Progress in Soil Science

Soil Carbon
Alfred E. Hartemink
Kevin McSweeney Editors
Alfred E. Hartemink Kevin McSweeney
Editors
Soil Carbon
ISBN 978-3-319-04083-7 ISBN 978-3-319-04084-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-04084-4
Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014935863
Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microlms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection
with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specically for the purpose of being entered and
executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this
publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publishers
location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer.
Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations
are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specic statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of
publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility
for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with
respect to the material contained herein.
Printed on acid-free paper
Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Editors
Alfred E. Hartemink
Kevin McSweeney
Department of Soil Science
FD Hole Soils Lab
University of WisconsinMadison
Madison, WI , USA
ix
Contents
Part I Soil Carbon in Space and Time
1 Challenges for Soil Organic Carbon Research ..................................... 3
Alex B. McBratney , Uta Stockmann , Denis A. Angers ,
Budiman Minasny , and Damien J. Field
2 Micromorphology Techniques for Soil Organic
Carbon Studies ........................................................................................ 17
Rosa M. Poch and Iigo Virto
3 Soils as Generators and Sinks of Inorganic Carbon
in Geologic Time ...................................................................................... 27
H. Curtis Monger
4 Organic Carbon as a Major Differentiation Criterion
in Soil Classication Systems ................................................................. 37
Erika Michli , Phillip R. Owens , Vince Lng , Mrta Fuchs ,
and Jon Hempel
5 Quantitatively Predicting Soil Carbon Across Landscapes ................ 45
Budiman Minasny , Alex B. McBratney , Brendan P. Malone ,
Marine Lacoste , and Christian Walter
6 On Soil Carbon Monitoring Networks .................................................. 59
Dominique Arrouays , Ben P. Marchant , Nicolas P. A. Saby ,
Jeroen Meersmans , Claudy Jolivet , Thomas G. Orton ,
Manuel P. Martin , Patricia H. Bellamy , Richard M. Lark ,
Benjamin P. Louis , D. Allard , and M. Kibblewhite
7 A Novel Method for Measurement of Carbon
on Whole Soil Cores ................................................................................ 69
Robert Pallasser , Budiman Minasny , and Alex B. McBratney
x
8 Evolutionary Optimization of Spatial Sampling Networks
Designed for the Monitoring of Soil Organic Carbon ......................... 77
Al Santacruz , Yolanda Rubiano , and Carlos Melo
9 Distribution of Soil Organic Carbon in the Conterminous
United States ............................................................................................ 85
Norman B. Bliss , Sharon W. Waltman , Larry T. West ,
Anne Neale , and Megan Mehaffey
10 Overview of the U.S. Rapid Carbon Assessment Project: Sampling
Design, Initial Summary and Uncertainty Estimates .......................... 95
Skye Wills , Terrance Loecke , Cleiton Sequeira , George Teachman ,
Sabine Grunwald , and Larry T. West
Part II Soil Carbon Properties and Processes
11 Molecular Models of Cation and Water Molecule
Bridges in Humic Substances ................................................................. 107
Daniel Tunega , Adelia J. A. Aquino , Georg Haberhauer ,
Hans Lischka , Gabriele E. Schaumann , and Martin H. Gerzabek
12 Rapid Evaluation of Soil Quality Based
on Soil Carbon Reectance .................................................................... 117
Mohammad Sadegh Askari and Nicholas M. Holden
13 Characterization of Soil Organic Substances
by UV-Vis Spectrophotometry in Some Soils of Hungary ................... 127
Klaudia Kiss , Zoltn Szalai , Gergely Jakab , Balzs Madarsz ,
and Nra Zboray
14 Hot-Water-Soluble Organic Compounds Related
to Hydrophobicity in Sandy Soils .......................................................... 137
Irena D. Atanassova , Stefan H. Doerr , and Gary L. Mills
15 The Contribution of Soil Aggregates to Carbon Sequestration
in Restored Urban Grasslands ............................................................... 147
Jenifer L. Yost , Corey E. Palmer , and Louise M. Egerton-Warburton
16 Contribution of Fungal Macromolecules to Soil
Carbon Sequestration ............................................................................. 155
Kathryn M. Schreiner , Neal E. Blair , William Levinson ,
and Louise M. Egerton-Warburton
17 Carbon Storage and DNA Adsorption in Allophanic Soils
and Paleosols ............................................................................................ 163
Yu-Tuan Huang , David J. Lowe , G. Jock Churchman ,
Louis A. Schipper , Nicolas J. Rawlence , and Alan Cooper
18 Soil Microbial Biomass and C Storage of an Andosol ......................... 173
Kazuyuki Inubushi and Yuhua Kong
Contents
77 A.E. Hartemink and K. McSweeney (eds.), Soil Carbon. Progress in Soil Science,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-04084-4_8, Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
Abstract In this research, optimal spatial networks designed for second-phase
sampling of soil organic carbon were found based on the spatial information
obtained during a rst-phase sampling. The study was carried out in soils of tropical
crops, forests and pastures in an area of about 1,310 ha located in the foothills
situated to the east of the Colombian Andes mountains. Mean soil organic carbon
content in the upper 1 m in the study area was 18.9 t ha
1
. Additional points supple-
menting the existing initial sampling set were allocated, in random and regular con-
gurations, following two different approaches: sequential and simultaneous
addition. The search for the optimal set of additional points was performed using an
evolutionary optimization technique known as genetic algorithms. Results showed
that random schemes allocated following the simultaneous addition approach were
more efcient than regular schemes. Besides, the sequential addition produced sub-
optimal solutions, becoming less efcient than the simultaneous addition when the
number of additional points to be allocated was increased. The optimization tech-
nique used in the study, the genetic algorithms, proved to be effective to nd optimal
spatial networks designed for second-phase sampling of the variable of interest.
Keywords Soil carbon Spatial sampling Geostatistics Kriging Genetic
algorithms Optimization
Chapter 8
Evolutionary Optimization of Spatial
Sampling Networks Designed for
the Monitoring of Soil Organic Carbon
Al Santacruz, Yolanda Rubiano, and Carlos Melo
A. Santacruz (*)
Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, 950 Main Street,
Worcester, MA 01610, USA
Faculty of Agronomy, National University of Colombia, Bogot D.C., Colombia
e-mail: asantacruzdelgado@clarku.edu
Y. Rubiano
Agricultural Sciences Faculty, National University of Colombia, Bogot D.C., Colombia
C. Melo
Faculty of Engineering, Francisco Jos de Caldas District University, Bogot D.C., Colombia
78
Introduction
Soil organic carbon is one of the most important pools in the global carbon cycle.
The total quantity of organic carbon in 100 cm depth ranges from 1,220 Gigatons
(Gt) to 1,550 Gt (Kirschbaum 2000). It is equivalent to about twice the carbon stored
in the biomass (Sommer et al. 2000), and the organic carbon stored in soils is more
than twice the amount stored in the atmosphere (Lal 2004; Townsend et al. 1997).
Given its relevance, appropriate methods for measuring and monitoring soil
organic carbon stocks are important. However, estimation of the organic carbon
stored in soils, when regional or national estimates are required, is a difcult task,
as nding optimal sample locations can be challenging.
Geostatistical techniques have proved to be well suited for the design of sam-
pling networks (van Groenigen 2000). In a geostatistical model-based approach, a
rst-phase sampling seeks to collect spatial samples at short distances to estimate
the variogram. Observations are usually evenly distributed following triangular or
square sampling congurations, which makes sure that unvisited locations are not
localized too far from a sampling point. Once initial observations have been sam-
pled, the variable of interest (e.g. a soil property such as soil organic carbon) can be
estimated at unvisited locations using interpolation techniques such as kriging
(Delmelle and Goovaerts 2009).
The second-phase sampling looks for allocating additional sampling (i.e. aug-
menting the initial sampling set) based on the variogram structure, especially in
cases when the interpolation estimates have not been satisfactory or when the num-
ber of initial samples is considered not sufcient (Delmelle and Goovaerts 2009).
An efcient second-phase sampling searches for the optimum location of the
additional sampling sites that minimize the kriging variance, which depends on the
sample pattern, the sample density and intensity, and the covariance structure (Cressie
1993). The problem of dening a suitable network design also demands the selection
of an efcient sampling conguration, i.e. the researcher must decide whether the
information will be collected in regular or in random sampling congurations.
For augmenting an existing initial sampling set, there are two different
approaches: the sequential method and the simultaneous method. In the rst one,
one point at a time is added, n-times, while in the second one, a total of n points
supplement the existing set (Delmelle 2005).
Given that choosing the set of additional samples from a set of candidate loca-
tions can be computationally intensive (Borgoni et al. 2013), the search for an opti-
mal sample set requires the implementation of heuristic methods. One of the search
techniques that have demonstrated a potential for solving such problems are genetic
algorithms, which have been successfully applied to a wide range of issues (Fleming
and Purshouse 2002), but have not yet been used for the design of spatial sampling
networks as extensively as other techniques (Lin et al. 2008; Reed et al. 2007).
In this chapter, we present the results of a model-based methodology aimed to
design optimal networks for second-phase sampling of soil organic carbon. The
procedure is illustrated using data from a case study in a tropical savanna in
A. Santacruz et al.
79
Colombia. The optimal sets of additional observations are allocated in regular and
random congurations according to the sequential and simultaneous methods,
through the implementation of a genetic algorithm.
Materials and Methods
The study was carried out at La Libertad Research Center, located in Villavicencio,
department of Meta, Colombia. The average annual rainfall in the study area is
approximately 2,700 mm, with a dry season from December to March. The average
elevation is 336 m above sea level, where the estimated average temperature is
27 C. The predominant soils in this region are Oxisols characterized by acidity, low
fertility and high levels of Al, Fe and Mn (Vanegas et al. 2013; CORPOICA 1995;
Malagn 1995).
Soil Sampling and Analysis
Soil samples were collected in September 2007 under different types of land cover:
grasses, rice crops, citrus crops, forest plantations, natural forests, annual crops and
oil palm. A total of 150 soil samples at a 010 cm depth were collected and bulk
density and organic carbon were measured. Organic carbon was determined by the
Walkley-Black method and bulk density by the core method. The samples were
taken following a rectangular grid, at points separated by approximately 270 m. A
complete database and description can be found in Santacruz (2011).
Total soil organic carbon stock (SOC, in t ha
1
) was calculated as the product of
soil bulk density (g cm
3
), soil organic carbon concentration (%) and sampling
depth in cm (Guo and Gifford 2002). The depth of the soil layers was adjusted to
avoid errors due to differences in bulk density produced by compaction (Solomon
et al. 2002). The bulk density and depth of the cultivated and pasture soils were
assumed to be originally the same as those of the corresponding forest soils.
Spatial Variability Analysis of Soil Organic Carbon
Exploratory spatial data analysis, along with tests for assessing the presence of out-
liers, trends and normality, were performed on the observed values of SOC, using
GeoDa, ArcGIS and R software. Subsequently, an analysis of the sample variogram
was performed and different theoretical variogram models were tted by maximum
likelihood, which were evaluated by cross validation to nd the best-tting model.
Given that neither rst nor second order trends were detected on the data, ordinary
kriging was used to predict the SOC values at unsampled locations in the study area.
8 Evolutionary Optimization of Spatial Sampling Networks Designed
80
Design of Optimal Spatial Sampling Networks
For the design of optimal networks for SOC monitoring, two methods were
tested: the sequential addition method and the simultaneous addition method
(Delmelle 2005). In the rst case, only random sampling networks were evalu-
ated, while in the second method, both random networks and regular sampling
grids were tested. In the sequential addition method, one new randomly-located
point was added to the initial network (which corresponds to the sites of the eld
sampling carried out at the study area). In this case, the genetic algorithm was
used to nd the optimal random location for the addition of a new point to the
network with the original sampling sites. The original network plus the optimal
point were used as the new initial network and, then, the genetic algorithm was
used again to nd a new optimal point. The process continued iteratively until
nding 25 new additional points.
In the simultaneous addition method, a genetic algorithm was used to determine
the optimum locations of n points (found simultaneously) to be added to the initial
network. It was found that the optimal location of one additional sampling site as if
we wanted to include a new point to the original network (for a total of n + 1 points).
Optimum locations were found to include two new points to the original network,
discarding the locations found in the previous optimization (for a total of n + 2
points). The process continued until nding optimal locations for 150 additional
sampling sites to the original network. In this method, we evaluated random
sampling designs, as well as rectangular and triangular congurations.
For nding the optimal network designs, we developed a software package in the
free and open source R language named geospt (currently available in CRAN, the
ofcial R-project repository) that optimizes the location of the additional sampling
sites based on the minimization of an objective function. Based on the implementa-
tion of a genetic algorithm, the optimal solution corresponds to the chromosome,
i.e. the new sampling network, which minimizes the value of the average standard
error (ASE) obtained in the kriging interpolation. ASE is calculated as:

ASE
n
i
n
i
=
=

1
s

(8.1)
where
i
corresponds to the square root of kriging variance and n is the number of
sample points.
For the execution of the algorithm, the population size was dened to be 30 indi-
viduals, which means that for each one of the n points in the network, there were 30
possible values (pairs of coordinates) in each iteration.
The results obtained with the two methods evaluated in this research (sequential
addition and simultaneous addition) were compared, as well as the results of the
different sampling congurations (random and regular grids).
A. Santacruz et al.
81
Results and Discussion
Total organic carbon stock at a 010 cm depth ranged from 8.5 to 57.9 t ha
1
, with a
mean value of 18.9 t ha
1
. The vegetation covers in which soils showed the highest
total carbon stock corresponded to natural forests and pastures (24.7 and 19.1 t ha
1
,
respectively). The lowest carbon stock corresponded to soils in rice crops
(14.2 t ha
1
). Organic carbon stock in natural forests also had the highest coefcient
of variation (47.5 %). Besides, results of the Duncans multiple range test (95 %
condence level) showed that the mean total organic carbon stock in forest soils was
signicantly higher than other land cover types, with the exception of pastures.
The spatial variability of soil organic carbon was modeled satisfactorily using
spherical models, which showed a strong spatial dependence and enabled a consis-
tent spatial prediction of the variable. The best-tting model was a spherical model
with a lag value equal to 230.4 m and a range equal to 433.7 m. The values obtained
for the nugget effect and the partial sill were 0.00014 and 0.00083 respectively,
obtaining a nugget effect corresponding to 14.43 % of sill. The selected model had
good values for the cross-validation statistics, showing an appropriate range accord-
ing to the expected behavior of the spatial variability of SOC at a 010 cm depth in
the study area.
According to the map generated with this model, values of total organic carbon
stock between 15 and 20 t ha
1
predominate in most parts of the study area. The
kriging variances map showed that the lower values of variance are concentrated
around the sampled sites.
In the design of networks for soil organic carbon sampling, when the results
between different sampling congurations were compared, we found that optimized
random networks had a lower average standard error than regular networks
(Fig. 8.1a). The results showed that random sampling networks provided an advan-
tage over regular schemes. This could be explained by a lower exibility of regular
congurations, which would be somewhat more limited than random schemes to
reduce uncertainty. Some have argued that systematic selection can be inexible to
irregular features of the space, such as stratication, unhomogeneous variances and
anisotropy (Banjevic 2004). On the other hand, random selection of units can be
inefcient, since it does not take into consideration spatial nature of the locations
which can be strongly correlated (Banjevic 2004; van Groenigen 2000).
We found that the relative efciency of triangular networks compared to that of
rectangular grids depended on the size of the additional network. The rectangular
networks designed for soil organic carbon sampling were more efcient than trian-
gular schemes for network sizes between 5 and 8 points, between 20 and 70, and
between 120 and 150 additional points (Fig. 8.1a).
Previous studies evaluating the efciency of square, hexagonal and triangular
sampling designs for predicting the mean over a region have shown that the triangu-
lar grid may be marginally more efcient than the square grid, and that the square
grid could be slightly improved by moving the sample points of every other row by
8 Evolutionary Optimization of Spatial Sampling Networks Designed
82
one-half the side of the square. Besides, the equilateral triangular grid may yield the
most reliable estimation of the variogram (Delmelle 2005).
Networks created with the simultaneous method were more efcient than the
networks created through the sequential method, even for the smaller network sizes
(Fig. 8.1b). The results showed that the sequential method did not always lead to the
optimal solution for soil organic carbon sampling in the study area. Besides, when
more new points were included sequentially, the relative improvement in reducing
the uncertainty was less than the improvement obtained by the simultaneous method.
The results of our research indicate that genetic algorithms can be efcient to
nd optimal locations sampling. One of the main advantages found in this study was
that the processing time of the genetic algorithm was more affected by the popula-
tion size and by the number of iterations, than by the number of variables, which are
Fig. 8.1 (a) Comparison of average standard error (ASE) obtained for n additional points for dif-
ferent sampling congurations generated through the simultaneous addition method. (b) Comparison
of ASE obtained for n new random points generated through the sequential method and the simul-
taneous method
A. Santacruz et al.
83
related to the number of new sampling points. For this reason, genetic algorithms
are preferred against other optimization techniques when a search in a very large
parameter space is required.
Conclusions
Minimization of the kriging average standard error using genetic algorithms resulted
in sampling schemes that took into account the nature of spatial dependence, based
on preliminary data from a rst-phase sampling. The results showed that a model-
based approach joint with an optimization technique is able to provide a useful tool
for soil surveyors in future studies of soil organic carbon.
The simultaneous addition method showed to be a more efcient approach for
augmenting the existing initial sampling set for soil organic carbon in the study
area. The sequential addition method did not always lead to the optimal solution.
When the number of new sampling points to be added was increased, the sequential
method became less efcient than the simultaneous addition method.
This research considered a univariate problem, where an isotropic variogram
and temporal stationarity were assumed for the variable of interest. As a method-
ological improvement, future research should address multivariate prediction
where, once dened a model of co-regionalisation, the co-kriging variance might
be minimized using a stochastic optimization method. Additional improvements
are recommended in addressing also anisotropy and the prediction of time-
dependent variables.
Acknowledgments We thank the Faculty of Agronomy of the National University of Colombia,
the Agustin Codazzi Geographic Institute, the Core Spatial Data Research Group (Faculty of
Engineering, Francisco Jos de Caldas District University), and CORPOICAs La Libertad
Research Center for the economic, technical and scientic support given to this study.
References
Banjevic M (2004) Optimal network designs in spatial statistics. PhD dissertation, Department of
Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Borgoni R, Radaelli L, Tritto V, Zappa D (2013) Optimal reduction of a spatial monitoring grid:
proposals and applications in process control. Comput Stat Data Anal 58:407419
CORPOICA (1995) CORPOICA en la Orinoquia Colombiana. Boletn Divulgativo. CORPOICA,
Villavicencio
Cressie N (1993) Statistics for spatial data. Wiley, New York
Delmelle E (2005) Optimization of second-phase spatial sampling using auxiliary information.
PhD dissertation, Department of Geography, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY
Delmelle E, Goovaerts P (2009) Second-phase sampling designs for non-stationary spatial
variables. Geoderma 153(12):205216
Fleming P, Purshouse R (2002) Evolutionary algorithms in control systems engineering: a survey.
Control Eng Pract 10:12231241
8 Evolutionary Optimization of Spatial Sampling Networks Designed
84
Guo L, Gifford R (2002) Soil carbon stocks and land use change: a meta analysis. Glob Chang Biol
8:345360
Kirschbaum M (2000) Will changes in soil organic carbon act as a positive or negative feedback
on global warming? Biogeochemistry 48:2151
Lal R (2004) Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. Geoderma 123:122
Lin Y, Yeh M, Deng D, Wang Y (2008) Geostatistical approaches and optimal additional sampling
schemes for spatial patterns and future sampling of bird diversity. Glob Ecol Biogeogr
17(2):175188
Malagn C (1995) Suelos de Colombia: origen, evolucin, clasicacin, distribucin y uso.
Instituto Geogrco Agustn Codazzi, Bogot
Reed P, Kollat J, Devireddy V (2007) Using interactive archives in evolutionary multiobjective
optimization: a case study for long-term groundwater monitoring design. Environ Model Softw
22(5):683692
Santacruz A (2011) Optimizacin evolutiva de redes espaciales de muestreo: Una aplicacin de los
algoritmos genticos y la geoestadstica al monitoreo del carbono orgnico del suelo. Editorial
Acadmica Espaola, Saarbrcken
Solomon D, Fritzsche F, Lehmann J, Tekalign M, Zech W (2002) Soil organic matter dynamics in
the subhumid agroecosystems of the Ethiopian highlands: evidence from natural
13
C abundance
and particle-size fractionation. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66:969978
Sommer R, Denich M, Vlek P (2000) Carbon storage and root penetration in deep soils under
small-farmer land-use systems in the Eastern Amazon region, Brazil. Plant Soil 219:231241
Townsend A, Vitousek P, Desmarais D, Tharpe A (1997) Soil carbon pool structure and temperature
sensitivity inferred using CO
2
and
13
CO
2
incubation uxes from ve Hawaiian soils.
Biogeochemistry 38:117
van Groenigen J (2000) The inuence of variogram parameters on optimal sampling schemes for
mapping by kriging. Geoderma 97:223236
Vanegas J, Landazabal G, Melgarejo LM, Beltran M, Uribe-Vlez D (2013) Structural and func-
tional characterization of the microbial communities associated with the upland and irrigated
rice rhizospheres in a neotropical Colombian savannah. Eur J Soil Biol 55:18
A. Santacruz et al.