Mineralogical control of organic carbon dynamics in a volcanic ash soil on La Réunion

Summary In soil carbon dynamics, the role of physicochemical interactions between organic matter and minerals is not well understood nor quantified. This paper examines the interactions between soil organic matter and poorly crystalline aluminosilicates in a volcanic ash soil on La Réunion in the southern tropics. The soil examined is a profile composed of a surface soil (L‐Ao‐E‐Bh) overlying four buried horizons (horizons 2Bw, 3Bw, 4Bw, 5Bw) that have all developed from successive tephra deposits. Non‐destructive spectroscopy (XRD, FTIR and NMR of Si and Al) showed that the mineralogical composition varies from one buried horizon to another. Further, we show that buried horizons characterized by large amounts of crystalline minerals (feldspars, gibbsite) have the least capacity to store organic matter and the fastest carbon turnover. In contrast, buried horizons containing much poorly crystalline material (proto‐imogolite and proto‐imogolite allophane, denoted LP‐ITM) store large amounts of organic matter which turns over very slowly. To understand the mechanism of interactions between LP‐ITM and organic matter better, we focused on a horizon formed exclusively of LP‐ITM. We demonstrate, using Δ14C and δ13C values, that even though LP‐ITM is extraordinarily effective at stabilizing organic matter, C linked to LP‐ITM is still in dynamic equilibrium with its environment and cycles slowly. Based on Δ14C values, we estimated the residence time of organic C as ∼ 163 000 years for the most stabilized subhorizon, a value that is comparable to that for organic carbon stabilized in Hawaiian volcanic soils. However, this calculation is likely to be biased by the presence of microcharcoal. We characterized the organo‐mineral binding between organic matter and LP‐ITM by 27Al NMR, and found that the organic matter is not only chelated to LP‐ITM, but it may also limit the polymerization of mineral phases to a stage between proto‐imogolite and proto‐imogolite allophane. Our results demonstrate the important role of poorly crystalline minerals in the storage of organic C, and show that mineral and organic compounds have to be studied simultaneously to understand the dynamics of organic C in the soil.