross, R., Stability of phytoliths in the archaeological record: a dissolution study of modern and fossil phytoliths. J. Archaeol. Sci. 38 (2011), 2480–2490.
Cabidoche, Y.M., Feller, C., Larque, P., 1987. Sur un double mécanisme d'acidification des sols sous l'influence de cendres volcaniques récentes: le cas de la Soufrière de Guadeloupe après les éruptions de 1976–1977. C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, 304, série II, 304(15), 935–939.
Chadwick, O.A., Gavenda, R.T., Kelly, E.F., Ziegler, K., Olson, C.G., Elliott, W.C., Hendricks, D.M., The impact of climate on the biogeochemical functioning of volcanic soils. Chem. Geol. 202 (2003), 195–223.
Chao, T., Sanzolone, R., Decomposition techniques. J. Geochem. Explor. 44 (1992), 65–106.
Charlier, J.-B., Lachassagne, P., Ladouche, B., Cattan, P., Moussa, R., Voltz, M., Structure and hydrogeological functioning of an insular tropical humid andesitic volcanic watershed: a multi-disciplinary experimental approach. J. Hydrol. 398 (2011), 155–170.
Churchman, G.J., Lowe, D.J., Alteration, Formation, and Occurrence of Minerals in Soils. 2012, CRC Press.
Clymans, W., Barão, L., Van der Putten, N., Wastegaard, S., Gísladóttir, G., Björck, S., Moine, B., Struyf, E., Conley, D.J., The contribution of tephra constituents during biogenic silica determination: implications for soil and palaeoecological studies. Biogeosciences 12 (2015), 3789–3804.
Colmet-Daage, F., Lagache, P., Caractéristiques de quelques groupes de sols dérivés de roches volcaniques aux Antilles françaises. Cah. L'ORSTOM Ser. Pédologie 8 (1965), 91–121.
Colmet-Daage, F., Lagache, F., 1969. Carte des sols des Antilles (Guadeloupe—Martinique). ORSTOM Antilles.
Cornell, R.M., Schwertmann, U., The Iron Oxides: Structure, Properties, Reactions, Occurrences and Uses. 2003, John Wiley & Sons.
Coskun, D., Deshmukh, R., Sonah, H., Menzies, J.G., Reynolds, O., Ma, J.F., Bélanger, R.R., The controversies of silicon's role in plant biology. New Phytologist 221:1 (2019), 67–85.
Crabit, A., Cattan, P., Colin, F., Voltz, M., Soil and river contamination patterns of chlordecone in a tropical volcanic catchment in the French West Indies (Guadeloupe). Environ. Pollut. 212 (2016), 615–626.
Dagain, J., 1981. La mise en place du massif volcanique Madeleine-Soufrière, Basse-Terre de Guadeloupe, Antilles.
Dahlgren, R.A., Quantification of allophane and imogolite. Quant. Methods Soil Mineral., 1994, 430–451.
Dahlgren, R.A., Saigusa, M., Aluminum release rates from allophanic and nonallophanic andosols. J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 40 (1994), 125–136, 10.1080/00380768.1994.10414285.
Delstanche, S., Opfergelt, S., Cardinal, D., Elsass, F., André, L., Delvaux, B., Silicon isotopic fractionation during adsorption of aqueous monosilicic acid onto iron oxide. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 73 (2009), 923–934.
Delvaux, B., Herbillon, A.J., Vielvoye, L., Characterization of a weathering sequence of soils derived from volcanic ash in Cameroon. Taxonomic, mineralogical and agronomic implications. Geoderma 45 (1989), 375–388.
DeMaster, D.J., The supply and accumulation of silica in the marine environment. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 45 (1981), 1715–1732, 10.1016/0016-7037(81)90006-5.
de Tombeur, F., Vander Linden, C., Cornélis, J.T., Godin, B., Compère, P., Delvaux, B., Soil and climate affect foliar silicification patterns and silica-cellulose balance in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum). Plant and Soil 452:1 (2020), 529–546.
Derry, L.A., Kurtz, A.C., Ziegler, K., Chadwick, O.A., Biological control of terrestrial silica cycling and export fluxes to watersheds. Nature 433 (2005), 728–731.
Dorel, M., Perrier, X., Influence du milieu et des techniques culturales sur la productivité des bananeraies de Guzadeloupe - Enquête diagnostic. Fruits 45:3 (1900), 237–244.
Dorel, M., Roger-Estrade, J., Manichon, H., Delvaux, B., Porosity and soil water properties of Caribbean volcanic ash soils. Soil Use Manag. 16 (2000), 133–140.
Doumenge, F., Atlas des départements français d'Outre-Mer - 3 - la Guadeloupe, C.N.R.S.- O.R.S.T.O.M. Ann. Géographie 94 (1985), 492–493.
Drees, R., Wilding, L.P., Smeck, N.E., Senkayi, A.L., Silica in soils: quartz and disordered silica polymorphs. Miner. Soil Environ., 1989, 913–974.
Egli, M., Fitze, P., Mirabella, A., Weathering and evolution of soils formed on granitic, glacial deposits: results from chronosequences of Swiss alpine environments. Catena 45:1 (2001), 19–47.
Eswaran, H., Micromorphological indicators of pedogenesis in some tropical soils derived from basalts from Nicaragua. Geoderma 7:1–2 (1972), 15–31.
Farmer, V., Delbos, E., Miller, J., The role of phytolith formation and dissolution in controlling concentrations of silica in soil solutions and streams. Geoderma 127 (2005), 71–79.
Fieldes, M., Perrot, K.W., The nature of allophane in soils. I. Significance of randomness in pedogenesis. N. Z. J. Sci. 9 (1966), 622–632.
Fraysse, F., Pokrovsky, O.S., Schott, J., Meunier, J.-D., Surface chemistry and reactivity of plant phytoliths in aqueous solutions. Chem. Geol. 258 (2009), 197–206.
Fritsch, E., Balan, E., do Nascimento, N.R., Allard, T., Bardy, M., Bueno, G., Derenne, S., Melfi, A.J., Calas, G., et al. Deciphering the weathering processes using en- vironmental mineralogy and geochemistry: towards a general model of laterite and podzol genesis in the Upper Amazon Basin. C. R. Geosci. 343 (2011), 188–198.
Garrels, R.M., Christ, C.L., 1965. Solutions, minerals and equilibria. Miner. Harper Row N. Y.
Godefroy, J., Dormoy, M., Un exemple d'utilisation du diagnostic sol à la programmation de la fertilisation en bananeraie. Fruits, 1984.
Harsh, J., Chorover, J., Nizeyimana, E., 2002. Allophane and Imogolite. Soil Mineral. Environ. Appl. sssabookseries, 291–322. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssabookser7.c9.
Haysom, M.B.C., Chapman, L.S., 1975. Some aspects of the calcium silicate trials at Mackay, in: Proceedings.
Heckman, K., Grandy, A.S., Gao, X., Keiluweit, M., Wickings, K., Carpenter, K., Carpenter, K., Horover, J., Rasmussen, C., Sorptive fractionation of organic matter and formation of organo-hydroxy-aluminum complexes during litter biodegradation in the presence of gibbsite. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 121 (2013), 667–683.
Henriet, C., Draye, X., Oppitz, I., Swennen, R., Delvaux, B., Effects, distribution and uptake of silicon in banana (Musa spp.) under controlled conditions. Plant and Soil 287 (2006), 359–374.
Henriet, C., Bodarwé, L., Dorel, M., Draye, X., Delvaux, B., Leaf silicon content in banana (Musa spp.) reveals the weathering stage of volcanic ash soils in Guadeloupe. Plant Soil 313 (2008), 71–82.
Henriet, C., De Jaeger, N., Dorel, M., Opfergelt, S., Delvaux, B., The reserve of weatherable primary silicates impacts the accumulation of biogenic silicon in volcanic ash soils. Biogeochemistry 90 (2008), 209–223.
Herbillon, A., 1986. Chemical estimation of weatherable minerals present in the diagnostic horizons of low activity clay soils, in: Proceedings of the 8th International Clay Classification Workshop: Classification, Characterization and Utilization of Oxisols (Part 1)[Beinroth, FH, Camargo, MN and Eswaran (Ed.)][39–48](Rio de Janeiro, 1986).
Herbillon, A.J., Frankart, R., Vielvoye, L., An occurrence of interstratified kaolinite-smectite minerals in a red-black soil toposequence. Clay Miner. 16 (1981), 195–201.
IUSS Working Group WRB, 2014. World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014. International soil classification system for naming soils and creating legends for soil maps., World Soil Resources Reports 106. FAO, Rome.
Jien, S.H., Baillie, I., Huang, W.S., Chen, Y.Y., Chiu, C.Y., Incipient ferralization and weathering indices along a soil chronosequence in Taiwan. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 67:5 (2016), 583–596.
Jones, L., Handreck, K., Studies of silica in the oat plant. Plant Soil 23 (1965), 79–96.
Jones, L.H.P., Handreck, K.A., Effects of iron and aluminium oxides on silica in solution in soils. Nature 198 (1963), 852–853, 10.1038/198852a0.
Jongmans, A.G., Buurman, P., van Doesburg, J.D.J., van Oort, F., Jaunet, A.M., Morphology, chemistry, and mineralogy of isotropic aluminosilicate coatings in a guadeloupe andisol. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 58, 1994, 501, 10.2136/sssaj1994.03615995005800020036x.
Kablan, A.L., Lagauche, A., Delvaux, B., Legrève, A., Silicon reduces black sigatoka development in banana. Plant Dis. 96:2 (2012), 273–278.
Kamatani, A., Oku, O., Measuring biogenic silica in marine sediments. Mar. Chem. 68 (2000), 219–229, 10.1016/S0304-4203(99)00079-1.
Katz, O., Lev-Yadun, S., Bar, P., Plasticity and variability in the patterns of phytolith formation in Asteraceae species along a large rainfall gradient in Israel. Flora 208:7 (2013), 438–444.
Kealhofer, L., Penny, D., A combined pollen and phytolith record for fourteen thousand years of vegetation change in northeastern Thailand. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 103 (1998), 83–93.
Keeping, M.G., Kvedaras, O.L., Bruton, A.G., Epidermal silicon in sugarcane: cultivar differences and role in resistance to sugarcane borer Eldana saccharina. Environ. Exp. Bot. 66:1 (2009), 54–60.
Kelly, E.F., Methods for Extracting Opal Phytoliths from Soil and Plant Material: Workshop on Biotic Indicators of Global Change. 1990, Univ Wash.
Koning, E., Epping, E., Raaphorst, W.V., Determining biogenic silica in marine samples by tracking silicate and aluminium concentrations in alkaline leaching solutions. Aquat. Geochem. 8 (2002), 37–67, 10.1023/A:1020318610178.
Lacoeuilhe, J.-J., Godefroy, J., Un cas de carence en phosphore en bananeraie. Fruits 26 (1971), 659–662.
Leigh, D.S., Soil chronosequence of brasstown creek, Blue Ridge mountains, USA. Catena 26:1–2 (1996), 99–114.
Li, Z., Unzué-Belmonte, D., Cornelis, J.-T., Vander Linden, C., Struyf, E., Ronsse, F., Delvaux, B., Effects of phytolithic rice-straw biochar, soil buffering capacity and pH on silicon bioavailability. Plant Soil, 2019, 1–17.
Li, Z., Cornelis, J.T., Vander Linden, C., Van Ranst, E., Delvaux, B., Neoformed aluminosilicate and phytogenic silica are competitive sinks in the silicon soil–plant cycle. Geoderma, 368, 2020, 114308.
Li, Z., de Tombeur, F., Vander Linden, C., Cornelis, J.T., Delvaux, B., Soil microaggregates store phytoliths in a sandy loam. Geoderma, 360, 2020, 114037.
Lucas, Y., Luizao, F., Chauvel, A., Rouiller, J., Nahon, D., The relation between biological activity of the rain forest and mineral composition of soils. Science 260 (1993), 521–523.
Martin-Prével, P., nutrition minérale du bananier dans le monde-Première partie. Fruits 35 (1980), 503–518.
McKeague, J., Cline, M., Silica in soil solutions: II. The adsorption of monosilicic acid by soil and by other substances. Can. J. Soil Sci. 43 (1963), 83–96.
Mehta, S.K., Kalsotra, A., Murat, M., A new approach to phase transformations in gibbsite: the role of the crystallinity. Thermochimica acta 205 (1992), 191–203.
Meunier, J.D., Keller, C., Guntzer, F., Riotte, J., Braun, J.J., Anupama, K., Assessment of the 1% Na2CO3 technique to quantify the phytolith pool. Geoderma 216 (2014), 30–35, 10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.10.014.
Ndayiragije, S., Delvaux, B., Selective sorption of potassium in a weathering sequence of volcanic ash soils from Guadeloupe, French West Indies. Catena 56 (2004), 185–198.
Ndayiragije, S., Delvaux, B., Coexistence of allophane, gibbsite, kaolinite and hydroxy-Al-interlayered 2: 1 clay minerals in a perudic Andosol. Geoderma 117 (2003), 203–214.
Nesbitt, H.W., Young, G.M., Formation and diagenesis of weathering profiles. J. Geol. 97 (1989), 129–147.
Neumann, K., Bostoen, K., Höhn, A., Kahlheber, S., Ngomanda, A., Tchiengué, B., First farmers in the Central African rainforest: a view from southern Cameroon. Quat. Int. 249 (2012), 53–62.
Nieuwenhuyse, A., van Breemen, N., Quantitative aspects of weathering and neoformation in selected Costa Rican volcanic soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 61 (1997), 1450–1458.
Nizeyimana, E., Bicki, T.J., Agbu, P.A., An assessment of colloidal constituents and clay mineralogy of soils derived from volcanic materials along a toposequence in Rwanda. Soil Sci., 162, 1997, 361.
Norfleet, M.L., Karathanasis, A.D., Smith, B.R., Soil solution composition relative to mineral distribution in Blue Ridge Mountain soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57 (1993), 1375–1380.
Opfergelt, S., Georg, R.B., Delvaux, B., Cabidoche, Y.M., Burton, K.W., Halliday, A.N., Mechanisms of magnesium isotope fractionation in volcanic soil weathering sequences, Guadeloupe. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 341 (2012), 176–185.
Parfitt, R.L., Childs, C.W., Estimation of forms of Fe and Al - a review, and analysis of contrasting soils by dissolution and Mossbauer methods. Soil Res. 26 (1988), 121–144, 10.1071/sr9880121.
Parfitt, R.L., Russell, M., Orbell, G.E., Weathering sequence of soils from volcanic ash involving allophane and halloysite, New Zealand. Geoderma 29 (1983), 41–57, 10.1016/0016-7061(83)90029-0.
Parfitt, R.L., Wilson, A.D., Estimation of allophane and halloysite in three sequences of volcanic soils, New Zealand. Catena(Supplement 7), 1985, 1–8.
Parker, A., An index of weathering for silicate rocks. Geol. Mag. 107 (1970), 501–504.
Piperno, D.R., Phytolith Analysis: An Archaeological and Geological Perspective. 1988, Elsevier.
Quigley, K.M., Donati, G.L., Anderson, T.M., Variation in the soil ‘silicon landscape’ explains plant silica accumulation across environmental gradients in Serengeti. Plant Soil 410 (2017), 217–229, 10.1007/s11104-016-3000-4.
Rai, D., Kittrick, J.A., Mineral equilibria and the soil system. Miner. Soil Environ., 1989, 161–198.
Rashid, I., Mir, S.H., Zurro, D., Dar, R.A., Reshi, Z.A., Phytoliths as proxies of the past. Earth-Sci. Rev., 2019.
Raven, J.A., The transport and function of silicon in plants. Biol. Rev. 58 (1983), 179–207.
Rouiller, J., Burtin, G., Souchier, B., 1972. dispersion des sols dans l'analyse granulometrique, methode utilisant les resines echangeuses d'ions. Nancy Ecole Nat Super Agron Bull.
Sak, P.B., Navarre-Sitchler, A.K., Miller, C.E., Daniel, C.C., Gaillardet, J., Buss, H.L., Brantley, S.L., Controls on rind thickness on basaltic andesite clasts weathering in Guadeloupe. Chem. Geol. 276:3–4 (2010), 129–143.
Samper, A., Quidelleur, X., Lahitte, P., Mollex, D., Timing of effusive volcanism and collapse events within an oceanic arc island: Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe archipelago (Lesser Antilles Arc). Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 258:1–2 (2007), 175–191.
Sangster, A., Hodson, M., Silica in higher plants. Silicon Biochem., 1986, 90–107.
Sauer, D., Saccone, L., Conley, D.J., Herrmann, L., Sommer, M., Review of methodologies for extracting plant-available and amorphous Si from soils and aquatic sediments. Biogeochemistry 80 (2006), 89–108.
Schaller, J., Turner, B.L., Weissflog, A., Pino, D., Bielnicka, A.W., Engelbrecht, B.M.J., Silicon in tropical forests: large variation across soils and leaves suggests ecological significance. Biogeochemistry 140 (2018), 161–174, 10.1007/s10533-018-0483-5.
Shoji, S., Dahlgren, R., Nanzyo, M., Chapter 1: terminology, concepts and geographic distribution of volcanic ash soils. Shoji, Sadao, Nanzyo, Masami, Dahlgren, Randy, (eds.) Developments in Soil Science, Volcanic Ash Soils, 1993, Elsevier, 1–5, 10.1016/S0166-2481(08)70262-9.
Smithson, F., Plant opal in soil. Nature, 178(4524), 1956, 107.
Sommer, M., Jochheim, H., Höhn, A., Breuer, J., Zagorski, Z., Busse, J., Barkusky, D., Meier, K., Puppe, D., Wanner, M., Kaczorek, D., Si cycling in a forest biogeosystem – the importance of transient state biogenic Si pools. Biogeosciences 10 (2013), 4991–5007, 10.5194/bg-10-4991-2013.
Strömberg, C.A., Dunn, R.E., Crifò, C., Harris, E.B., Phytoliths in paleoecology: analytical considerations, current use, and future directions. Methods in Paleoecology, 2018, Springer, Cham, 235–287.
van Breemen, N., Mulder, J., Driscoll, C., Acidification and alkalinization of soils. Plant Soil 75 (1983), 283–308.
Vander Linden C., 2019. Rainfall and land use control Si cycling in wet tropical Andosols. PhD thesis, UCLouvain, 262 p.
Vander Linden, C., Delvaux, B., The weathering stage of tropical soils affects the soil-plant cycle of silicon, but depending on land use. Geoderma 351 (2019), 209–220.
Vermeire, M.L., Kablan, A.L., Dorel, M., Delvaux, B., Risede, J.M., Legrève, A., Protective role of silicon in the banana-Cylindrocladium spathiphylli pathosysem. Eur. J. Plant Pathol. 31:4 (2011), 621–630.
Wada, K., 1989. Minerals in Soil Environments. Soil Science Society of America.
Wada, K., 1977. Allophane and imogolite: in Minerals in the Soil Environments. In: Dixon, J.B., Weed, S.D., eds. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Madison Wis.
