Guia Cecchini

Weathering of chlorite to a low-charge expandable mineral in a spodosol on the Apennine Mountains, Italy

The clay fraction of a Spodosol and its parent rock in the Apennine mountains of central Italy were studied by powder X-raydiffraction (XRD) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy, to evaluate the possibility of transformation of chlorite into low-charge expandable minerals. Results indicated that the main phyl-losilicate in the rock was a slightly weathered trioctahedral chlorite, rich in both Mg and Fe, together with dioctahedral mica and minor amounts of kaolinite. In the BC horizon, chlorite has undergone partial transformation into 2 vermiculitic components, in 1 of which the interlayer could be removed by hot Na-citrate treatment; the presence of a regular interstratified mineral (high-charge corrensite) was also observed. Further changes in the structure of chlorite were detected in the Bsl horizon, becoming more evident towards the soil surface. The first stage of weathering of chlorite involved Fe oxidation and partial expulsion of Mg from the hydroxide sheet, followed by deposition of Al in the interlayer space. Iron is also removed from the interlayer sheet, possibly remaining, in the oxidized state, in the 2:1 octahedral sheet, and so contributing to the lowering of layer charge and transformation to a dioctahedral structure. When approaching the surface, Al removal from the interlayers is enhanced by complexing agents, and further charge reduction leads to the formation of 2:1 minerals with a smectite nature. Illite, because of its low content in the soil clay fraction, contributes marginally to this weathering sequence, forming the high charged expandable component observed in the Bhs horizon. At the soil surface, arandomly interstratified vermiculite/illite was detected, which probably originated from K fixation by the higher-charged expandable minerals. This study of weathering in a natural soil strongly supports the hypothesis, previously ascertained by laboratory experiments, that chlorite can transform into a low-charge expandable mineral.

Microbial dynamics in Mediterranean Moder humus

There is a growing interest in the links between humus forms and soil biota, and little is known about these links in Mediterranean ecosystems. Culture-independent techniques, such as DNA extraction followed by DGGE and enzyme activities, allowed us to compare microbial communities in two horizons of a forest soil in different seasonal conditions. Direct in situ lysis was applied for extraction of DNA from soil; intracellular DNA was separated from extracellular and used to represent the composition of microflora. The aims were to describe how biochemical and microbiological parameters correlate with topsoil properties in typical Mediterranean Moder humus. Changes in bacterial and fungal community composition were evident from DGGE profiles. Degrees of similarity and clustering correlation coefficients showed that the seasonal conditions may affect the composition and activity of bacterial and fungal communities in the OH horizon, while in the E horizon the two communities were hardly modified. In the same season, OH and E horizons showed a different composition of bacterial and fungal communities and different enzyme activities, suggesting similar behaviour of eubacteria and fungi relatively to all the variables analysed. Evidently, different organic carbon content in soil horizons influenced microflora composition and microbial activities involved in the P and N cycles.