Fate of microbial residues in sandy soils of the South African Highveld as influenced by prolonged arable cropping

Long‐term cultivation of former grassland soils results in a significant decline of both living and dead microbial biomass. We evaluated the effect of duration of cropping on the preservation of fungal and bacterial residues in the coarse‐textured soils of the South African Highveld. Composite samples were taken from the top 20 cm of soils (Plinthustalfs) that have been cropped for periods varying from 0 to 98 years in each of three different agro‐ecosystems in the Free State Province. Amino sugars were determined as markers for the microbial residues in bulk soil and its particle‐size fractions. Long‐term cultivation reduced N in the soil by 55% and the contents of amino sugars by 60%. Loss rates of amino sugars followed bi‐exponential functions, suggesting that they comprised both labile and stable fractions. With increased duration of cropping the amino sugars attached to silt dissipated faster than those associated with the clay. This dissipation was in part because silt was preferentially lost through erosion, while clay particles (and their associated microbial residues) remained. Erosion was not solely responsible for the reduction in amino sugar concentrations, however. Bacterial amino sugars were lost in preference to fungal ones as a result of cultivation, and this effect was evident in both silt‐ and clay‐sized separates. This shift from fungal to bacterial residues was most pronounced within the first 20 years after converting the native grassland to arable cropland, but continued after 98 years of cultivation.     

Long-term changes in land use impact the accumulation of microbial residues in the particle-size fractions of a Mollisol

To test the impact of a range of long-term land use types on the partitioning of microbial residues among soil particles, samples from a Mollisol with plots under 100 years of continuous arable cropping, 30 years of simulated overgrazing to severely degraded bare soil, or 30 years of grassland restoration were investigated. The microbial residues, which were assessed among three particle-size fractions (<2, 2–20, and 20–250 μm) by amino sugar extraction, exhibited change with particle size and land use. Converting arable cropping to bare soil induced substantial depletion of amino sugars associated with the clay-size fraction, as a proportion of total carbon (C) and total soil mass, but not the silt- and sand-size fractions. Alternatively, switching arable soil to grassland increased amino sugar stocks in both the clay- and sand-size fractions. Analysis of the relative input of fungal and bacterial derived amino sugars indicated that fungal sources are the most dynamic with respect to land use change. These results highlight the selective vulnerability of microbial C pools in finer fractions under low plant C input and the selective recovery in specific fractions upon restoration, emphasizing the importance of the conversion of plant organic matter into mineral-associated microbial residues to promote stable soil organic C.     

Nitrogen biomarkers and their fate in soil

More than 90 % of the nitrogen (N) in soils can be organically bound, but the mechanisms and rates by which it is cycled have eluded researchers. The objective of this research was to contribute to a better understanding of the origin and transformation of soil organic N (SON) by using amino sugars and the enantiomers of amino acids as markers for microbial residues and/or aging processes. Studied samples presented here comprised (1) soil transects across different climates, (2) arable soils with different duration of cropping, and (3) radiocarbon‐dated soil profiles. The results suggested that increased microbial alteration of SON temporarily results in a sequestration of N in microbial residues, which are mineralized at later stages of SON decomposition. Microorganisms increasingly sequestered N within intact cell wall residues as frost periods shortened. At a mean annual temperature above 12–15 °C, these residues were mineralized, probably due to limitations in additional substrates. Breaking the grassland for cropping caused rapid SON losses. Microbial residues were decomposed in preference to total N, this effect being enhanced at higher temperatures. Hence, climate and cultivation interactively affected SON dynamics. Nevertheless, not all SON was available to soil microorganisms. In soil profiles, L‐aspartic acid and L‐lysine slowly converted into their D‐form, for lysine even at a similar rate in soils of different microbial activity. Formation of D‐aspartate with time was, therefore, induced by microorganisms while that of D‐lysine was not. The racemization of the two amino acids indicates that SON not available to microorganisms ages biotically and abiotically. In native soils, the latter is conserved for centuries, despite N deficiency frequently occurring in living terrestrial environments. Climate was not found to affect the fate of old protein constituents in surface soil. When native grassland was broken for cropping, however, old SON constituents had become available to microorganisms and were degraded.     

Dynamics of soil amino sugar pools during decomposition processes of corn residues as affected by inorganic N addition

Purpose  

Identifying the impact of inorganic-nitrogen (N) availability on soil amino sugar dynamics during corn (Zea mays L.) residue decomposition may advance our knowledge of microbial carbon (C) and N transformations and the factors controlling these processes in soils. Amino sugars are routinely used as microbial biomarkers to investigate C and N sequestration in microbial residues, and they are also involved in microbial-mediated soil organic matter (SOM) turnover. We conducted a 38-week incubation study using a Mollisol which was amended with corn residues and four levels of inorganic N (i.e., 0, 60.3, 167.2, and 701.9 mg N kg⁻¹ soil). The objective of this study was to examine the effects of inorganic-N availability on fungal and bacterial formation and stabilization of heterogeneous amino sugars during the corn residue decomposition in soil.     

Land-use effects on amino sugars in particle size fractions of an Argiudoll

Identifying amino sugar pools from different land-use systems may advance our knowledge of land-use effects on the fate of microbially-derived substances. Surface soils (0–10 cm) from (1) native pasture, (2) a >80-years-arable site, and (3) a >80-years-afforested site were fractionated into clay, silt, fine-, and coarse-sand fractions. Then, soil organic carbon, N, glucosamine, galactosamine, mannosamine, and muramic acid were analyzed.Afforestation did not influence the amino sugar content in bulk soil, whereas cultivation reduced the content by 54%. The concentrations of amino sugars in g kg⁻¹ SOM declined after both long-term cropping and afforestation by 6% and 13%, respectively, relative to that in the grassland. The amino sugar depletion at the forest site occurred mainly from the silt fraction (by 25%), while that in the cultivated site was mainly due to preferential loss of amino sugars from clay (by 19% compared with the grassland). Both ratios of glucosamine to galactosamine and glucosamine to muramic acid increased when the prairie was converted to forest or cultivated land, suggesting that bacterial N especially is better preserved than fungal N under prairie conditions.     

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。     

Amino sugars and muramic acid—biomarkers for soil microbial community structure analysis

Characterizing functional and phylogenetic microbial community structure in soil is important for understanding the fate of microbially-derived compounds during the decomposition and turn-over of soil organic matter. This study was conducted to test whether amino sugars and muramic acid are suitable biomarkers to trace bacterial, fungal, and actinomycetal residues in soil. For this aim, we investigated the pattern, amounts, and dynamics of three amino sugars (glucosamine, mannosamine and galactosamine) and muramic acid in the total microbial biomass and selectively cultivated bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes of five different soils amended with and without glucose. Our results revealed that total amino sugar and muramic acid concentrations in microbial biomass, extracted from soil after chloroform fumigation varied between 1 and 27 mg kg⁻¹ soil. In all soils investigated, glucose addition resulted in a 50-360% increase of these values. In reference to soil microbial biomass-C, the total amino sugar- and muramic acid-C concentrations ranged from 1-71 g C kg⁻¹ biomass-C. After an initial lag phase, the cultivated microbes revealed similar amino sugar concentrations of about 35, 27 and 17 g glucosamine-C kg⁻¹ TOC in bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, respectively. Mannosamine and galactosamine concentrations were lower than those for glucosamine. Mannosamine was not found in actinomycete cultures. The highest muramic acid concentrations were found in bacteria, but small amounts were also found in actinomycete cultures. The concentrations of the three amino sugars studied and muramic acid differed significantly between bacteria and the other phylogenetic microbial groups under investigation (fungi and actinomycetes). Comparison between the amino sugar and muramic acid concentrations in soil microbial biomass, extracted after chloroform fumigation, and total concentrations in the soil showed that living microbial biomass contributed negligible amounts to total amino sugar contents in the soil, being at least two orders of magnitude greater in the soils than in the soil inherent microbial biomass. Thus, amino sugars are significantly stabilized in soil.     

Sugars in soil and sweets for microorganisms: Review of origin,content, composition and fate

Sugars are the most abundant organic compounds in the biosphere because they are monomers of all polysaccharides. We summarize the results of the last 40 years on the sources, content, composition and fate of sugars in soil and discuss their main functions. We especially focus on sugar uptake, utilization and recycling by microorganisms as this is by far the dominating process of sugar transformation in soil compared to sorption, leaching or plant uptake. Moreover, sugars are the most important carbon (C) and energy source for soil microorganisms.Two databases have been created. The 1st database focused on the contents of cellulose, non-cellulose, hot-water and cold-water extractable sugars in soils (348 data, 32 studies). This enabled determining the primary (plant-derived) and secondary (microbially and soil organic matter (SOM) derived) sources of carbohydrates in soil based on the galactose + mannose/arabinose + xylose (GM/AX) ratio. The 2nd database focused on the fate of sugar C in soils (734 data pairs, 32 studies using ¹³C or ¹⁴C labeled sugars). ¹³C and ¹⁴C dynamics enabled calculating the: 1) initial rate of sugar mineralization, 2) mean residence time (MRT) of C of the applied sugars, and 3) MRT of sugar C incorporated into 3a) microbial biomass and 3b) SOM.The content of hexoses was 3–4 times higher than pentoses, because hexoses originate from plants and microorganisms. The GM/AX ratio of non-cellulose sugars revealed a lower contribution of hexoses in cropland and grassland (ratio 0.7–1) compare to forest (ratio 1.5) soils.¹³C and ¹⁴C studies showed very high initial rate of glucose mineralization (1.1% min⁻¹) and much higher rate of sugars uptake by microorganisms from the soil solution. Considering this rate along with the glucose input from plants and its content in soil solution, we estimate that only about 20% of all sugars in soil originate from the primary source – decomposition of plant litter and rhizodeposits. The remaining 80% originates from the secondary source – microorganisms and their residues. The estimated MRT of sugar C in microbial biomass was about 230 days, showing intense and efficient internal recycling within microorganisms. The assessed MRT of sugar C in SOM was about 360 days, reflecting the considerable accumulation of sugar C in microbial residues and its comparatively slow external recycling.The very rapid uptake of sugars by microorganisms and intensive recycling clearly demonstrate the importance of sugars for microbes in soil. We speculate that the most important functions of sugars in soil are to maintain and stimulate microbial activities in the rhizosphere and detritusphere leading to mobilization of nutrients by accelerated SOM decomposition – priming effects. We conclude that the actual contribution of sugar C (not only whole sugar molecules, which are usually determined) to SOM is much higher than the 10 ± 5% commonly measured based on their content.     

Soil organic matter,microbial properties,and aggregate stability under annual and perennial pastures

The use of annually sown pastures to provide winter forage is common in dairy farming in many regions of the world. Loss of organic matter and soil structural stability due to annual tillage under this management may be contributing to soil degradation. The comparative effects of annual ryegrass pastures (conventionally tilled and resown each year), permanent kikuyu pastures and undisturbed native vegetation on soil organic matter content, microbial size and activity, and aggregate stability were investigated on commercial dairy farms in the Tsitsikamma region of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. In comparison with soils under sparse, native grassy vegetation, those under both annual ryegrass and permanent kikuyu pasture had higher soil organic matter content on the very sandy soils of the eastern end of the region. By contrast, in the higher rainfall, western side, where the native vegetation was coastal forest, there was a loss of organic matter under both types of pasture. Nonetheless, soil organic C, K₂SO₄-extractable C, microbial biomass C, basal respiration, arginine ammonification and fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis rates and aggregate stability were less under annual than permanent pastures at all the sites. These results reflect the degrading effect of annual tillage on soil organic matter and the positive effect of grazed permanent pasture on soil microbial activity and aggregation. Soil organic C, microbial biomass C, K₂SO₄-extractable C, basal respiration and aggregate stability were significantly correlated with each other. The metabolic quotient and percentage of organic C present as microbial biomass C were generally poorly correlated with other measured properties but negatively correlated with one another. It was concluded that annual pasture involving conventional tillage results in a substantial loss of soil organic matter, soil microbial activity and soil physical condition under dairy pastures and that a system that avoids tillage needs to be developed.     

Components of soil organic matter under grass and arable cropping

Components of the organic matter have been studied in three soils from adjacent sites with different long-term treatments: soil I, prolonged arable cultivation; soil II, 17 years under grass after prolonged arable cultivation; and soil III, old pasture. Contents of total organic C in the top 15cm were 0.9% in soil I. 1.7% in soil II and 4.8% in soil III. The light fraction, comprising partially decomposed materials with a specific gravity < 2.06, represented greater proportions of the organic C in soils II and III (20–23 per cent) than in soil I (8.5 per cent). The light fraction of soil III had a relatively high N content.The proportions of the soil organic C released, by hydrolysis, as neutral sugars, uronic acids, amino sugars, amino acids and phenolic acids were generally similar in the three soils, although uronic acids and phenolic acids constituted somewhat greater proportions in soils II and III than in I.The light fractions contained greater proportions of neutral sugars and phenolic acids, and smaller proportions of amino sugars and amino acids than the whole soils.     

Carbon sequestration in secondary pasture soils: a chronosequence study in the South African Highveld

Soil restoration is a means of combating desertification in semi‐arid and arid parts of the world. There, vast areas of the cropped soil degrade, particularly because of the loss of organic matter. One approach to reverse this loss is the conversion of cropland into permanent grassland for use as pasture. This study was designed to evaluate how fast and to what degree degraded cropland may re‐sequester soil organic carbon (SOC) when converted into permanent secondary pasture. Topsoil samples (0–5, 5–10 and 10–20 cm) were taken from chronosequences of secondary pastures (1 to 31 years old) at three agro‐ecosystems in the semi‐arid Highveld of South Africa. Long‐term croplands and primary grassland used as pastures served as the controls. In bulk soil samples (<2 mm) and their clay (<2 µm), silt (2–20 µm), fine sand (20–250 µm) and coarse sand (250–2000 µm) fractions, the contents of carbon (C) and nitrogen were determined. In all three agro‐ecosystems, using a mono‐exponential model, the SOC stocks increased exponentially until a maximum was reached 10–95 years after land conversion. This gain in SOC was clearly pronounced for the top 0–5 cm of soil, but hardly detectable at 10–20‐cm depth. The sand fractions recovered organic C more rapidly but less completely than did the finer size separates. Overall, between 9.0 and 15.3 t of SOC were sequestered in the 0–20 cm of surface soil by this land conversion. Thus, the SOC recovery in the secondary pastures resulted in SOC stocks that were 29.6–93.9% greater than those in the arable land. Yet, in no agro‐ecosystem, at any soil depth, nor in any soil fraction, did the measured SOC content reach that of the primary grassland. In part this can be attributed to a slightly finer texture of the primary grassland that had not lost silt through wind erosion or had never been used as arable land because of slightly elevated clay contents. Overall it appears, however, that previous losses of SOM cannot easily be rectified, suggesting that the native primary grassland soils are only partially resilient to land‐use change.     

Specific Responses of Soil Microbial Residue Carbon to Long-Term Mineral Fertilizer Applications to Reddish Paddy Soils

Mineral nutrient inputs to soil may alter microbial activity and consequently influence the accumulation of microbial residues. In this study, we investigated the effects of application rates and ratios of mineral fertilizers on the microbial residue carbon(MRC) of reddish paddy soils after long-term(15-year) fertilizer applications in southern China. Contents of three soil amino sugars as microbial residue contents were determined and MRC were calculated based on amino sugars. Results showed that three individual amino sugar contents increased as fertilizer application rates increased until maximum values were reached at a rate of 450-59-187 kg ha~(-1) year~(-1)(N-P-K). The three amino sugar contents then declined significantly under the highest mineral fertilizer application rate of 675-88-280 kg ha~(-1) year~(-1)(N-P-K). In addition, to enhance the microbial residue contents, it was more beneficial to double P(N:P:K= 1:0.26:0.41) in fertilizers applied to the P-deficient reddish paddy soils than to double either N(N:P:K = 2:0.13:0.41) or K(N:P:K= 1:0.13:0.82). The contents of the three individual amino sugars and microbial residues under different fertilizer application rates and ratios were significantly and positively correlated with soil organic carbon(SOC), total N, total P, and p H. Increases in values of the fungal C to bacterial C ratios showed that soil organic matter(SOM) stability increased because of the fertilizer applications over the past 15 years. The contents and ratios of amino sugars can be used as indicators to evaluate the impact of mineral fertilizer applications on SOM dynamics in subtropical paddy soils. The results indicated that fertilizer applications at a rate of 450-59-187 kg ha~(-1) year~(-1)(N-P-K) may improve crop yields, SOC contents, and SOC stability in subtropical paddy soils.     

Microbial biomass, microbial diversity, soil carbon storage, and stability after incubation of soil from grass–clover pastures of different age

A laboratory incubation study with clover grass pasture soils of seven different ages (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 16 production years) was carried out to determine initial soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks and potentials for greenhouse gas emissions (N₂O and CO₂). Compared with the soil from the recently established pasture, an increase of total soil C and N was observed along with pasture age. Greenhouse gas emissions were low and not significantly different among the soils from younger pastures (0–5 years), but especially N₂O emissions increased markedly in the soil from 16-year-old grass–clover. Low emissions might mainly be due to an early C limitation occurring in the soils from younger pastures, which was also corroborated by decreasing levels of cold water-extractable C and early shifts within the microbial community. However, higher emissions from the old pasture soil were offset by its increase in total soil C. A longer ley phase without soil disturbance may therefore be beneficial in terms of overall C sequestration in systems with temporary grass–clover swards.     

Preferential sequestration of microbial carbon in subsoils of a glacial-landscape toposequence, Dane County, WI, USA

Microorganisms participate in soil carbon storage by contributing biomass in the form of refractory microbial cell components. However, despite the important contribution of microbial biomass residues to the stable carbon pool, little is known about how the contribution of these residues to soil carbon storage varies as a function of depth. In this study, we evaluated microbial residue biomarkers (amino sugars) in varied pedogenic horizons from six soil profiles of two geographic sites on a glacial-landscape toposequence in Dane County, WI. We found that the amino sugars appeared to preferentially accumulate in subsoil. Specifically, although total amounts of amino sugars decreased downward through the profile as even as total organic carbon did, the rate of decrease was significantly lower, suggesting that these compounds are more refractory than general soil organic carbon. The proportion of amino sugars to soil organic carbon increased along the depth gradient (from top to bottom), with the exception of Bg horizons associated with high water tables. We also observed that microbial residue patterns measured by amino sugar ratio (e.g., glucosamine to muramic acid) showed different dynamic tendencies in the two different geographic sites, suggesting that residue carbon contribution by fungi and bacteria is likely site-specific and complex. In summary, regardless of the redox microenvironment created by groundwater dynamics in a given soil, our study supports the hypothesis that microbial residues are refractory and that they contribute to terrestrial carbon sequestration.     

Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Fractions under Different Land Uses and Tillage Practices

Many questions have surfaced regarding long-term impacts of land-use and cultivation system on soil carbon (C) sequestration. The experiment was conducted at Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Only minor variations of soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N) fractions with depth under plow tillage (PT). The SOC, total nitrogen (TN), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) concentrations were higher under grassland and forestland in the top 0–15 cm depth than arable soils. No-tillage (NT) also increased SOC and N fractions concentrations in the surface soils than PT. Compared to arable, grass and forest could significantly improve proportions of MBC and MBN, and reduce proportions of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). NT and forest also increased the ratio of SOC/TN, MBC/MBN, and DOC/DON. Overall, grass and forest provided more labile C and improved C sequestration than arable. So did NT under arable land-use.     

Effect of plant materials on microbial transformation of amino sugars in three soil microcosms

Amino sugars, being predominantly of microbial origin, can help elucidate the role of microbes in carbon and nitrogen cycling in soils. However, little is known about the microbial degradation and synthesis of soil amino sugars as affected by plant-derived organic materials. We conducted a 30-week microcosm study using three soils amended with soybean leaf or maize stalk to investigate changes in the amounts and patterns of amino sugars over time. The total soil amino sugar content initially increased during the incubation, but later decreased. Amino sugar content of soil amended with maize stalk peaked at an earlier time than it did for soybean leaf, suggesting nutrient quantity and substrate composition influence microbial transformation. Temporal dynamics of the proportion of total soil amino sugar to organic matter after plant material addition conformed to parabolic models (r > 0.8; p < 0.01), which tended to converge over time. The models predicted that the proportions would ultimately approach the initial values as determined before amendment. These findings suggest that soil organic matter has the ability to maintain a baseline steady-state level of amino sugars, and support the interpretation of soil amino sugar reservoir as two components: the Stable Pool (SP) and the Transition Pool (TP).     

Long-term impacts of manure, straw, and fertilizer on amino sugars in a silty clay loam soil under temperate conditions

There is increasing evidence that microorganisms participate in soil C sequestration and stabilization in the form of resistant microbial residues. The type of fertilizers influences microbial activity and community composition; however, little is known about its effect on the microbial residues and their relative contribution to soil C storage. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term impact (21 years) of different fertilizer treatments (chemical fertilizer, crop straw, and organic manure) on microbial residues in a silty clay loam soil (Udolls, USDA Soil Taxonomy). Amino sugars were used to indicate the presence and origin of microbial residues. The five treatments were: CK, unfertilized control; NPK, chemical fertilizer NPK; NPKS₁, NPK plus crop straw; NPKS₂, NPK plus double amounts of straw; and NPKM, NPK plus pig manure. Long-term application of inorganic fertilizers and organic amendments increased the total amino sugar concentrations (4.4–8.4 %) as compared with the control; and this effect was more evident in the plots that continuously received pig manure (P?<?0.05). The increase in total amino sugar stock was less pronounced in the straw-treated plots than the NPKM. These results indicate that the accumulation of soil amino sugars is largely influenced by the type of organic fertilizers entering the soil. Individual amino sugar enrichment in soil organic carbon was differentially influenced by the various fertilizer treatments, with a preferential accumulation of bacterial-derived amino sugars compared with fungal-derived glucosamine in manured soil.     

外源氮添加对土壤微生物残体积累动态的影响－基于Meta分析

微生物残体是土壤有机碳库的重要贡献者。为明确外源氮添加对土壤微生物残体积累动态的影响,本文收集整理了1980—2020年已发表的文献,共选取122组试验观测数据,利用整合分析方法（Meta-analysis）,以微生物残体标识物－氨基糖为目标组分,定量分析了不同种类和数量的外源氮添加对土壤中微生物来源细胞残体积累数量和组成比例的影响,并系统解析其主要影响因素。结果表明:外源氮添加（0 ~ 6000 kg hm?1）对微生物细胞残体的积累有显著的促进作用,并能引起土壤中真菌和细菌来源细胞残体相对比例发生明显变化。与不加氮对照相比,氮添加使土壤氨基糖总量增加27%,其中氨基葡萄糖、氨基半乳糖和胞壁酸含量分别增加22.5%、29.8%和19.0%。同时,不同种类外源氮素添加对氨基糖积累特征的影响也有所不同,表现为有机氮（如动物厩肥）比无机氮添加对氨基糖积累的促进作用更大。此外,氮添加对氨基糖的影响程度还与土壤自身的碳氮比、土地利用类型和自然降雨量等环境因子密切相关。其中是否添加碳源对微生物残体的响应有较大影响,表现为:无碳源添加会降低土壤氨基糖葡萄糖和胞壁酸对氮添加的响应,削弱了微生物残体对土壤有机质的贡献比例;而氮源同时配合碳源添加条件下,土壤氨基糖积累量显著高于单一氮源添加的处理,说明氮添加对微生物残体积累的影响存在着碳氮耦合效应。     

Plant-N incorporation into microbial amino sugars as affected by inorganic N addition: A microcosm study of N-labeled maize residue decomposition

Carbon (C) and/or nitrogen (N) in plant residues can be assimilated into microbial biomass during the plant residue decomposition before incorporation into SOM in the form of microbial residues. Yet, microbial transformation of plant residue-N into microbial residues and the effects of inorganic N inputs on this process have not been well documented. Here, we undertook a 38-week incubation with a silt loam soil amended with a ¹⁵N-labeled maize (Zea mays L.) residue to determine how the transformation of maize residue-N into soil amino sugars was affected by rates of inorganic N addition. The newly metabolized amino sugars derived from maize residue-N were differentiated and quantified by using an isotope-based gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique. We found that greater amounts of maize residue-N were transformed into amino sugars with lower inorganic N addition at the early stages of the plant residue degradation. However, the trend was reversed during later stages of decay as greater percentage of maize residue-N (8.6-9.4%) were enriched in amino sugars in the N_med and N_high soils, as compared with N₀ and N_low (7.5-8.2%). This indicated that higher availability of inorganic N could delay the transformation process of plant-N into microbial residues during the mineralization of plant residues. The dynamic transformations of the plant residue-N into individual amino sugars were compound-specific, with very fast incorporation into bacterial MurA_M-new found during the initial weeks, while the dynamics of maize residue-derived GluN exhibited a delayed response to assimilate plant-N into fungal products. The findings indicated differential contributions of maize residue decomposing microorganisms over time. Moreover, we found no preferential utilization of inorganic N over plant residue-N into amino sugars during the incubation course, but inorganic N inputs altered the rate of plant-N accumulation in microbial-derived organic matters. Our results indicated that higher N availability had a positive impact on the accumulation or stabilization of newly-produced microbial residues in the long term.     

Mass spectrometric characterization of amino sugar aldononitrile acetate derivatives used for isotope enrichment assessment of microbial residues

Identifying the transformation of amino sugars in soils is essential in understanding microbial contribution to soil organic matter turnover and sequestration. Using a recently developed method, combining gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with laboratory incubation of substrates containing ¹³C or ¹⁵N isotopes, we were able to trace isotopic changes in amino sugar compounds. This allows us to quantitatively evaluate C or N enrichment in amino sugars during transformation in soils using the fragment (F) abundance ratio of m/z F + n to F (n is original skeleton atom number in each fragment). However, there is still lack of detail structural and substitutional information for each ion fragment. In order to improve the interpretation and increase our ability to study amino sugar turnover, we grew labeled amino sugars in lab-cultured organisms. We spectrometrically investigated the ion structures and original skeleton C number (mass shift n) in major ion fragments based on applying multiple representative isotope labels. Our results categorically confirm that previously made assumptions were correct regarding the substitutional number “n” of the glucosamine (He et al., 2006). Our study also added valuable structural information for aldononitrile acetate derivatized glucosamine and muramic acid upon electron impact ionization in MS.