{"title":"More Microbial Function Than Taxonomic Convergence in Soil Straw Decomposition","authors":"Haifeng Lin, Yuanyuan Bao, Ruirui Chen, Xin Zhou, Youzhi Feng","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70211","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70211","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Bacteria and fungi are key agents in plant residue decomposition, and their roles are determined by their taxonomic and functional compositions. However, the spatiotemporal patterns of microbial diversity, particularly functional traits, remain poorly understood. To close this gap, we conducted a 16-week field-based rice straw burial experiment coupled with amplicon sequencing. Random forest (RF) analysis revealed that soil chemical properties (available potassium (AK), pH, and soil organic matter (SOM)) and climate factors (MAP and MAT) were the main predictors of bacterial and fungal taxonomic composition, explaining 46.9% and 27.3% of the variation, respectively. In contrast, the functional composition related to straw decomposition was less influenced, with these factors explaining 0% of the variation for bacteria and 31.4% for fungi. The distance–decay relationship (DDR) model further showed significant spatiotemporal differences in the taxonomic composition between straw-decomposing fungi and bacteria, with fungi exhibiting greater variability, as indicated by a steeper slope (−2E−04) than that for bacteria (−9E−05). However, the functional composition related to straw decomposition showed no significant spatiotemporal variation. Our results demonstrate that the taxonomic variability of straw-degrading bacteria and fungi is shaped by distinct environmental factors, whereas their functional composition remains stable across space and time, reflecting functional redundancy in terms of straw decomposition.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145247001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sonali Paul Mazumdar, Bijan Majumdar, Nurnabi Meherul Alam, Lipi Chattopadhyay, Debarati Datta, Sourav Ghosh, Subrata Satpathy, A. Shamna, S. K. Jha, Sabyasachi Mitra, Sanjoy Saha, Gouranga Kar
{"title":"Functional Microbial Diversity and Soil Health Assessment in Organic and Conventional Rice-Jute Based Cropping Systems","authors":"Sonali Paul Mazumdar, Bijan Majumdar, Nurnabi Meherul Alam, Lipi Chattopadhyay, Debarati Datta, Sourav Ghosh, Subrata Satpathy, A. Shamna, S. K. Jha, Sabyasachi Mitra, Sanjoy Saha, Gouranga Kar","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70212","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70212","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Knowledge about the structural and functional microbial diversity influencing the biochemical properties and biological processes of soils in rice-jute based cropping systems in Eastern India is limited. In the present study, the Biolog EcoPlate technique was used to evaluate microbial metabolic diversity in long-term organically managed (OM) and conventional (CM) rice-jute based cropping systems for predicting soil quality in farmers' fields in Eastern India. The six cropping systems that were undertaken for this study were rice-lentil-jute (OM), rice-mustard-jute (OM), rice-potato-jute (OM), rice-lentil-jute (CM), rice-mustard-jute (CM), and rice-potato-jute (CM). The results of the present study revealed significant improvement in total soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), labile C or permanganate oxidizable C (KMnO<sub>4</sub>-C), soil enzymatic activities, carbon lability index (LI), carbon management index (CMI), and Soil Quality Index (SQI) in organic production systems compared to conventionally managed cropping systems. The average well colour development, utilisation of carbon substrates, Shannon-Weaver index (H), and Mcintosh (U) indices showed a significant variation among the cropping systems. Principal component analysis revealed a clear distinction between the organic and conventional production systems, suggesting that organically managed rice-jute based cropping systems have a more significant impact on microbial diversity compared to conventionally managed rice-jute based cropping systems. Furthermore, the results indicated a clear ranking of drivers, with management having a greater influence than crop rotation on soil abiotic and biotic properties, as even the rice-potato-jute system under organic management outperformed the rice-lentil-jute system under conventional practice. Among the cropping systems, rice-lentil-jute (OM) had the largest SOC, LI, CMI, Shannon-Weaver index, and Mcintosh indices, and SQI, followed by rice-mustard-jute (OM) and rice-potato-jute (OM). The present findings suggest that adopting the organically managed rice-lentil-jute system is pivotal for maintaining soil health and promoting agricultural sustainability in rice-jute based cropping systems and is highly recommended for the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145255097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lauren Picone, Priya Verma, Corinne Butler, Kerri Steenwerth, Matthew J. Grieshop, Cristina Lazcano, Charlotte Decock
{"title":"On-Farm Assessment of Long-Term Impacts of Regenerative Management on Vineyard Soil Health","authors":"Lauren Picone, Priya Verma, Corinne Butler, Kerri Steenwerth, Matthew J. Grieshop, Cristina Lazcano, Charlotte Decock","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70207","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70207","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Soil health is central to sustainable agriculture and a key goal of regenerative and organic farming. However, monitoring changes in soil health remains challenging due to the lack of regionally relevant benchmarks and context-specific indicators. This study assessed the impacts of long-term and combined regenerative management practices on soil health across 87 California vineyards with diverse management histories, microclimates, and soils. Three key indicators, including aggregate stability, mineralizable carbon, and soil organic carbon, were used to develop region-specific soil health scoring functions. These were adapted from Cornell's Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health and the Soil Health Institute frameworks. Indicator values generally trended lower than existing benchmarks, emphasizing the need for crop- and region-specific scoring systems. Results from mixed-effects models and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) indicate that long-term cover cropping (≥ 10 years) was the most consistent driver of high soil health scores, especially when combined with other practices. Livestock integration improved soil organic carbon and mineralizable carbon scores in under 10 years, showing potential to accelerate soil health benefits. Our results highlight the importance of tailoring practices to local soil and climate conditions. Findings also support the development of more flexible, regionally informed soil health frameworks.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145235376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mapping of Acid Sulfate Soil Types in Laihianjoki River Catchment: A Multiclass Classification","authors":"Virginia Estévez, Stefan Mattbäck, Anton Boman","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70204","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70204","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Mapping of acid sulfate soils (ASS) has in the past focused mainly on ASS probability maps, which are very useful to avoid environmental damage caused by these soils. However, these maps do not indicate the ASS subtypes, which may have different environmental impacts depending on whether they are actively releasing acidity and metals (sulfuric soils) or have the potential to do so (hypersulfidic soils) if the sulfidic material within them is disturbed (oxidized). Additionally, there is a particular type of soil that is close to being classified as an ASS, but where the pH criterion is not fulfilled. This soil is referred to as para-ASS and may have a similar negative environmental impact as ASS. In the risk assessment of ASS, it is therefore crucial to know the location of ASS subtypes as well as para-ASS. In this study, we have created for the first time a multiclass map of ASS subtypes in Finland. Furthermore, four probability maps have been generated, one for each class. For this, the suitability of two machine learning methods for multiclass classification of different ASS subtypes has been evaluated. The methods are random forest (RF) and gradient boosting (GB), which showed very high capabilities for the classification of ASS in binary classification. RF has given the best results with <i>F</i>1-score values between 71% and 80% for the four classes. An accurate and realistic multiclass map of the ASS subtypes has been created using the RF model.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145235417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Increasing Straw Addition Induces a Relay Effect of Forces Driving Fixed Ammonium Release","authors":"Zhuqing Xia, Wantai Yu, Shuailin Li, Mengmeng Zhu, Changrui Zhou, Yun Gao, Xinhui Zhang, Xiao Jiang, Qiang Ma","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70209","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70209","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The release of fixed ammonium (NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>) is likely related to the concentration of exchangeable NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and is regulated by various microbial processes, which are affected by the changes in soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sources that are caused by straw addition. This increases the need to clarify the dose effects of straw on the release of fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and the fate of fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-derived N. In this study, the fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> pool of an Alfisol was labelled with <sup>15</sup>N under chloroform fumigation, and then the labelled soil (fumigated) was mixed with untreated soil (unfumigated) and incubated for 288 days with four rates of straw addition: S0 (no straw), S4 (4 t ha<sup>−1</sup>), S8 (8 t ha<sup>−1</sup>), and S12 (12 t ha<sup>−1</sup>). The addition of a low amount of straw (4 t ha<sup>−1</sup>) promoted the release of labelled fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>, whereas greater amounts of straw (8 and 12 t ha<sup>−1</sup>) resulted in inhibition. By the end of incubation, 63% of the fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-derived N had been transformed into nitrate-N in S0, whereas this percentage significantly decreased in straw treatments. The percentage of the fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-derived N that transformed into organic N increased from 23% to 61% with increasing straw addition. The soil total C content was the primary factor influencing the release of fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> in S0, and nitrification was responsible for this in S4. For S8 and S12, microbial immobilisation, succeeding nitrification, became the dominant driving factor for fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> release. These results indicated that there is a relay effect between soil C source, nitrification, and microbial immobilisation on fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> release with increasing straw addition. These results are helpful for improving the understanding of the relay effect of factors that drive fixed NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> release in Alfisols with increasing straw addition and provide a basis for optimising the straw management.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145209816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Waibel, M. Tuohy, E. Paterson, B. Thornton, F. Brennan, F. Abram
{"title":"Optimization of Protein Quantification From Soil Samples","authors":"M. Waibel, M. Tuohy, E. Paterson, B. Thornton, F. Brennan, F. Abram","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70210","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70210","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Protein profiling of soil samples has the potential to enhance our understanding of soil ecosystems and guide the development of sustainable soil management practices. In that context, there is a need to develop robust proteomic workflows, starting with reliable protein quantification. Total protein quantification with the Lowry assay is a relatively easy, rapid, and cheap method, but requires interference corrections due to reactivity with a wide range of compounds that occur in soil, plant, and other biological matrices. Here, we propose sample-specific corrections for soil protein extracts. We benchmarked our approach against other protein quantification methods, including other Lowry corrections, total hydrolysable amino acids, and Qubit total protein assay. Our sample-specific Lowry corrections did not overestimate or underestimate protein content when compared to the other methods tested. As a practical contribution, this work provides a calibration method for the Lowry assay using protein reference values in a multivariate regression approach to enable simple and high-throughput total protein quantification of soil samples.</p>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://bsssjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ejss.70210","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145203221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Microbial Enzyme Activities Drive CO2 and CH4 Emissions During Freeze–Thaw Cycles in Peatlands","authors":"Jiahong Sun, Zicheng Yu, Yanmin Dong, Shengzhong Wang, Junxiao Pan, Shasha Liu, Ziping Liu, Hongkai Li, Zhiwei Xu","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70206","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70206","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Climate change is projected to intensify freeze–thaw cycles (FTCs) in the peatlands of Changbai Mountain, influencing soil biogeochemistry and carbon cycling. In order to elucidate microbial regulation of carbon emissions during FTCs, we performed controlled laboratory simulations using soils from a peatland in the Changbai Mountains, Northeast China. Our findings indicate that after 15 FTCs with small (−5°C to 5°C) and large amplitudes (−10°C to 10°C), the carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emission rates from surface soils declined by 63.8% and 64.2%, respectively, compared to the constant-temperature control; in deeper soils, the respective declines were 27.5% and 50.9%. We found that oxidase activities were negatively correlated with CO<sub>2</sub> emissions during FTCs and served as the primary driver of these emissions. Methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) was oxidized during FTCs, with oxidation rates inversely related to FTC amplitude and greater under small amplitude than large amplitude conditions. Soil hydrolase activities were negatively correlated with CH<sub>4</sub> oxidation rates, functioning as the primary regulators of methane oxidation. The carbon emissions were subsequently influenced by microbial phospholipid fatty acids, which modulated enzyme activities. This investigation comprehensively explores the interactive effects of soil enzymes, organic carbon fractions, and microbial community composition on carbon emissions. The results underscore the central role of soil enzymes in mediating these processes. Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into the microbial mechanisms governing greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands during FTCs.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145182746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Soil Carbon Conservation in Anoxic Microsites in 'Natural Vegetation Land' Was Higher Than in 'Artificially Managed Land'","authors":"XuSheng Zhang, Xia Wang, YunFei Zhao, Jia Li, MengHan Yuan, LiuJun Li, YaZhen Li, YaRong Zhang","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70201","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70201","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Anoxic microsites in soil may lead to oxygen limitation even in well-aerated upland soils, which consequently impedes the rate of soil carbon loss. Nonetheless, the influence of various land use types on the carbon conservation potential within anoxic microsites, which is referred to here as 'anoxic protection', remains poorly understood. This investigation categorizes four land use types on upland soil into two groups based on the level of human influence, with natural shrubland and natural grassland classified as 'natural vegetation land' and farmland and planted forest designated as 'artificially managed land'. The extent of anoxic protection (EAP), which quantifies the contribution of anoxic microsites to soil organic carbon (SOC) preservation, was determined by assessing carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) efflux rates before and after aeration during soil incubation assays, with gas chromatography serving as the measurement technique. The EAP was 33.5% and 36% of natural shrubland and natural grassland, respectively. Planted forest exhibited a lower protection value at 15.9%, while farmland exhibited the most negligible anoxic protection at −8.9%, which is presumed to be due to agricultural practice-induced soil disruptions. In upland soils, the EAP was positively associated with anoxic bacterial activity, while methanogen DNA abundance was inversely correlated with the oxygen diffusion capacity. The findings indicate that a stable physical soil structure is essential for strong anoxic protection. Even in natural grasslands, where oxygen availability is ample, anoxic microsites enhance the activity of anoxic bacteria and reduce CO<sub>2</sub> emissions by over one-third compared to a fully aerobic environment, thereby offering increased protection for organic matter susceptible to decomposition under aerobic conditions.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145140557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Increasing Precipitation Intensity and N Addition Interactively Affect Soil Respiration and N2O Fluxes in Grassland","authors":"Weifeng Gao, Tianhang Zhao, Xu Yang, Rui He, Jianying Ma, Tianxue Yang, Haiying Cui, Wei Sun","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70203","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70203","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Precipitation intensity and nitrogen (N) deposition are projected to increase under global change scenarios, and both are expected to affect greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. However, the interactive effects of increasing precipitation intensity and N addition on GHG fluxes are still unknown. To address this gap, a mesocosm simulation experiment was conducted to investigate the individual and combined effects of changing precipitation intensity (with a constant event magnitude of 50 mm) and long-term N addition on GHG fluxes. The results revealed that precipitation application triggered a pulse effect on GHG fluxes, with increases up to 876% compared to pre-precipitation levels. The net changes in water-filled pore spaces (Δ WFPS) affected the temporal dynamics of GHG fluxes. Increasing precipitation intensity suppressed cumulative soil respiration, methane uptake, and nitrous oxide fluxes by directly reducing water availability (WFPS) and indirectly suppressing microbial biomass and substrate availability (dissolved organic carbon (DOC) or nitrate N content (NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N)). Furthermore, precipitation application altered the magnitude or direction of GHG flux responses to N addition. Changes in precipitation intensity and N addition had interactive effects on the Δ cumulative soil respiration and Δ cumulative N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes, but not on Δ cumulative CH<sub>4</sub> fluxes. Increasing precipitation intensities decreased the Δ DOC content in the unfertilized treatment and increased Δ DOC content in the N addition treatment, thereby interactively affecting Δ cumulative soil respiration. N addition increased the Δ NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N content, influencing the response of Δ cumulative N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes to increasing precipitation intensities. Our findings highlight that precipitation intensity regulates grassland GHG with N interactions, providing mechanistic insights to refine climate feedback predictions in ecosystems.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145133611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arne Vangansbeke, Charlotte Vermeiren, Dirk De Vos, Jan Vanderborght, Erik Smolders
{"title":"No Discrepancy in Solid–Liquid Distribution of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Between Field-Contaminated and Lab-Spiked Soils","authors":"Arne Vangansbeke, Charlotte Vermeiren, Dirk De Vos, Jan Vanderborght, Erik Smolders","doi":"10.1111/ejss.70205","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ejss.70205","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Risk assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) requires accurate data on their fate in the environment. Current soil studies are generally based on short-term adsorption tests in soil spiked with PFAS, with limited attention to long-term reactions after that spiking (<i>ageing)</i> or to differences in solid–liquid partitioning between spiked and field-contaminated soils (<i>field to spike</i>). This study addressed both effects with a focus on perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), thereby using carrier-free <sup>14</sup>C-labelled PFOA to discriminate the spiked from the field-originating PFOA. Short-term (48 h) adsorption of trace <sup>14</sup>C-labelled PFOA in soils suspended in 0.01 M CaCl<sub>2</sub> indicated linear sorption; the PFOA distribution (<i>K</i><sub>D</sub>) values ranged from 0.2 to 46 L kg<sup>−1</sup> (median 2.2 L kg<sup>−1</sup>) in 91 soil samples and correlated (<i>p</i> < 0.001) mainly with soil organic carbon (<i>r</i> = +0.65). Three soils were incubated up to 6 months after PFOA spiking. The desorption <i>K</i><sub>D</sub> values were only 1.7–2.8-fold higher than 48 h adsorption <i>K</i><sub>D</sub> values; these factors increased by ageing but plateaued 2–4 months after spiking. Field-contaminated soils were collected (<i>n</i> = 21, 0.5–1100 μg PFOA kg<sup>−1</sup>). The PFOA desorption <i>K</i><sub>D</sub> was almost zero in field-contaminated soils with continuous fresh deposition and in soils with exceptionally high total PFAS concentrations (21000–53,000 μg kg<sup>−1</sup>), the latter suggesting the formation of micelles facilitating desorption. In most other soils, PFOA desorption <i>K</i><sub>D</sub> values were similar to or maximally 1.6 times higher than corresponding <sup>14</sup>C-PFOA adsorption <i>K</i><sub>D</sub> values measured in the same soils. Data suggest that PFOA adsorption is generally reversible and that small PFOA ageing effects observed in laboratory conditions at trace PFOA levels do not even occur in field conditions.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12043,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Science","volume":"76 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145127818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}