Papers by Bernd Marschner
Soil Texture Mediates the Surface Cooling Effect of Urban and Peri-Urban Green Spaces During a Drought Period in the City Area of Hamburg (Germany)
Abschätzung der Bodenerwärmungen durch Erdkabel und deren Auswirkungen auf den Humusumsatz
Bodenschutz, May 19, 2023
Organic matter turnover in subsoils: current knowledge and future challenges
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, May 1, 2014
Immobilisierung von Schwermetallen in Gartenböden
Bodenschutz, May 25, 2010
SUMATECS - SUstainable MAnagement of Trace Element Contaminated Soils : a SNOWMAN-ERANET funded project
SUMATECS - SUstainable MAnagement of Trace Element Contaminated Soils : a SNOWMAN-ERANET funded p... more SUMATECS - SUstainable MAnagement of Trace Element Contaminated Soils : a SNOWMAN-ERANET funded project
Current perception of gentle remediation options by experts and stakeholders
Although numerous studies applying gentle remediation technologies have been conducted and publis... more Although numerous studies applying gentle remediation technologies have been conducted and published in the past 20 years, not much of this knowledge has been adapted in practice. Since the reasons for this are unclear, the objective of this activity was to interview experts dealing with trace element contaminated sites about their experience and opinions regarding gentle remediation options. A questionnaire was sent out to about 430 stakeholders and experts in eight European countries in early 2008, about 140 were returned. About 50% of the respondents had some experience with gentle remediation technologies, only 13% knew little or nothing of such options and they were largely working in city councils or other local authorities. Respondents from France, Sweden and the Czech Republic evaluated gentle remediation options more positively than their colleagues from Germany or Austria. From the survey, the main results can be summarized as follows: - Gentle remediation technologies are...
Spatio-temporal characterization of microbial heat production on undisturbed soil samples combining infrared thermography and zymography
Geoderma, Jul 1, 2022
Soil systems, Jun 1, 2023
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Tracing subsoil organic matter compositional changes by radiocarbon and plant leaf wax distributional changes
EGUGA, May 1, 2014
Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Sep 1, 2020
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
European Journal of Soil Science, Nov 3, 2011
Mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) is a well-established analytical tool for qualitative and quanti... more Mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) is a well-established analytical tool for qualitative and quantitative analysis of soil samples. However, effects of soil sample grinding procedures on the prediction accuracy of MIR models and on qualitative spectral information have not been well investigated and, in consequence, not standardized up to now. Further, the effects of soil sample selection on the accuracy of MIR prediction models has not been quantified yet. This study investigated these effects by using 180 well-characterized soil samples that were ground for different times (0, 2 or 4 minutes) and then used for MIR measurements. To study the impact of sample preparation, soil spectra were subjected to principal component analyses (PCA), multiple regression and partial least square (PLS) analysis. The results indicate that the prediction accuracy of MIR models for soil organic carbon (SOC) and pH and the qualitative spectral information were better overall for lightly ground (2 minutes) soil samples compared with intensively (4 minutes) or unground soil samples. Whereas the grinding procedure did not show any effect on spectra of clay minerals, spectral information for quartz and for SOC was modified. Even though it is difficult to recommend a global standardized soil sample grinding procedure for MIR measurements because of different mill types available within laboratories, we highly recommend using an internally standardized grinding procedure. Moreover, we show that neither land use nor soil sampling depth influences the prediction of the SOC content. However, sand and clay content substantially affect the score vectors used by the PLS algorithm to predict the SOC content. Thus, we recommend using soil samples similar in texture for more precise SOC calibration models for MIR spectroscopy.
Priming effects and enzymatic activity in Israeli soils under treated wastewater and freshwater irrigation
EGUGA, May 1, 2014
Land Degradation & Development, Dec 8, 2020
Soils are the main component of the urban ecosystem, that is performing environment-forming and p... more Soils are the main component of the urban ecosystem, that is performing environment-forming and protective functions. The dynamics of the organic matter and enzymatic activity is an early diagnostic indicator of negative changes in urban pedogenesis. However, the features of the enzymatic activity of urban soils of the chernozem zone are poorly studied and the available research focuses on the upper humus-accumulative horizons or the urbic horizons. The study aims to reveal the regularities of the enzymatic activity distribution along the profile of urban soils and their relationship with the content of the main soil components. Urbic Technosols Molic, Ekranic Technosols, Urbic Technosols, Technic Chernozems (Calcic), Haplic Chernozems (Calcic) under tree vegetation (city parks) and chernozems of fallow and virgin areas of the Rostov agglomeration were studied. Soil samples were taken to a depth of 200 cm. The activity of extracellular enzymes was determined by fluorescence method. Soil organic matter content was determined by high temperature combustion method on a TOC analyzer. А number of patterns in the distribution of the enzymatic activity have been identified. The most of Urbic Technosols were characterized by a low enzymatic activity. Factor analysis showed a negative correlation of oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes in natural soil. A positive correlation of oxidases with hydrolases was shown in urbanized horizons. With the longer time of sealing, the inhibition of enzymatic activity was stronger. We can conclude, that enzymatic activity can be used as an indicator in biodiagnostics, biomonitoring and bioindication of the urban soils.
Catchment scale spatial distribution of soil enzyme activities in a mountainous German coniferous forest
Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Feb 1, 2023
Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Oct 17, 2021
Background: Soils are important carbon (C) sinks or sources and thus of utmost importance for glo... more Background: Soils are important carbon (C) sinks or sources and thus of utmost importance for global carbon cycling. Particularly, subsoils are considered to have a high potential for additional C storage due to mineral surfaces still available for sorptive stabilization. Aims: Little information exists about the extent to which additional litter-derived C is transferred to and stabilized in subsoils. This study aimed at evaluating the role of litterderived dissolved organic matter (DOM) inputs for the formation of stable mineralassociated C in subsoils. Methods: We carried out a multiple-method approach including field labeling with 13 Cenriched litter, exposure of 13 C-loaded reactive minerals to top-and subsoils, and laboratory sorption experiments. Results: For temperate forest soils, we found that the laboratory-based C sink capacity of subsoils is unlikely to be reached under field conditions. Surface C inputs via litter leachates are little conducive to the subsoil C pool. Only 0.5% of litter-derived C entered the subsoil as DOM within nearly 2 years and most of the recently sorbed C is prone to fast microbial mineralization rather than long-term mineral retention. Desorption to the soil solution and an adapted microbial community re-mobilize organic matter in subsoils faster than considered so far. Conclusions: We conclude that the factors controlling the current mineral retention and stabilization of C within temperate forest subsoils will likewise limit additional C uptake. Thus, in contrast to their widely debated potential to accrue more C, the role of forest subsoils as future C sink is likely overestimated and needs further reconsideration. K E Y W O R D S carbon cycling, climate change mitigation, microbial community composition, mineral-associated organic carbon This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Geoderma, Feb 1, 2017
Visible and near infrared spectroscopy (vis-NIRS) is an established method for estimating the con... more Visible and near infrared spectroscopy (vis-NIRS) is an established method for estimating the contents of soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil nitrogen (N). Recent studies have suggested that it may also be useful for estimating enzyme activities, however this potential has not been explored in detail. Objectives were to determine estimation accuracies of vis-NIRS for general soil properties (SOC, N, pH, texture) and nine enzyme activities for two forest sites, one on a sandy soil (Grinderwald) and the other on a loess soil (Rüdershausen). For each site, a calibration sample consisting of two transects sampled down to 185 cm (Grinderwald: 128 units, Rüdershausen: 64 units) and an independent validation sample consisting of one transect (Grinderwald: 64 units, Rüdershausen: 32 units) was obtained and their absorbance spectra recorded. Chemometric approaches included the standard partial least squares (PLS) regression and PLS regression with a genetic algorithm (GA-PLS) for variable selection, which may improve estimation accuracies. This study confirmed the marked usefulness of vis-NIRS for an estimation of SOC and N contents in independent transects of a field scale. Estimation accuracy of soil pH and texture in independent transects was variable and mainly dependent on the range of measured data. GA-PLS markedly improved estimation accuracies compared to PLS in the cross-validation, but generally not in the validation transects. Few enzyme activities could be estimated in independent validation, but there was almost no additional benefit of vis-NIRS for their estimations compared to estimations using measured contents of main properties; however, these contents of main properties may also be estimated with vis-NIRS. Overall, for the studied sites, we do not see a benefit of vis-NIRS for a direct estimation of enzyme activities compared to laboratory methods, most likely due to a lack of sufficiently strong specific impacts on the measured spectral signals.
Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Sep 1, 2018
It is widely accepted that soil microorganisms are not evenly distributed but are often concentra... more It is widely accepted that soil microorganisms are not evenly distributed but are often concentrated in spatially segregated hotspots that are characterized by higher substrate availability compared to the surrounding bulk soil. However, microorganisms outside of hotspots may be in a dormant or inactive state, since they have depleted all available substrates within their vicinity. So far, the knowledge about the spatial distribution and dynamics of microbial activity in subsoil is very scarce, since most available data has been acquired from either homogenized soil samples or as bulk signals from undisturbed soil cores. In this study, we introduced a new incubation approach combining soil zymography and substrate addition on undisturbed soil core surfaces. We mapped three extracellular enzymes (β-glucosidase, chitinase and acid phosphatase) on a subsoil sample from 60 cm depth and analyzed their activity-patterns using different geostatistical and spatial analyses. After initial enzyme mapping, the soil was homogenously sprayed with 14 C glucose as model substrate and incubated for 14 days. Soil zymography was suitable for detecting hotspots in undisturbed soil, making up a proportion of 2.4% on average of the total area. Consequently, microbial-driven biogeochemical processes can be expected to be limited to small areas in this subsoil, while the major part of the soil volume is not contributing. Glucose additions considerably increased enzyme activities up to 900% in initial non-hotspots, while the effect was far lower in initial hotspots. These results show that microorganisms in the subsoil outside of hotspots can be activated and release enzymes when substrate is supplied. Thus, dormant or inactive microorganisms outside of hotspots are able to contribute to SOC mineralization when substrate limitation is overcome, thus most likely inducing positive priming effects. Our results clearly demonstrate the benefits of combining enzyme mapping with substrate additions on undisturbed soil to gain new insights about microbial hotspots and C-cycling in subsoils using spatial analyses. In contrast to traditional incubation experiments, this method gives high spatial information about microbial activity, allowing a more differentiated interpretation of incubation results.
Environmental Science & Technology, Mar 16, 2012
In the past, different slag materials were often used for landscaping and construction purposes o... more In the past, different slag materials were often used for landscaping and construction purposes or simply dumped. Nowadays German environmental laws strictly control the use of slags, but there is still a remaining part of 35% which is uncontrolled dumped in landfills. Since some slags have high heavy metal contents and different slag types have typical chemical and physical properties that will influence the risk potential and other characteristics of the deposits, an identification of the slag types is needed. We developed a FT-IR-based statistical method to identify different slags classes. Slags samples were collected at different sites throughout various cities within the industrial Ruhr area. Then, spectra of 35 samples from four different slags classes, ladle furnace (LF), blast furnace (BF), oxygen furnace steel (OF), and zinc furnace slags (ZF), were determined in the midinfrared region (4000−400 cm −1). The spectra data sets were subject to statistical classification methods for the separation of separate spectral data of different slag classes. Principal component analysis (PCA) models for each slag class were developed and further used for soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). Precise classification of slag samples into four different slag classes were achieved using two different SIMCA models stepwise. At first, SIMCA 1 was used for classification of ZF as well as OF slags over the total spectral range. If no correct classification was found, then the spectrum was analyzed with SIMCA 2 at reduced wavenumbers for the classification of LF as well as BF spectra. As a result, we provide a time-and cost-efficient method based on FT-IR spectroscopy for processing and identifying large numbers of environmental slag samples.
Effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on mineralization and mobility of nonylphenol and sodium dodecyl sulfate in agricultural soils
EGUGA, May 1, 2014
Combined application of marble waste and beneficial microorganisms: toward a cost-effective approach for restoration of heavy metals contaminated sites
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Feb 11, 2022
Heavy metal (HM) pollution and the need to preserve the environment have gathered increasing scie... more Heavy metal (HM) pollution and the need to preserve the environment have gathered increasing scientific attention. The immobilization of HMs into less-soluble, less mobile, and less toxic forms in addition to the improvement of Medicago sativa L. growth and HMs accumulation were evaluated after the application of marble waste (MW) and/or beneficial PGP rhizobacteria and mycorrhizae to the mining soil compost. A greenhouse assay was conducted to elucidate the influence of both amendment and beneficial microorganisms. The application of marble waste to the soil-compost resulted in decreasing the bioavailability of metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd), thus ameliorating the installation of the vegetal cover for 6 months of culture. Cultivation of M. sativa under 5% MW-amended soil for 6 months increased the shoot dry weight by almost twofold, while the inoculation with rhizobacteria-mycorrhizae combined with the application of 15% MW resulted in an improvement of 3.5-fold in case of shoot dry weight. In addition, the application of marble waste amendment or their combination with metallo-resistant bacteria resulted in decreasing HM accumulation leading to HM content below the threshold recommended for animal grazing. Thus, the application of amendments and beneficial microorganisms appeared to guarantee the safe cultivation of alfalfa for 6 months of culture. The dual combination amendments and beneficial microorganisms showed the good potential to restore HM polluted soils and could stand as a novel approach for restoration of HM-contaminated soils.
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Papers by Bernd Marschner