title: Landscape cultivation alters δ³⁰Si signature in terrestrial ecosystems.
abstract: Despite increasing recognition of the relevance of biological cycling for Si cycling in ecosystems and for Si export from soils to fluvial systems, effects of human cultivation on the Si cycle are still relatively understudied. Here we examined stable Si isotope (δ(30)Si) signatures in soil water samples across a temperate land use gradient. We show that - independent of geological and climatological variation - there is a depletion in light isotopes in soil water of intensive croplands and managed grasslands relative to native forests. Furthermore, our data suggest a divergence in δ(30)Si signatures along the land use change gradient, highlighting the imprint of vegetation cover, human cultivation and intensity of disturbance on δ(30)Si patterns, on top of more conventionally acknowledged drivers (i.e. mineralogy and climate).
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Research Group Ecosystem Management, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Floor I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Vandevenne
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delvaux
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium.
authors.forename: Harold J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: André
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Catholic University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: Benedicta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ronchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Clymans
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Research Group Ecosystem Management, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Lúcia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barão
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Catholic University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Govers
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Research Group Ecosystem Management, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Meire
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Research Group Ecosystem Management, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Struyf
authors.forename: Jean-Thomas
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Cornelis
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D017753:Ecosystem; D007554:Isotopes; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism; D012825:Silicon / Q000378:metabolism*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D007554:Isotopes; D012987:Soil; D014867:Water; D012825:Silicon