Microbial biomass formed from 14C, 15N-labelled plant material decomposing in soils in the field

The decomposition of ¹⁴C, ¹⁴N-labelled medic (Medicago littoralis) material and the net formation and decay of isotope-labelled biomass have been measured in four South Australian soils in the field over 4 yr. The field sites were in similar climatic zones but two sites received about twice as much rainfall as the others. The soils were calcareous and of similar pH, but differed in texture and organic matter content. The decomposition of the organic-¹⁴C and organic-¹⁵N residues were, for a given site, similar. Initially, the concentrations of labelled residues decreased rapidly, then very slowly. Decomposition rates in a heavy clay soil were significantly less than in the other soils during the first 16 weeks after incorporation of plant material, but thereafter, rates of decomposition in all soils were similar, despite differences in soil texture and climate. More than 50% of the medic-¹⁴C had disappeared from all soils after 4 weeks of decomposition and only 15–20% of the medic-¹⁴C remained as organic residues after 4 yr. Of the medic-¹⁵N 60–65% remained as organic residues after 32 weeks decomposition; the percentage decreased to 45–50% after 4 yr.The amounts of ¹⁴C, ¹⁴N-labelled biomass, formed from decomposing plant material, were maximal 4–8 weeks after incorporation of plant material into the soils. In samples taken at 8 weeks from the sandy Roseworthy soil, biomass-¹⁴C and -¹⁵N accounted for 14 and 22% respectively of the total organic-¹⁴C and -¹⁵N residues present. Thereafter in this soil, the concentrations of biomass-¹⁴C and -¹⁵N decreased, rapidly at first then more slowly. Nevertheless, throughout most of the decomposition the rates of decrease in the concentrations of biomass-¹⁴C and -¹⁵N exceeded those of the non-biomass, labelled organic residues.The proportions of ¹⁴C, ¹⁵N-labelled materials accounted for in the labelled biomass varied between soils. Soils of higher clay content generally retained higher proportions of residual organic-¹⁴C and -¹⁴N in the biomass, even though the net rates of decomposition of total labelled residues did not differ significantly between soils during most of the decomposition.     

Studies of nitrogen immobilization and mineralization in calcareous soils—V. Formation and distribution of isotope-labelled biomass during decomposition of 14C- and 15N-labelled plant material

Medicago littoralis leaf material, labelled with ¹⁴C and ¹⁵N, and of C:N ratio 8.7:1, decomposed rapidly in a calcareous soil. One half of the plant-C and two thirds of the plant-N remained in the soil as organic residues after 34 days. The rates of decomposition and the changes in the distribution of organic-¹⁴C and -¹⁵N residues followed similar patterns.Incorporation of ¹⁴C and ¹⁵N into microbial cells, formed during plant breakdown, reached a maximum after 62 days. At this time the microbial biomass accounted for 21.9 and 23.3%, respectively, of residual organic-¹⁴C and -¹⁵N. Thereafter, the amounts of isotope-labelled biomass decreased with the percentage decrease slightly exceeding that of the total labelled soil residues.During plant decomposition, changes occurred in the concentrations of organic-¹⁴C and -¹⁵N in some of the soil components, these having been fractionated according to density and particle size. Especially evident was the rapid and extensive decrease of labelled material from the fine clay-size components. This was partly due to the decrease in the biomass-¹⁴C of this fraction. Changes in biomass-¹⁴C of some physical fractions were approximately reflected by changes in their numbers of viable microorganisms.     

Decomposition of 15N-labelled catch-crop residues in soil: evaluation of N mineralization and plant-N uptake potentials under controlled conditions

The decomposition of ¹⁵N-labelled catch-crop materials (rape, radish and rye), obtained from field experiments, was studied in a chalky Champagne soil during a 60-week incubation at 28°C. Mineralized N was assumed to come from either labile or recalcitrant fractions of plant residues. The labile fraction represented about one-third of the catch-crop N; its mineralization rate constant varied from 0.06 to 0.12 d^?1. The decomposition rate of the recalcitrant N fraction ranged from 0.03 × 10^?2 to 0.06 × 10^?2 d^?1. Catch-crop species and rate of incorporation had no effect on N residue mineralized at the end of incubation. The decomposition of labelled rye was monitored in the same soil during a 5-month pot experiment to determine the N availability to an Italian ryegrass crop and the effect of plants on the decomposition processes. The ¹⁵N-rye decomposed rapidly both in the presence or absence of Italian ryegrass, but the amounts of N mineralized were influenced by the presence of living roots: 42% of the ¹⁵N in labelled rye was present as inorganic N in the pots without plants after 5 months, compared with only 32% in the ryegrass crop. Comparison of microbial-biomass dynamics in both treatments suggested that there had been preferential utilization by soil micro-organisms of materials released from the living roots than the labelled plant residues.     

Effect of barley plants on the decomposition of 14C-labelled soil organic matter

The effect of barley plants on the rate of decomposition of soil organic matter over a 6-week period was studied using soil that had been previously labelled by incubation with ¹⁴C-labelled ryegrass for 1 year. The plants reduced the loss of ¹⁴CO₂, from soil by 70 per cent over 42 days. About half of the reduction was accounted for by the uptake of labelled C by the plant roots, very little ¹⁴C label being associated with the shoot. Chemical fractionation of the root showed that the ¹⁴C was chemically incorporated into cell wall materials such as cellulose and holocellulose. The reduction in organic matter decomposition in the presence of plants has been explained by earlier workers in terms ofa reduction in microbial activity as a result of a soil moisture deficit caused by plant transpiration. This explanation does not account for all the reduction in decomposition noted in the present experiments. Control soil (without a plant, but amended with glucose or yeast extract to simulate the effect of root exudates) showed a small positive priming effect, the release of ¹⁴CO₂, being increased. Thus the mechanism by which plants conserve organic matter is complex and cannot be explained merely by analogy to an increased level of nutrients available for microbial metabolism.     

Effects of polyacrylamide,biopolymer and biochar on the decomposition of 14C‐labelled maize residues and on their stabilization in soil aggregates

The efficacy of applying plant residues to agricultural soils as a carbon (C) source for microorganisms and C sequestration is dependent on soil physiochemical properties, which can be improved by aggregation using soil conditioners. However, no attempt has been made to assess the effects of soil conditioners such as biochar (BC), biopolymer (BP) or polyacrylamide (PAM) on plant residue decomposition. We assessed the effects of BC, synthesized BP and anionic PAM on the decomposition of ¹⁴C‐labelled maize residues and on their stabilization in aggregate fractions in sandy and sandy loam soils. Polyacrylamide and BP were applied at 400 kg ha^?1 and BC was applied at 5000 kg ha^?1, and the soils were incubated for 80 days at 22°C. The conditioners improved the physical and biological properties of both soils, as shown by a 24% increase in the 1–2 mm aggregates. Biochar and BP accelerated the decomposition of plant residues as indicated by ¹⁴CO₂ efflux, and resulted in reduced stabilization of residues in both soils relative to that observed in the control and PAM treatments. The reduction in ¹⁴C incorporation and C stabilization in the BC‐ and BP‐treated soils was observed mainly in the < 0.25‐mm aggregates. This was confirmed by reduction of activity of hydrolytic enzymes (β‐cellobiosidase and β‐glucosidase). Decomposition of plant residues in sandy soil was more sensitive to BP and PAM application than that in sandy loam soil. Improved soil structure after applying BC and BP increased aeration and decreased the contact between plant residues and mineral soil particles and consequently accelerated plant residue decomposition and reduced C sequestration.     

Decomposition of 14C- and 15N-labelled microbial cells in soil

To obtain detailed information on the quantities and characteristics of nitrogen derived from mineralizing dead microbial biomass in soil, ¹⁴C- and ¹⁵N-labelled microorganisms, i.e. three eukaryotic (fungal) species, two prokaryotic species or their mixture (eukaryotic to prokaryotic cells = 8:2), were grown in vitro, dried, ground and added to parabrown earth and chernozem soils, respectively. The mean percent of ¹⁴C decomposition of labelled microorganisms obtained after 10 days was 43 ± 6.3% for parabrown earth and 34 ± 4.0% for chernozem soil. About 50% of the C in the dead microorganisms was mineralized during the first 28 days of incubation. About 76% of the flush of soil organic N mineralization within 28 days, which was caused by the drying-rewetting treatment, was derived from dead microbial biomass in soil. About 33% of the added dead microbial-¹⁵N was mineralized in parabrown earth soil during 28 days of incubation and about 37% of newly immobilized ¹⁵N during the decomposition of added microorganisms was mineralized during the 28 days following a dryingrewetting treatment.     

Transformation and binding of 13C and 14C-labelled atrazine in relation to straw decomposition in soil

As a source of organic matter, crop residues affect the behaviour of pesticides in agricultural soils. The fate of [U‐ring‐¹³C] and [U‐ring‐¹⁴C] atrazine (6‐chloro‐N‐ethyl‐N‐isopropyl‐1,3,5‐triazine‐2,4‐diamine) was investigated during laboratory incubation under controlled conditions in a loamy soil amended with wheat straw at two different states of decomposition: no preliminary decomposition or 6 months’ preliminary decomposition. After 3 months, non‐extractable, so‐called ‘bound’, ¹³C‐atrazine residues were recovered in three particle‐size fractions (> 200, 50–200 and < 50 μm), and investigated with solid‐state ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy. Parallel incubations with [U‐ring‐¹⁴C] atrazine were carried out to quantify the bound residues as well as the extractable and mineralized fractions. The effect of straw residues on atrazine behaviour depended on whether they had been previously decomposed or not. When straw was decomposed for 6 months prior to incubation, atrazine mineralization was enhanced to 50% of the initial ¹⁴C in contrast to 15% of the initial ¹⁴C in soil alone and soil amended with fresh straw. In parallel, atrazine bound residues were formed in greater amount representing up to 20% of the initial ¹⁴C. CP/MAS ¹³C‐NMR on soil size fractions of soil–straw mixtures after incubation with ¹³C‐atrazine showed that bound residues contained mostly triazinic C, corresponding to atrazine or primary metabolites. Non‐humified organic materials recovered in size fractions > 200 and 50–200 μm contained significant amounts of bound residues, especially when straw was added to the soil. CP/MAS ¹³C‐NMR analysis of humic acids obtained from < 50‐μm fractions was difficult due to overlapping of the native carboxyl ¹³C signal with the ¹³C‐atrazine signal.     

FORMATION OF MICROBIAL BIOMASS DURING THE DECOMPOSITION OF 14C LABELLED RYEGRASS IN SOIL

Ryegrass uniformly labelled with ^I4C was incubated aerobically at 25°C for 62 days in two contrasting soils, a near-neutral (pH 6.8) palcudalf from England and a strongly acid (pH 3.6) haplorthox from Brazil. Decomposition of the labelled plant material was faster in the near-neutral soil throughout the whole of the incubation period. In neither soil did the addition of fresh plant material significantly accelerate the evolution of CO₂ from organic matter already in the soil, i.e. there was no priming action. In the near-neutral soil there was a rapid build up of labelled microbial biomass in the first 6 days, followed by a much slower increase that continued throughout the whole incubation period. After 62 days 22.5% of the labelled C remaining in the near-neutral soil was in the biomass. The yield coefficient (the fraction of the incoming plant C converted to microbial C) of this stabilized or ‘resting’ biomass was 0.15. Much less labelled microbial biomass was formed in the acid soil than in the near-neutral soil. By the end of 62 days only 6.2% of the labelled carbon remaining in the acid soil was in the biomass. Biomass C measurements in strongly acid soils must however be treated with caution as the technique used has not yet been adequately validated for such soils.     

A microcosm experiment to evaluate the influence of location and quality of plant residues on residue decomposition and genetic structure of soil microbial communities

The effects of location (soil surface vs. incorporated in soil) and nature of plant residues on degradation processes and indigenous microbial communities were studied by means of soil microcosms incubation in which the different soil zones influenced by decomposition i.e. residues, soil adjacent to residues (detritusphere) and distant soil unaffected by decomposition (bulk soil) were considered. Plant material decomposition, organic carbon assimilation by the soil microbial biomass and soil inorganic N dynamics were studied with ¹³C labelled wheat straw and young rye. The genetic structure of the community in each soil zone were compared between residue locations and type by applying B- and F-ARISA (for bacterial- and fungal-automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis) directly to DNA extracts from these different zones at 50% decomposition of each residue. Both location and biochemical quality affected residue decomposition in soil: 21% of incorporated ¹³C wheat straw and 23% left at the soil surface remained undecomposed at the end of incubation, the corresponding values for ¹³C rye being 1% and 8%. Residue decomposition induced a gradient of microbial activity with more labelled C incorporated into the microbial biomass of the detritusphere. The sphere of influence of the decomposing residues on the dynamics of soluble organic C and inorganic N in the different soil zones showed particular patterns which were influenced by both residue location and quality. Residue degradation stimulated particular genetic structure of microbial community with a gradient from residue to bulk soil, and more pronounced spatial heterogeneity for fungal than for bacterial communities. The initial residue quality strongly affected the resulting spatial heterogeneity of bacteria, with a significance between-zone discrimination for rye but weak discrimination between the detritusphere and bulk soil, for wheat straw. Comparison of the different detrituspheres and residue zones (corresponding to different residue type and location), indicated that the genetic structure of the bacterial and fungal communities were specific to a residue type for detritusphere and to its location for residue, leading to conclude that the detritusphere and residue corresponded to distinct trophic and functional niches for microorganisms.     

Priming effect of small glucose additions to 14C-labelled soil

Soil was freed of its organic matter by heating it to 400°C. Plants were grown in a ¹⁴CO₂ atmosphere and from them a labelled “soil organic matter” (humus) was prepared by composting the plant material for more than 3 yr in the modified soil under laboratory conditions. The influence of small additions of unlabelled glucose on the decomposition of the labelled soil organic matter was studied. Shortly after the addition of glucose there was a small extra evolution of ¹⁴CO₂, which lasted about 1 day. It is claimed that the extra evolution of ¹⁴CO₂ was caused by conversion of labelled material in the living biomass and was not due to a real priming action, i.e. an accelerated decomposition of humic substances or dead cellular material.     

Effects of biochar and polyacrylamide on decomposition of soil organic matter and <Superscript>14</Superscript>C-labeled alfalfa residues

Purpose

Various soil conditioners, such as biochar (BC) and anionic polyacrylamide (PAM), improve soil fertility and susceptibility to erosion, and may alter microbial accessibility and decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) and plant residues. To date, no attempts have been made to study the effects of BC in combination with PAM on the decomposition of soil SOM and plant residues. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of BC, PAM, and their combination on the decomposition of SOM and alfalfa residues.

Materials and methods

An 80-day incubation experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of oak wood biochar (BC; 10 Mg ha^?1), PAM (80 kg ha^?1), and their combination (BC?+?PAM) on decomposition of SOM and ¹⁴C-labeled alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) residues by measuring CO₂ efflux, microbial biomass, and specific respiration activity.

Results and discussion

No conditioner exerted a significant effect on SOM decomposition over the 80 days of incubation. PAM increased cumulative CO₂ efflux at 55–80 days of incubation on average of 6.7 % compared to the soil with plant residue. This was confirmed by the increased MBN and MB¹⁴C at 80 days of incubation in PAM-treated soil with plant residue compared to the control. In contrast, BC and BC?+?PAM decreased plant residue decomposition compared to that in PAM-treated soil and the respective control soil during the 80 days. BC and BC?+?PAM decreased MBC in soil at 2 days of incubation indicated that BC suppressed soil microorganisms and, therefore, decreased the decomposition of plant residue.

Conclusions

The addition of oak wood BC alone or in combination with PAM to soil decreased the decomposition of plant residue.

     

Carbon dynamics of rhizodeposits, root- and shoot-residues in a rice soil

A laboratory incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the fates of plant-derived C during the simulated fallow period in a rice soil. The ¹³C labelled soil and plant materials were used to follow the residue decomposition and its effect on soil organic C (SOC) dynamics under the conditions of either incorporation into soil or intact root systems. The soils were incubated at 15 °C for 240 d and destructive sampling was conducted at 60, 150 and 240 d. To observe the temperature effect, one batch of incubation was shifted from 15 to 25 °C during the last 45 d (between 195 and 240 d). The results showed that the decomposition of the incorporated residues could be divided into two phases: an initial rapid phase followed by a slower phase of decomposition. The decomposition of straw residues was faster than root residues: with 73% of the straw residue being decomposed, compared with 56% of the root residue over 240-d incubation at 15 °C. The water-soluble organic C and microbial biomass C significantly increased after residue incorporation. The total SOC contents, however, slightly decreased, although significant amounts of straw C (14.2%) and root C (8.7%) were found in SOC at the end of incubation, suggesting that the degradation of native SOC occurred concomitantly. Similar to decomposition of the incorporated residues, the organic substances derived from rhizodeposition of the previous season were mineralized rapidly at first and then slowly. The decomposition of the intact root system, however, was extremely slow. This result suggested that the intact root system conserved more organic C in soils compared with the incorporation of fresh residues. Increase of temperature from 15 to 25 °C during the last 45-days of incubation significantly promoted the residue decomposition.     

Seasonal transfers of assimilated 14C in grassland: Plant production and turnover,soil and plant respiration

Six areas of native grassland were labelled with ¹⁴C during a growing season. Transfers from the foliage to the roots and root respiration were measured. Plant production and turnover rates were determined by sampling the labelled material at different periods following exposure to ¹⁴CO₂.Above to beneath ground plant production ratios ranged between 1.1 and 1.9 with maximal translocation to the roots occurring during the drier summer months. The distribution of the photosynthates in the roots at different depths changed with time and soil moisture content. The upper part of the soil (0–10 cm) contained 49–77% of the labelled C found beneath the soil surface. Measurement of transfers with time of the above ground labelled C from living to dead plant and litter categories gave an insight into foliage dynamics and made it possible to estimate the seasonal shoot production at 130g Cm^?2 (1300kg ha^?1). Root growth represented 100g Cm^?2 (1000 kg ha^?1).Calculations of root and soil respiration were based on the CO₂ profiles in the soil. The fluxes of labelled and unlabelled CO₂ at the soil surface were estimated using the diffusion equation method. Respiration by roots and closely associated soil organisms accounted for 12 per cent of the net assimilation of CO₂ by the plants. This proportion was constant throughout the season and represented 19 per cent of the total CO₂ evolved at the soil surface.     

STUDIES ON THE DECOMPOSITION OF PLANT MATERIAL IN SOIL. V. THE EFFECTS OF PLANT COVER AND SOIL TYPE ON THE LOSS OF CARBON FROM14C LABELLED RYEGRASS DECOMPOSING UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS

Ryegrass uniformly labelled with ^{1 4}C was allowed to decompose for 10 years under field conditions in a range of contrasting soils. The amount of organic matter already in a soil had no effect on the retention of labelled C by that soil, nor had a variation in soil pH of from 4.9 to 8.1. Decomposition was initially slower in a strongly acid soil (pH 3.7) but by the end of 5 years the difference between this soil and the others had almost disappeared. The more clay in a soil, the greater the retention of labelled C over the whole 10 year period; this was true of both strongly acid and near-neutral soils. More labelled organic matter was leached from a soil containing 7.6% clay than from one with 17.5% clay, but the amount thus lost was insufficient to account for the difference in retention of C by the two soils. The decomposition of labelled plant material was faster in bare soil than in soil growing grass but the ‘protection’ thus given to the labelled C by the growing grass ended when the grass was removed. In bare soil about one third of the labelled ryegrass C was left after one year but thereafter decomposition became very much slower and about one eighth of the labelled C still remained in the soil after 10 years. The decay curve can be represented by a two compartment model, in which about 70% of the ryegrass C decomposed by a first order process of half life 0.25 years and the remainder by a similar process of half-life 8 years.     

Following the decomposition of ryegrass labelled with 13C and 15N in soil by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Investigating the biogeochemistry of plant material decomposition in soil has been restricted by difficulties extracting and identifying organic compounds. In this study the decomposition of ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-labelled Lolium perenne leaves mixed with mineral soil has been investigated over 224 days of incubation under laboratory conditions. Decomposition was followed using short-term rates of CO₂ evolution, the amounts of ¹³C and ¹⁵N remaining were determined by mass spectrometry, and ¹³C and ¹⁵N solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to characterize chemically the plant material as it decomposed. After 224 days 48% of the added ¹³C had been lost with a rapid period of C0₂ evolution over the first 56 days. The fraction of cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CP MAS) ¹³C NMR spectra represented by O-alkyl-C signal probably in carbohydrates (chemical shift, 60–90 p.p.m.) declined from 60 to 20% of the spectrum (chemical shift, 0–200 p.p.m.) over 224 days. The rate of decline of the total ¹³C exceeded that of the 60–90 p.p.m. signal during the first 56 days and was similar thereafter. The fraction of the CP MAS ¹³C NMR spectra represented by the alkyl- and methyl-C (chemical shift, 10–45 p.p.m.) signal increased from 5 to 14% over the first 14 days and was 19% after 224 days. CP MAS ¹³C NMR of ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-L. perenne contained in 100-μm aperture mesh bags incubated in the soil for 56 days indicated that the remaining material was mainly carbohydrate but there was an increase in the alkyl- and methyl-C associated with the bag's contents. After 224 days incubation of the labelled ¹³C- and ¹⁵N-L. perenne mixed with the soil, 40% of the added N had been lost. Throughout the incubation there was only one signal centred around 100 p.p.m. detectable in the CP MAS ¹⁵N NMR spectra. This signal corresponded to amide ¹⁵N in peptides and may have been of plant or microbial origin or both. Although there had been substantial interaction between the added ¹⁵N and the soil microorganisms, the associated redistribution of ¹⁵N from plant to microbial tissues occurred within the amide region. The feasibility of following some of the component processes of plant material decomposition in soil using NMR has been demonstrated in this study and evidence that microbial synthesis contributes to the increase in alkyl- and methyl-C content of soil during decomposition has been represented.     

Effect of added nitrogen on plant litter decomposition depends on initial soil carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry

Increasing organic carbon inputs to agricultural soils through the use of pastures or crop residues has been suggested as a means of restoring soil organic carbon lost via anthropogenic activities, such as land use change. However, the decomposition and retention of different plant residues in soil, and how these processes are affected by soil properties and nitrogen fertiliser application, is not fully understood. We evaluated the rate and extent of decomposition of ¹³C-pulse labelled plant material in response to nitrogen addition in four pasture soils of varying physico-chemical characteristics. Microbial respiration of buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) residues was monitored over 365-days. A double exponential model fitted to the data suggested that microbial respiration occurred as an early rapid and a late slow stage. A weighted three-compartment mixing model estimated the decomposition of both soluble and insoluble plant ¹³C (mg C kg⁻¹ soil). Total plant material decomposition followed the alkyl C: O-alkyl C ratio of plant material, as determined by solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Urea-N addition increased the decomposition of insoluble plant ¹³C in some soils (≤0.1% total nitrogen) but not others (0.3% total nitrogen). Principal components regression analysis indicated that 26% of the variability of plant material decomposition was explained by soil physico-chemical characteristics (P = 0.001), which was primarily described by the C:N ratio. We conclude that plant species with increasing alkyl C: O-alkyl C ratio are better retained as soil organic matter, and that the C:N stoichiometry of soils determines whether N addition leads to increases in soil organic carbon stocks.     

THE ORIGIN OF THE PENTOSE FRACTION OF SOIL POLYSACCHARIDE

Incubation of soil with monosaccharide for 224 days resulted in the evolution of about 80 per cent of the substrate carbon as CO₂ and the transformation of 3 per cent to soil sugars whether the substrate was ¹⁴C-glucose or xylose and whether the soil was pH 7.4 or pH 5.0. There was no detectable change in the total amounts of individual sugars in the soil during incubation. ¹⁴C-glucose and xylose gave the same distribution of radioactivity among the soil sugars : hexoses and 6-deoxy-hexoses were initially well labelled, with glucose having twice the specific activity of the other sugars. As the incubation progressed some activity appeared in the pentoses (the activity in xylose became very low within the first 14 days of the ¹⁴C-xylose incubation) and that in the hexoses slowly declined, with glucose no longer predominant. Nevertheless after 448 days the hexoses were still 3–4 times more radioactive than the pentoses. The activity in rhamnose did not decline with time so that eventually it became the most strongly labelled sugar. Incubation of soil with glucose and ¹⁴C-acetate showed very little transformation of the acetate to sugars indicating that glucose is not metabolized to C₂ compounds before it is transformed to other sugars. Ammo-acids in soil incubated for 7 days with ¹⁴C-glucose had much lower levels of radioactivity than hexoses or 6-deoxy-hexoses. It is concluded that if soil pentose originates by microbial synthesis it must accumulate slowly by a long process of selective decomposition of a mixture of polysaccharides.     

Decomposition and distribution of residual activity of some 13C-microbial polysaccharides and cells,glucose, cellulose and wheat straw in soil

Studies were made to determine the rate of decomposition of some ¹⁴C-labeled microbial polysaccharides, microbial cells, glucose, cellulose and wheat straw in soil, the distribution of the residual ¹⁴C in various humic fractions and the influence of the microbial products on the decomposition of plant residues in soil. During 16 weeks from 32 to 86 per cent of the C of added bacterial polysaccharides had evolved as ¹⁴CO₂. Chromobacterium violaceum polysaccharide was most resistant and Leuconostoc dextranicus polysaccharide least resistant. In general the polysaccharides, microbial cells, and glucose exerted little effect on the decomposition of the plant products. Upon incubation the ¹⁴C-activity was quickly distributed in the humic. fulvic and extracted soil fractions. The pattern of distribution depended upon the amendment and the degree of decomposition. The distribution was most uniform in the highly decomposed amendments. After 16 weeks the bulk of the residual activity from Azotobacter indicus polysaccharide remained in the NaOH extracted soil. From C. violaceum polysaccharide both the extracted soil and the humic acid fraction contained high activity. About 50–80 per cent of the residual activity from the ¹⁴C-glucose, cellulose and wheat straw amended soils could be removed by hydrolysis with 6 n HCl. The greater part of this activity in the humic acid fraction was associated with the amino acids and that from the fulvic acids and residual soils after NaOH extraction with the carbohydrates. About 8 16 per cent of the activity of the humic acid fraction was present in substances (probably aromatic) extracted by ether after reductive or oxidative degradation.     

DETERMINATION OF 14C IN SOIL BY A GEL SUSPENSION METHOD

Radioactivity in soils labelled with ¹⁴C was determined by suspending the finely ground soil in a thixotropic gel, dispersing it by ultrasonics and counting the dispersion in a liquid scintillation spectrometer. The relationship between the weight of sample and counting efficiency was found to be almost linear. Using 30 mg soil, the counting efficiency is 50 per cent and ¹⁴C may be determined with an average coefficient of variation of 1.5 per cent to within 5 per cent of the value determined by oxidative procedures.     

Nitrous oxide emissions from soil amended with glucose,alfalfa, or corn residues

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions result from the nitrification and denitrification processes, the latter strongly affected by soil organic carbon (C) derived from plant residues. This study addressed two questions: (1) does plant residue C become less available to denitrifiers after a period of aerobic incubation, and (2) do plant residues with smaller particle sizes provide C for higher rates of N₂O production due to a faster decomposition rate? Nitrous oxide fluxes from soil amended with alfalfa or corn residues, or glucose were measured in the laboratory using a gas flow‐through chamber system. Soil amended with these C substrates was also subjected to a 5‐d aerobic preincubation treatment. The significance of particle size on C availability was studied by comparing N₂O released from soil amended with ground (particle size <1 mm) and large pieces (5‐cm lengths) of alfalfa residues. A 5‐d aerobic preincubation of soil amended with plant residues resulted in reduced N₂O production during a subsequent anaerobic period. Results suggested that, due to consumption of the most available substrate, remaining C in plant residues is less available to denitrifiers after a period of aerobic incubation. Higher N₂O losses were found with large alfalfa particles than with ground alfalfa.