Dynamics of soil organic carbon in Typic Torripsamment soils irrigated with raw effluent sewage water

The current research aimed at collecting detailed information about the consequences of cropping history on the accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC) within different soil depths, i.e., 0-10, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-60 cm. The study site is located at El Gabal El Asfar area (Egypt) whose soils were irrigated with raw sewage effluent as a sole source of irrigation for different periods extended up to 80 years. SOC increased progressively with increasing cropping time, and on the other hand, decreased noticeably with increasing soil depth. The increases significantly correlated with both of the silt and clay contents in soils which increased with time. Soil bulk density and the hydraulic conductivity significantly and negatively correlated with SOC, respectively. Fractions of SOC, i.e., water soluble C, hot water C and soil biomass C in the surface soil layer (0-10 cm), increased progressively with increasing time of land use. Such pools significantly correlated with SOC on one hand and with each other on the other hand. Active (labile) organic carbon fraction increased with time. This fraction also significantly correlated with the different C pools. In conclusion, the hypothesis that SOC is physically protected against soil microbes within the soil requires more investigations to clarify such results obtained herein because this study highlighted the presence of a dynamic equilibrium among the different fractions or pools of the SOC.