5 CONCLUSIONS
Soil pore structure both in the entire soil volume and in the root
detritusphere was significantly influenced by soil texture and
minerology. Coarse-textured quartz-rich soils had higher porosity but
lower bioporosity than fine-textured soils, as well as greater
proportions of biopore spaces occupied by POM. There were clear
differences between fine- and coarse-textured soils in spatial patterns
of pore size distributions as a function of distance from POM. In the
immediate vicinity of POM. Finer-textured soils had higher porosity in
close proximity of POM, that is greater POM-gap, consisting mainly of
large pores (>300 μm Ø) as well as better pore connectivity
compared to those of the coarser-textured soils. Despite known
differences in the root characteristics of the studied plant systems,
i.e., monoculture switchgrass and restored prairie, their impact on
detritusphere pore structure was relatively minor. Lack of plant system
effect suggests that the observed differences in detritusphere pore
structure between finer- and coarser-textured soils are of primarily
physical/mineralogical origin, e.g., due to loss of structure and
collapsing of biopores in the latter, and the phenomenon present across
a wide range (Alfisols, Entisols, and Spodosols) of soil types. The
study provides an insight into the relationship among soil texture,
mineralogy, and detritusphere pore structure, which serves as an
important arena for microbial activity and soil C processing.