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The primacy of temporal dynamics in driving spatial self-organization of soil iron redox patterns.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Dong, X; Richter, DD; Thompson, A; Wang, J
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
December 2023

This study investigates mechanisms that generate regularly spaced iron-rich bands in upland soils. These striking features appear in soils worldwide, but beyond a generalized association with changing redox, their genesis is yet to be explained. Upland soils exhibit significant redox fluctuations driven by rainfall, groundwater changes, or irrigation. Pattern formation in such systems provides an opportunity to investigate the temporal aspects of spatial self-organization, which have been heretofore understudied. By comparing multiple alternative mechanisms, we found that regular iron banding in upland soils is explained by coupling two sets of scale-dependent feedbacks, the general principle of Turing morphogenesis. First, clay dispersion and coagulation in iron redox fluctuations amplify soil Fe(III) aggregation and crystal growth to a level that negatively affects root growth. Second, the activation of this negative root response to highly crystalline Fe(III) leads to the formation of rhythmic iron bands. In forming iron bands, environmental variability plays a critical role. It creates alternating anoxic and oxic conditions for required pattern-forming processes to occur in distinctly separated times and determines durations of anoxic and oxic episodes, thereby controlling relative rates of processes accompanying oxidation and reduction reactions. As Turing morphogenesis requires ratios of certain process rates to be within a specific range, environmental variability thus modifies the likelihood that pattern formation will occur. Projected changes of climatic regime could significantly alter many spatially self-organized systems, as well as the ecological functioning associated with the striking patterns they present. This temporal dimension of pattern formation merits close attention in the future.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

December 2023

Volume

120

Issue

51

Start / End Page

e2313487120
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Dong, X., Richter, D. D., Thompson, A., & Wang, J. (2023). The primacy of temporal dynamics in driving spatial self-organization of soil iron redox patterns. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(51), e2313487120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313487120
Dong, Xiaoli, Daniel D. Richter, Aaron Thompson, and Junna Wang. “The primacy of temporal dynamics in driving spatial self-organization of soil iron redox patterns.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 120, no. 51 (December 2023): e2313487120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313487120.
Dong X, Richter DD, Thompson A, Wang J. The primacy of temporal dynamics in driving spatial self-organization of soil iron redox patterns. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2023 Dec;120(51):e2313487120.
Dong, Xiaoli, et al. “The primacy of temporal dynamics in driving spatial self-organization of soil iron redox patterns.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 120, no. 51, Dec. 2023, p. e2313487120. Epmc, doi:10.1073/pnas.2313487120.
Dong X, Richter DD, Thompson A, Wang J. The primacy of temporal dynamics in driving spatial self-organization of soil iron redox patterns. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2023 Dec;120(51):e2313487120.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

December 2023

Volume

120

Issue

51

Start / End Page

e2313487120