Atmospheric input of anthropogenic organic particles into soils

Abstract

This study addresses an important gap in our understanding of the quantitative importance of anthropogenically derived atmospheric organic particles in soils. Long-term disperse emissions of organic particles from industrial processes (coal, soot, coke) may accumulate in soils of industrialized areas. Such compounds can increase the quantity of organic matter in soils drastically and consequently may affect physical and chemical soil properties. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of atmospheric input of organic particles on soils from heavily industrialized areas. Two soils (Haplic Podzol, Haplic Phaeozem) presumably comprising anthropogenic atmospheric organic particles are compared to natural non-influenced soils as references. However, an input of organic particles was not visible macroscopically in all investigated soils. Organic matter was investigated in non-fractionated soils and in particle size frac- tions. Content and structure of organic matter was investigated by a suite of complementary classical methods (elemental analysis, microscopy), spectroscopic methods (13C CP MAS NMR spectroscopy) and 14C dating.