A Critical Review on the Multiple Roles of Manganese in Stabilizing and Destabilizing Soil Organic Matter

 By : Monica Urias

10/28/22


Figure 1. Conceptual diagram summarizing stabilizing and destabilizing interactions between Mn(III,IV)-oxides and organic compounds.

Natural elements may have the capacity to influence and regulate ecosystems. Manganese alone is considered as a micronutrient that may diminish growth when present. The concentrations of Carbon on soils can alternate CO2 in the atmosphere and even lead to climate change. Conserving carbon in soils is crucial to keep balanced ecosystems including reduction of erosion, and increasing the ecosystems’ resilience to droughts and floods. In this study, it is considered that Manganese has an essential, but not fully understood, role on soil Carbon storage. Manganese also protects organic matters from microbial degradation.  Information on Manganese in soils is meager due to its low abundance throughout. To be able to characterize the element, the technique of Synchrotron-source X-ray absorption spectroscopy is one of the few that is able to tell Manganese apart in complex and diverse environments. Mn coexists, in low abundance, with Fe in soils which together co-precipitate with soil organic matter. This generates carbon stabilization because organic matter is protected when encapsulated by precipitating minerals. The encapsulation is when Mn-oxides coat organic structures to protect them as they serve as the agents that stabilize organic matter in microaggregates. Mn-oxides and organic matter interactions are considered to be useful for wastewater treatment due to the Mn-oxides being used as sorbent. Mn-oxides are not studied as much as they should be due to their contribution to organic matter preservation.

Reference: 

Li, H., F. Santos, K. Butler, and E. Herndon. 2021. A critical review on the multiple roles of manganese in stabilizing and destabilizing soil organic matter. Environmental Science & Technology 55:12136–12152.



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