TY - GEN A1 - Bonhage, Alexander A1 - Mykhailova, Larysa A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Raab, Alexandra A1 - Ouimet, William T1 - FTIR-based inquiry on carbon in forest soil substrate enriched by aged biochar, West Connecticut, USA T2 - Jahrestagung der Bodenkundlichen Gesellschaft der Schweiz und der Deutschen Bodenkundlichen Gesellschaft, Abstract-Band 2019 N2 - Relict charcoal hearths (RCHs) are sites of former charcoal production that are an increasingly well documented anthropogenic feature in forests of the temperate climate zone. However, the type and extent of a possible legacy effect from RCHs on soil physical and chemical properties is still largely unknown. In the Litchfield Hills in west Connecticut, RCH sites are located mainly on slopes and therefore differ in their architecture from lowland sites found in Europe. One of the striking characteristics of a RCH site regardless of its architecture is the enrichment of the soil with charcoal in varying particle sizes. In this study, we use chemical digestion coupled with a PLSR-model to quantify organic carbon and pyrogenic carbon in RCH substrate by MIR-DRIFT measurements. Furthermore, we analyse the quality of carbon compounds by MIR-DRIFT measurements on multiple grain size fractions to assess the post-burn enrichment of soil organic matter. Preliminary results show a markedly increase in organic and pyrogenic carbon in RCH substrates in relation to the natural forest soil. Also, our first results suggest that the enrichment of organic carbon is favoured on RCHsites. However, the causality between the enrichment of soil organic matter and site features remains open. Experiments using chemical extraction techniques on our samples hint at an increase of labile organic compounds and/or microbial biomass. This legacy effect of RCHs is however evident and further studies need to focus on how to address them. Y1 - 2020 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-UBICO/frontdoor/index/index/docId/25092 UR - https://www.dbges.de/de/system/files/Bern2019/Programmheft/abstractband.dbg2019_2.pdf SP - S. 198 ER -