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- Panel 8-3 Climate Control on Soil Quality /Tetsuhiro Watanabe
Panel 8-3 Climate Control on Soil Quality /Tetsuhiro Watanabe
Tetsuhiro Watanabe
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan
Soil quality is of vital importance in agriculture and food production. Here the control of climate on soil quality, specifically soil pH, clay mineralogy, soil organic matter content and soil microbial structure are discussed based on research results in a wide range of climatic regions, namely Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Cameroon, including high elevation sites in each region. Soil pH lowers through acidification processes caused by excess precipitation or leaching through soil, while the pH is higher, up to near neutral, in drier regions (i.e., low elevations in Thailand and Tanzania). This lowered soil pH in the humid regions enhances the transformation of mica to vermiculite, which retains a large amount of Al3+ ions that strongly and adversely affect crop production. The climate also influences the content of another soil mineral component, active Al/Fe, as low temperature and moist conditions favor the formation of active Al/Fe and its preservation. Active Al/Fe stabilizes and preserves organic matter in the soil. The effects of low pH and high active Al/Fe under low temperatures and high excess precipitation further extend to the molecular composition of soil organic matter and soil microbial community structure. Since human manipulation of soil quality, such as soil moisture, pH, and organic matter content via irrigation and soil amendments (e.g., lime, fertilizer, and manure/compost) requires energy and can cause environmental issues, we need to seek environmentally friendly agriculture and food production processes, considering the inherent soil quality and its controlling factors.
Keywords: Soil organic matter, soil pH, clay minerals, temperature, moisture
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan
Soil quality is of vital importance in agriculture and food production. Here the control of climate on soil quality, specifically soil pH, clay mineralogy, soil organic matter content and soil microbial structure are discussed based on research results in a wide range of climatic regions, namely Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Cameroon, including high elevation sites in each region. Soil pH lowers through acidification processes caused by excess precipitation or leaching through soil, while the pH is higher, up to near neutral, in drier regions (i.e., low elevations in Thailand and Tanzania). This lowered soil pH in the humid regions enhances the transformation of mica to vermiculite, which retains a large amount of Al3+ ions that strongly and adversely affect crop production. The climate also influences the content of another soil mineral component, active Al/Fe, as low temperature and moist conditions favor the formation of active Al/Fe and its preservation. Active Al/Fe stabilizes and preserves organic matter in the soil. The effects of low pH and high active Al/Fe under low temperatures and high excess precipitation further extend to the molecular composition of soil organic matter and soil microbial community structure. Since human manipulation of soil quality, such as soil moisture, pH, and organic matter content via irrigation and soil amendments (e.g., lime, fertilizer, and manure/compost) requires energy and can cause environmental issues, we need to seek environmentally friendly agriculture and food production processes, considering the inherent soil quality and its controlling factors.
Keywords: Soil organic matter, soil pH, clay minerals, temperature, moisture