Review: Factors affecting rhizosphere priming effects

Living plants change the local environment in the rhizosphere and consequently affect the rate of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition. The rate may increase for 3‐ to 5‐folds, or decrease by 10 % to 30 % by plant cultivation. Such short‐term changes of rate (intensity) of SOM decomposition are due to the priming effect. In the presence of plants, a priming effect occurs in the direct vicinity of the living roots, and it is called rhizosphere priming effect (RPE). Plant‐mediated and environmental factors, such as, plant species, development stage, soil organic matter content, photosynthesis intensity, and N fertilization which affect RPE are reviewed and discussed in this paper. It was concluded that root growth dynamics and photosynthesis intensity are the most important plant‐mediated factors affecting RPE. Environmental factors such as amount of decomposable C in soil and N_min content are responsible for the switch between following mechanisms of RPE: concurrence for N_min between roots and microorganisms, microbial activation or preferential substrate utilization. Succession of mechanisms of RPE along the growing root in accordance with the rhizodeposition types is suggested. Different hypotheses for mechanisms of filling up the C amount loss by RPE are suggested. The ecosystematic relevance of priming effects by rhizodeposition relates to the connection between exudation of organic substances by roots, the increase of microbial activity in the rhizosphere through utilization of additional easily available C sources, and the subsequent intensive microbial mobilization of nutrients from the soil organic matter.     

The priming effect of organic matter: a question of microbial competition?

It is generally accepted that the low quality of soil carbon limits the amount of energy available for soil microorganisms, and in turn the rate of soil carbon mineralization. The priming effect, i.e. the increase in soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition rate after fresh organic matter input to soil, is often supposed to result from a global increase in microbial activity due to the higher availability of energy released from the decomposition of fresh organic matter. Work to date, however, suggests that supply of available energy induces no effect on SOM mineralization. The mechanisms of the priming effect are much more complex than commonly believed. The objective of this review was to build a conceptual model of the priming effect based on the contradictory results available in the literature adopting the concept of nutritional competition. After fresh organic matter input to soils, many specialized microorganisms grow quickly and only decompose the fresh organic matter. We postulated that the priming effect results from the competition for energy and nutrient acquisition between the microorganisms specialized in the decomposition of fresh organic matter and those feeding on polymerised SOM.     

稻田土壤微生物群落对稻鳖共作模式的响应特征

稻鳖共作是一种绿色、高效的生态农业种养模式,然而有关共作模式对稻田土壤微生物群落结构与功能特征的影响及其驱动因子的研究鲜有报道。为此,该研究以水稻单作（RM）和稻鳖共作（RT）处理的稻田土壤为研究对象,采用Illumina高通量测序技术分析土壤细菌和真菌群落结构的变化,并探讨土壤理化性质和微生物群落间的相关性。结果表明：1）稻鳖共作模式使土壤有机质（Soil Organic Matter,SOM）、总钾（Total potassium,TK）、碱解氮（Alkali-hydrolyzale Nitrogen,AN）、有效磷（Available Phosphorus,AP）和速效钾（Available potassium,AK）含量显著提高了37.72%、15.15%、13.80%、37.37%和21.57%（P<0.05）。2）稻鳖共作模式提高了土壤微生物丰富度和多样性,改变了微生物群落结构。共作使土壤细菌变形菌门（Proteobacteria）、酸杆菌门（Acidobacteriota）、真菌子囊菌门（Ascomycota）和罗兹菌门（Rozellomycota）相对丰度分别增加了6.42%、1.16%、0.44%和2.96%,真菌担子菌门（Basidiomycota）相对丰度降低了0.22%。3）共线网络分析表明,稻鳖共作增加了细菌微生物网络总节点数、边数、平均聚类数和模块化,增强了微生物网络复杂度,加强了群落间的联系;共作降低了真菌微生物网络节点数,但增加了正相互作用的微生物,增强了微生物间的协同合作。4）冗余分析（Redundancy Analysis,RDA）表明,土壤有机质、全钾和速效钾含量是影响细菌群落结构变化的主要环境因子,全钾、速效钾和有效磷含量是影响真菌群落结构变化的主要环境因子。综上,稻鳖共作有利于提高稻田土壤肥力,改变土壤微生物群落结构,并提高了微生物多样性,使微生物群落间的联系更紧密。该研究为探究科学合理的稻田栽培模式提供了重要的科学依据。     

陆地碳循环中的微生物分解作用及其影响因素

土壤微生物是有机物的主要分解者,在陆地生态系统碳循环中扮演着重要角色,土壤微生物活性与底物性质和环境因子密切相关,环境条件的改变对微生物的分解活动影响很大。本文概述了制约有机物分解的因素,包括有机物自身的物理化学性质、非生物因素(温度、水分和通气状况、pH值、粘粒含量、激发效应等)和生物因素等。人为活动(如土地利用/覆被变化)和气候变暖对土壤微生物活性具有一定的影响并产生相应的陆地碳循环变化。最后提出了陆地生态系统碳循环与土壤微生物驱动相关联的研究热点问题。     

稻田土壤微生物残体积累对外源秸秆输入的响应研究进展

稻田土壤碳循环是我国陆地生态系统碳循环的重要组成部分。促进稻田生态系统碳的固定及稳定对减缓全球气候变化起着不容忽视的作用。微生物主导的有机碳转化过程是土壤碳循环研究的核心,微生物同化代谢介导的细胞残体迭代积累在土壤有机碳长期截获和稳定过程中发挥重要作用。与旱地土壤相比,关于稻田土壤中微生物残体积累动态对外源有机物质如作物秸秆输入的响应及主要影响因子的认识还相对有限,对微生物通过同化作用参与土壤固碳的过程和机制尚缺乏系统认识。基于此,本文介绍了微生物残体对土壤有机碳库形成和积累的重要性及评价指标,重点探讨了秸秆还田对稻田土壤微生物残体积累动态以及外源秸秆碳形成细胞残体转化过程的影响,分析了影响微生物残体积累转化的主要气候因素和土壤因素,最后提出了未来应借助先进的光谱和高分辨率成像技术并结合同位素示踪对微生物残体的稳定性与机理开展更为深入的研究。     

Mineralization of soil organic matter initiated by the application of an available substrate to the profiles of surface and buried podzolic soils

The priming effect (PE) initiated by the application of ¹⁴C-glucose was studied for copiotrophic microbial communities of organic horizons and for oligotrophic microbial communities of mineral soil horizons, as well as for mineral horizons of buried soils depleted in the input of fresh organic matter. The intensity of the PE depended on the reserves of C_org, the initial amount of the microbial biomass, and the enzymatic activity, which decreased from the organic to the mineral soil horizons. The ratio of the PE to the applied carbon was two times higher in the mineral horizons as compared with the organic horizons. This is explained by the predominance of K-strategists capable of decomposing difficultly available organic compounds in the mineral horizons, so that the turnover of the microbial biomass in the mineral horizons was more active than that in the organic horizons. The predominance of K-strategists was confirmed by the close correlation between the PE and the activity of the cellobiohydrolase enzyme decomposing cellulose (R = 0.96). In general, the absolute value of the PE was controlled by the soil organic matter content, whereas the specific PE was controlled by the functional features of the microorganisms. It was shown that the functional features of the soil microorganisms remained unchanged under the conditions of their preservation in the buried soil.     

Microbial communities of alluvial soils in the Volga River delta

The number and biomass of the microbial community in the upper humus horizon (0–20 cm) were determined in the main types of alluvial soils (mucky gley, desertified soddy calcareous, hydrometamorphic dark-humus soils) in the Volga River delta. Fungal mycelium and alga cells predominate in the biomass of the microorganisms (35–50% and 30–47%, respectively). The proportion of prokaryotes in the microbial biomass of the alluvial soils amounts to 2–6%. No significant seasonal dynamics in the number and biomass of microorganisms were revealed in the alluvial soils. The share of carbon of the microbial biomass in the total carbon content of the soil organic matter is 1.4–2.3% in the spring. High coefficients of microbial mineralization and oligotrophy characterize the processes of organic matter decomposition in the alluvial soils of the mucky gley, desertified soddy calcareous, and hydrometamorphic dark humus soil types.     

氮素有机替代对东北黑土区土壤微生物碳磷资源限制的影响

  【目的】  土壤微生物数量和结构普遍受到碳 (C)，氮 (N)、磷 (P)等养分有效性的影响，研究不同施肥措施对东北黑土区土壤理化性质、微生物量和酶活性的影响，深入了解土壤微生物养分资源限制状况及其变化规律，为提高土壤生物肥力提供理论依据。  【方法】  试验设在黑龙江省哈尔滨市，土壤类型为黑土，种植制度为玉米单作。试验开始于2019年，共设9个处理:不施肥 (CK)、习惯施肥 (FP)、推荐施肥 (OPT)、推荐施肥不施氮 (–N)；有机氮替代推荐施氮量的10% (M1)、20% (M2)、30% (M3)、40% (M4) 和50% (M5)。玉米收获后，采集0—20 cm土壤样品，测定土壤含水量、pH、有机质、全氮、速效磷、速效钾、可溶性有机碳、可溶性有机氮、微生物量碳、微生物量氮和4种土壤酶 (酸性磷酸酶、β-D-葡萄糖苷酶、L-亮氨酸氨基肽酶、β-N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖苷酶) 活性。  【结果】  与OPT处理相比，有机氮替代化肥氮处理提高了土壤速效养分含量 (可溶性有机碳、有效磷、速效钾) 和微生物量 (微生物量碳、微生物量氮)，其中可溶性有机碳、有效磷和速效钾的含量随替代比例的增加分别增加了15.5%～46.6%、1.4%～18.5%和2.4%～18.8%；MBC和MBN的含量随有机替代比例的增加分别增加了1.4%～19.9%和0.04%～22.7%。PCA分析显示出CK、化肥处理 (FP、OPT、–N) 和有机氮替代化肥氮处理 (M1、M2、M3、M4、M5) 下的土壤酶活性具有显著差异；RDA分析进一步表明有效磷 (F = 14.1，P = 0.002) 是影响酶活性变化的主要理化因子，解释了不同处理间酶活性差异的36.1%。酶化学计量散点图显示出试验点的土壤微生物均受到磷的限制，FP处理下的土壤微生物还受到碳的限制。此外，与CK相比，有机氮替代化肥氮显著提高了β-D-葡萄糖苷酶与酸性磷酸酶的比值，但是矢量角度在不同有机替代处理间并无显著差异。  【结论】  在本试验区中，未施肥处理下土壤微生物受到碳和磷的共同限制，习惯施肥和优化施肥均会加剧微生物的碳限制。有机氮替代化肥氮可以显著提高土壤的养分含量与生物肥力，解除土壤微生物的碳限制，并显著减轻土壤微生物的磷限制。但是磷限制的减轻效果并未随有机氮替代化肥氮比例的增加而显著增加，考虑到有机肥养分释放较为缓慢，具体的有机替代比例还需开展长期试验。     

滴灌和微生物有机肥对设施土壤呼吸的耦合作用及机制

为研究滴灌水分和微生物有机肥对设施土壤呼吸的影响及耦合作用机制,设计不同灌溉定额(15、18、21 mm)和不同微生物有机肥施用量(2 800、3 600、4 400 kg/hm2)处理,以传统化肥处理为对照,观测滴灌和微生物有机肥协同作用下土壤呼吸速率、累计碳排放量等指标,分析土壤呼吸与土壤温度、湿度、有机质含量、酶(脱氢酶、脲酶和过氧化氢酶)活性及根系生物量之间的互动响应关系。结果表明:滴灌-微生物有机肥处理有利于提高土壤有机质含量和酶活性,土壤脱氢酶、脲酶和过氧化氢酶活性分别提升11.6%～27.6%、8.0%～27.7%和1.8%～11.2%,其中滴灌和微生物有机肥相结合对脲酶活性的影响达到显著(p0.05)水平;土壤呼吸速率与根系生物量、土壤温度和有机质含量呈极显著(p0.01)正相关,与土壤酶活性呈显著(p0.05)正相关。该研究证明了滴灌和微生物有机肥对土壤碳排放有显著的耦合效应,滴灌和微生物有机肥耦合主要通过改变土壤有机质含量和根系生物量,对土壤呼吸产生影响。     

稻—油轮作下有机替代对土壤胞外酶活性及多功能性的影响

通过田间定位试验,研究有机肥替代部分化肥对稻—油轮作体系下土壤胞外酶活性及多功能性的影响,为稻—油轮作体系土壤培肥和合理施肥提供理论依据。试验基于总养分替代原则,以不施肥为对照(CK),设置全量化肥(CF)、有机肥替代20%化肥(CFM1)及有机肥替代40%化肥(CFM2)处理,测定土壤化学性质、微生物学性质和土壤胞外酶活性,应用多元回归分析探讨土壤性质对土壤胞外酶活性及多功能性的影响。结果表明:与CF处理相比,CFM1、CFM2处理的微生物量碳、氮和土壤呼吸在油菜季平均增加275.27%,41.90%和64.29%;而在水稻季平均增加115.06%,338.32%,60.87%。有机肥替代部分化肥也显著提高土壤有机质、全氮、全磷和速效养分含量,增幅为13.25%~95.48%。相比单施化肥,有机肥替代部分化肥显著增加油菜季土壤β—葡糖苷酶、纤维素酶、木聚糖酶、亮氨酸氨基肽酶、N—乙酰—β—D—氨基葡糖苷酶和酸性磷酸酶等碳氮磷循环相关胞外酶活性,增幅为20.33%~140.31%;而在水稻季,只有木聚糖酶活性显著增加,增幅为133.63%~159.86%。油菜季土壤胞外酶活性变化的关键因子为土壤微生物量碳,而水稻季的则为土壤速效磷。相比不施肥和单施化肥,有机肥替代处理显著增加土壤多功能性,油菜季土壤多功能性的主要预测因子和调控因子主要是速效钾和速效氮含量,而水稻季的则为速效磷和微生物量氮。总之,有机肥替代部分化肥有利于土壤养分、土壤胞外酶活性和多功能性提高,是维持作物稳产和保持土壤生物健康的重要措施。     

Hydrophobicity of organic matter in arable soils: influence of management

The affinity of soil organic matter for water influences resistance to microbial degradation, the rate of wetting and adsorption processes. Such properties play key roles in organic matter and microbial biomass dynamics, aggregate stability, water infiltration, leaching of organic and inorganic pollutants, chemical composition and the dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM). The hydrophobicity of the organic matter as a function of management have been studied in two soils with contrasting textures using diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFT). The results show that agricultural management clearly influences the amount of aliphatic C-H units and implicitly the hydrophobicity of the soil organic matter. A decrease of organic C due to management is accompanied by a decrease of hydrophobicity as well as of soil microbial activity and aggregate stability. The hydrophobicity index is a sensitive quantity to characterize the‘quality’ of soil organic matter. DRIFT spectroscopy proves to be a rapid and reliable technique to determine quantitatively the hydrophobicity of soil organic matter.     

几个典型华南人工林土壤的养分状况和微生物特性研究

为了了解华南主要树种对土壤肥力的影响,分别用土壤化学分析方法、稀释平板法和酶分析法对相似立地条件的杉木林、马尾松林、湿地松林、马占相思林和尾叶桉林的凋落物养分、土壤养分、微生物数量及酶活性进行了研究。结果表明,5种林分中,杉木林的凋落物储量最大,凋落物的养分储量较大,为94.08kg hm-2。5种林地均呈强酸性。杉木林的土壤肥力较高,有机质、全氮、全磷、全钾、碱解氮、速效磷和速效钾含量分别为25.54 g kg-10、.96 g kg-1、0.37 g kg-11、2.04 mg kg-1、64.42 mg kg-1、1.87 mg kg-1、41.88 mg kg-1,但是土壤微生物数量小;马尾松林、湿地松林凋落物的养分储量小,土壤养分含量较低,土壤肥力低;马占相思林有效地改善了土壤化学性质,凋落物的养分储量在5种林分中最大,达106.2 kg hm-2,土壤肥力高,有机质、全氮、全磷、全钾、碱解氮、速效磷和速效钾含量分别为23.42 g kg-1、0.93 g kg-1、1.28 g kg-1、15.29 mg kg-1、69.32 mg kg-1、1.98 mg kg-1、76.88 mg kg-1,微生物数量大,酶活性强;尾叶桉林的土壤有机质、N和P含量低,K含量高,微生物数量小和酶的活性较低,土壤肥力低。     

番茄连作对日光温室土壤微生物及土壤理化性状的影响

对大庆地区具有代表性的温室进行调查研究,了解不同种植年限对番茄温室土壤微生物及土壤理化性状的影响,为解决温室土壤连作障碍问题奠定理论依据。结果表明,随着种植年限增加,细菌、真菌的数量及土壤速效钾、有效磷、碱解氮、有机质、盐分的含量呈增加趋势,种植年限为10年分别是对照(露地菜田)的2.14、1.33、2.18、2.09、1.96、2.86、9.5倍,土壤p H值相反,种植年限为10年比对照下降了0.64,但放线菌数量与B/F值[(细菌+放线菌)/真菌]在第5年与第7年达到最高,呈现先增高再降低的趋势,分别比对照增加了34.12%、44.26%;随着土壤深度的增加,土壤微生物数量及土壤速效钾、有效磷、碱解氮、有机质、盐分含量降低,土壤含水量、p H值增加。综合分析番茄连作对土壤微生物和土壤理化性状的影响,番茄连作6年后出现一定程度的连作障碍问题。     

长期施肥对棕壤氨氧化细菌和古菌丰度的影响

【目的】氨氧化是氮转化过程的限速步骤,其由氨氧化微生物所驱动。本研究旨在探明 37 年玉米–大豆轮作施肥条件下影响棕壤氨氧化微生物丰度的主要影响因子及变化规律。【方法】以沈阳农业大学棕壤肥料长期定位试验耕层土壤 (0—20 cm) 为材料,选取其中 9 个施肥处理进行取样分析:不施肥 (CK)、低量氮肥 (N₁)、高量氮肥 (N₂)、氮磷肥 (N₁P)、氮磷钾肥 (N₁PK)、高量有机肥 (M₂)、高量有机肥 + 低量氮肥 (M₂N₁)、高量有机肥 + 氮磷肥 (M₂N₁P)、高量有机肥 + 氮磷钾肥 (M₂N₁PK)。采用实时荧光定量 PCR 技术测定其氨氧化微生物丰度,通过对土壤基本化学性质和氨氧化微生物丰度的冗余分析找出影响氨氧化微生物丰度的主要因素。【结果】施用有机肥处理的土壤 pH、有机质、全氮、碱解氮、速效钾、速效磷、铵态氮、硝态氮含量明显高于不施肥和单施化肥处理。各施肥处理土壤有机质、全氮、碱解氮、速效钾、速效磷的含量总体呈现有机肥处理 > 化肥处理 > CK;与不施肥处理 (CK) 相比,单施化肥处理显著降低了土壤 pH 值,施用有机肥处理显著提高了土壤 pH 值,其中 N₂ 处理的土壤 pH 最低,M₂ 处理的土壤 pH 最高。不同施肥处理氨氧化细菌 (AOB) 的丰度为 0.94 × 106～5.77 × 106 copies/g 干土,氨氧化古菌 (AOA) 的丰度为 3.56 × 106～1.22 × 107 copies/g 干土;施用有机肥处理 AOB 和 AOA 丰度显著高于不施肥和单施化肥处理,其中 M₂ 处理的 AOB 和 AOA 丰度最高,单施氮肥处理的 AOB 和 AOA 丰度最低。冗余分析 (RDA) 表明,影响棕壤 AOB 和 AOA 丰度的主要环境因子有土壤 pH、有机质、全氮、碱解氮、速效磷、速效钾,且与 AOB 和 AOA 丰度呈正相关关系。【结论】长期轮作施肥显著改变了棕壤的化学性质,从而对氨氧化微生物的丰度产生了显著影响。长期施用有机肥显著提高了土壤养分含量及 AOB 和 AOA 的丰度,对维持土壤氨氧化微生物的数量起到十分重要的作用;同时试验结果也为今后通过改变土壤 pH、有机质、全氮、碱解氮、速效磷、速效钾等性质对 AOB 和 AOA 进行调节提供了依据。     

Living and dead soil organic matter under different land uses on a Mediterranean island

Soil under six different land uses on Pianosa Island, in the Mediterranean Sea, was characterized in terms of microbial activity and organic matter quality, in order to define relationships between living and dead organic matter. Biological measurements and chemical and spectroscopic (¹³C NMR and FTIR) investigation of the extracted soil organic matter provided clues to the effects of soil management on the reciprocal interactions between living and dead organic matter. In particular, the conversion from the original bushy maquis to other land uses, such as degraded thickets of holm oak, maquis‐invaded groves of olive trees, stands of Aleppo pines and abandoned pastures, implied significant reduction of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its microbial fraction (MBC). Cropland, which is the land use with the greatest perturbation of soil, had the smallest SOC, MBC and soil respiration rate. Significant differences in extractable SOC among land uses occurred, both as total amount and as molecular mass distribution. The relatively good relationship between soil respiration and the extracted SOM‐fraction of 2–50 kDa, expressed on a molecular mass basis, suggests that this size is strongly linked to heterotrophic organisms and that it could be representative of a transitory pool of C in soil.     

Priming effects: Interactions between living and dead organic matter

In this re-evaluation of our 10-year old paper on priming effects, I have considered the latest studies and tried to identify the most important needs for future research. Recent publications have shown that the increase or decrease in soil organic matter mineralization (measured as changes of CO₂ efflux and N mineralization) actually results from interactions between living (microbial biomass) and dead organic matter. The priming effect (PE) is not an artifact of incubation studies, as sometimes supposed, but is a natural process sequence in the rhizosphere and detritusphere that is induced by pulses or continuous inputs of fresh organics. The intensity of turnover processes in such hotspots is at least one order of magnitude higher than in the bulk soil. Various prerequisites for high-quality, informative PE studies are outlined: calculating the budget of labeled and total C; investigating the dynamics of released CO₂ and its sources; linking C and N dynamics with microbial biomass changes and enzyme activities; evaluating apparent and real PEs; and assessing PE sources as related to soil organic matter stabilization mechanisms. Different approaches for identifying priming, based on the assessment of more than two C sources in CO₂ and microbial biomass, are proposed and methodological and statistical uncertainties in PE estimation and approaches to eliminating them are discussed. Future studies should evaluate directions and magnitude of PEs according to expected climate and land-use changes and the increased rhizodeposition under elevated CO₂ as well as clarifying the ecological significance of PEs in natural and agricultural ecosystems. The conclusion is that PEs - the interactions between living and dead organic matter - should be incorporated in models of C and N dynamics, and that microbial biomass should regarded not only as a C pool but also as an active driver of C and N turnover.     

黄土区露天煤矿排土场复垦后土壤与植被的演变规律

恢复受损的土壤和植被是矿区生态恢复的关键,植被恢复过程的实质是植被-土壤复合生态系统相互作用的过程。该文通过典型小区调查的方法,选择山西平朔州安太堡露天煤矿复垦排土场为研究区,分析了不同复垦年限（3、5、10、12和17 a）土壤环境因子和乔木林地植被生物量的动态演变规律,建立了黄土区露天煤矿排土场复垦土壤环境因子和乔木林地植被生物量Logistic演替模型,并构建了土壤-植被交互影响的偏微分方程组。相关系数及显著性检验表明所建立的土壤各环境因子演变模型和乔木林复垦地的植被生物量演变模型有效,能够很好地反映排土场的土壤因子和植被生物量的动态演变过程;随着复垦年限的增加,研究区土壤环境因子质量不断提升并逐渐接近原地貌,土壤因子和植被生物量都呈S型变化,符合Logistic生长演替模型;土壤环境因子与植被生物量二者交互作用明显,符合Kolmogorov捕食模型。该研究可为黄土区露天矿排土场土地复垦与生态恢复提供理论依据。     

Mineralization of nutrients from soil microbial biomass

Soil samples of parabrown earth and chernozem, each having a different amount of microbial biomass, were used to investigate the contribution of microbial cells to the pool of mobile plant nutrients in soils. The quantities of nutrients mobilized in soils which had been dried or fumigated were closely related to the quantities available in freshly-killed biomass. For the percent of N mineralized from dead microbial biomass in arable soil during 28 days, a “k_N-factor” (28 days) of 0.37 was suggested. In oven-dried (70°C) and air-dried (room temperature) soils, approximately 77 and 55% of the N mineralized after remoistening and incubating at 22°C for 4 weeks came from the freshly-killed biomass. The remaining 23 and 45% were derived from non-biomass organic N fractions of the soils. In fumigation experiments (CHCl₃, 24 h), the amount of P released was closely related to the P content of the soil microbial biomass. The fluctuating amounts of K available after fumigation did not correspond to the amount of biomass killed. A scheme for the transformation of dead microbial biomass-C and -N in arable soil is suggested.     

Microbial processes controlling P availability in forest spodosols as affected by soil depth and soil properties

Because carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration is rising, increases in plant biomass and productivity of terrestrial ecosystems are expected. However, phosphorus (P) unavailability may disable any potential enhanced growth of plants in forest ecosystems. In response to P scarcity under elevated CO₂, trees may mine deeper the soil to take up more nutrients. In this scope, the ability of deep horizons of forest soils to supply available P to the trees has to be evaluated. The main objective of the present study was to quantify the relative contribution of topsoil horizons and deep horizons to P availability through processes governed by the activity of soil micro-organisms. Since soil properties vary with soil depth, one can therefore assume that the role of microbial processes governing P availability differs between soil layers. More specifically, our initial hypothesis was that deeper soil horizons could substantially contribute to total plant available P in forested ecosystems and that such contribution of deep horizons differs among sites (due to contrasting soil properties). To test this hypothesis, we quantified microbial P and mineralization of P in ‘dead’ soil organic matter to a depth of 120 cm in forest soils contrasting in soil organic matter, soil moisture and aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) oxides. We also quantified microbiological activity and acid phosphomonoesterase activity. Results showed that the role of microbial processes generally decreases with increasing soil depth. However, the relative contribution of surface (litter and 0–30 cm) and deep (30–120 cm) soil layers to the stocks of available P through microbial processes (51–62 kg P ha^?1) are affected by several soil properties, and the contribution of deep soil layers to these stocks vary between sites (from 29 to 59%). This shows that subsoils should be taken into account when studying the microbial processes governing P availability in forest ecosystems. For the studied soils, microbial P and mineralization of P in ‘dead’ soil organic matter particularly depended on soil organic matter content, soil moisture and, to a minor extent, Al oxides. High Al oxide contents in some sites or in deep soil layers probably result in the stabilization of soil organic compounds thus reducing microbiological activity and mineralization rates. The mineralization process in the litter also appeared to be P-limited and depended on the C:P ratio of soil organic matter. Thus, this study highlighted the effects of soil depth and soil properties on the microbial processes governing P availability in the forest spodosols.     

不同林龄杉木根际与非根际土壤微生物群落特征

为探究中亚热带杉木土壤微生物群落随林龄变化特征,以中亚热带7,24,34 a生杉木人工林为研究对象,采用磷脂脂肪酸(PLFA)法分析其根际和非根际土壤微生物数量和群落结构及驱动土壤微生物变化的主要土壤环境因子。结果表明:随着杉木林龄的增长,非根际土壤各类微生物数量不断减少,根际土壤微生物数量不断增加,34 a生杉木人工林细菌含量、革兰氏阴性菌含量、Cy:MONO根际土壤显著高于非根际土壤,而其他各类微生物在根际和非根际土壤间均没有显著差异。相关分析和冗余分析结果表明:土壤环境因子对杉木土壤微生物群落有显著影响,其中有效磷和铵态氮含量对土壤微生物群落的影响较大,有效磷含量与土壤微生物群落呈正相关,土壤铵态氮含量与其呈负相关。因此,在杉木人工林管理过程中,可适当增加磷的输入,以增加土壤微生物数量,提高土壤质量,促进杉木的生长。