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Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Soil Lysimeter Excavation for Coupled Hydrological, Geochemical, and Microbiological Investigations
Published on: September 11, 2016
Landscape cultivation alters δ³⁰Si signature in terrestrial ecosystems
Floor I Vandevenne1, Claire Delvaux2, Harold J Hughes2
1Department of Biology, Research Group Ecosystem Management, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Abstract:
Despite increasing recognition of the relevance of biological cycling for Si cycling in ecosystems and for Si export from soils to fluvial systems, effects of human cultivation on the Si cycle are still relatively understudied. Here we examined stable Si isotope (δ(30)Si) signatures in soil water samples across a temperate land use gradient. We show that - independent of geological and climatological variation - there is a depletion in light isotopes in soil water of intensive croplands and managed grasslands relative to native forests. Furthermore, our data suggest a divergence in δ(30)Si signatures along the land use change gradient, highlighting the imprint of vegetation cover, human cultivation and intensity of disturbance on δ(30)Si patterns, on top of more conventionally acknowledged drivers (i.e. mineralogy and climate).
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