Effect of forest and soil type on microbial biomass carbon and respiration

The aim of study was to evaluate the variation of soil microbial biomass carbon (C_mic) and microbial respiration (M_R) in three types soil (Chromic Cambisols, Chromic Luvisols and Eutric Leptosols) of mixed beech forest (Beech- Hornbeam and Beech- Maple). Soil was randomly sampled from 0–10 cm layer (plant litter removed), 90 soil samples were taken. C_mic determined by the fumigation-extraction method and M_R by closed bottle method. Soil C_org, N_tot and pH were measured. There are significant differences between the soil types concerning the C_mic content and M_R. These parameters were highest in Chromic Cambisols following Chromic Luvisols, while the lowest were in Eutric Leptosols. A similar trend of C_org and N_tot was observed in studied soils. Two-way ANOVA indicated that soil type and forest type have significantly effect on the most soil characteristics. Chromic Cambisols shows a productive soil due to have the maximum C_mic, M_R, C_org and N_tot. In Cambisols under Beech- Maple forest the C_mic value and soil C/N ratio were higher compared to Beech-Hornbeam (19.5 and 4.1 mg C g^–1, and 16.3 and 3.3, respectively). This fact might be indicated that Maple litter had more easy decomposable organic compounds than Hornbeam. According to regression analysis, 89 and 68 percentage of C_mic variability could explain by soil C_org and N_tot respectively.     

Root-derived respiration and non-structural carbon of rice seedlings

Various methods have been suggested to separate root and microbial contributions to soil respiration. However, to date there is no ideal approach available to partition below-ground CO₂ fluxes in its components although the combination of traditional methods with approaches based on isotopes seems especially promising for the future improvement of estimates. Here we provide evidence for the applicability of a new approach based on the hypothesis that root-derived (rhizomicrobial) respiration, including root respiration and CO₂ derived from microbial activity in the immediate vicinity of the root, is proportional to non-structural carbon contents (sugars and organic acids) of plant tissues. We examined relationships between root-derived CO₂ and non-structural carbon of rice (Oryza sativa) seedlings using ¹⁴C pulse labelling techniques, which partitioned the ¹⁴C fixed by photosynthesis into root-derived ¹⁴CO₂, and ¹⁴C in sugars and organic acids of roots and shoots. After the ¹⁴C pulse ¹⁴C in both sugars and organic acids of plant tissues decreased steeply during the first 12 h, and then decreased at a lower rate during the remaining 60 h. Soil ¹⁴CO₂ efflux and soil CO₂ efflux strongly depended on ¹⁴C pools in non-structural carbon of the plant tissues. Based on the linear regression between root-derived respiration and total non-structural carbon (sugars and organic acids) of roots, non-rhizomicrobial respiration (SOM-derived) was estimated to be 0.25 mg C g⁻¹ root d.w. h⁻¹. Assuming the value was constant, root-derived respiration contributed 85–92% to bulk soil respiration.     

Black carbon decomposition and incorporation into soil microbial biomass estimated by C labeling

Incomplete combustion of organics such as vegetation or fossil fuel led to accumulation of charred products in the upper soil horizon. Such charred products, frequently called pyrogenic carbon or black carbon (BC), may act as an important long-term carbon (C) sink because its microbial decomposition and chemical transformation is probably very slow. Direct estimations of BC decomposition rates are absent because the BC content changes are too small for any relevant experimental period. Estimations based on CO₂ efflux are also unsuitable because the contribution of BC to CO₂ is too small compared to soil organic matter (SOM) and other sources.We produced BC by charring ¹⁴C labeled residues of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). We then incubated this ¹⁴C labeled BC in Ah of a Haplic Luvisol soil originated from loess or in loess for 3.2 years. The decomposition rates of BC were estimated based on ¹⁴CO₂ sampled 44 times during the 3.2 years incubation period (1181 days). Additionally we introduced five repeated treatments with either 1) addition of glucose as an energy source for microorganisms to initiate cometabolic BC decomposition or 2) intensive mixing of the soil to check the effect of mechanical disturbance of aggregates on BC decomposition. Black carbon addition amounting to 20% of C_org of the soil or 200% of C_org of loess did not change total CO₂ efflux from the soil and slightly decreased it from the loess. This shows a very low BC contribution to recent CO₂ fluxes. The decomposition rates of BC calculated based on ¹⁴C in CO₂ were similar in soil and in loess and amounted to 1.36 10⁻⁵ d⁻¹ (=1.36 10⁻³% d⁻¹). This corresponds to a decomposition of about 0.5% BC per year under optimal conditions. Considering about 10 times slower decomposition of BC under natural conditions, the mean residence time (MRT) of BC is about 2000 years, and the half-life is about 1400 years. Considering the short duration of the incubation and the typical decreasing decomposition rates with time, we conclude that the MRT of BC in soils is in the range of millennia.The strong increase in BC decomposition rates (up to 6 times) after adding glucose and the decrease of this stimulation after 2 weeks in the soil (and after 3 months in loess) allowed us to conclude cometabolic BC decomposition. This was supported by higher stimulation of BC decomposition by glucose addition compared to mechanical disturbance as well as higher glucose effects in loess compared to the soil. The effect of mechanical disturbance was over within 2 weeks. The incorporation of BC into microorganisms (fumigation/extraction) after 624 days of incubation amounted to 2.6 and 1.5% of ¹⁴C input into soil and loess, respectively. The amount of BC in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was below the detection limit (<0.01%) showing no BC decomposition products in water leached from the soil.We conclude that applying ¹⁴C labeled BC opens new ways for very sensitive tracing of BC transformation products in released CO₂, microbial biomass, DOC, and SOM pools with various properties.     

Determination of the soil microbial biomass carbon using the method of substrate-induced respiration

Specific features of determining the carbon content in the soil microbial biomass using the method of substrate-induced respiration (MB_SIR) were studied as related to the conditions of the incubation (the glucose concentration and temperature) and pre-incubation (the duration and temperature) of the soil samples collected in the summer (tundra gley and soddy-podzolic soils and chernozems) and in different seasons (for the gray forest soil). The glucose concentration providing the highest substrate-induced respiration (SIR) in the soils studied was shown to be 2–15 mg/g. The MB_SIR in the soil samples collected in summer and in the soils pre-incubated for 10 and 22°C (7 days) did not significantly differ. The MB_SIR in the gray forest soil pre-incubated at 3, 6, and 10°C (winter, spring/autumn, and summer, respectively) and at 22°C (recommended by the authors of the SIR method) was similar for the cropland in all the seasons. For the meadow, it was the same in the winter, summer, and autumn, and, in summer, it did not differ only for the forest. For the comparative assessment of the MB_SIR, soil samples from different ecosystems are recommended to be collected in the autumn or in the summer. Soil samples of 100–500 g should be pre-incubated for 7 days at 22°C and moisture of 60% of the total water capacity; then, 1-2 g soil should be incubated with glucose (10 mg/g) at 22°C for 3–5 hours.     

Estimating the active and total soil microbial biomass by kinetic respiration analysis

 A model describing the respiration curves of glucose-amended soils was applied to the characterization of microbial biomass. Both lag and exponential growth phases were simulated. Fitted parameters were used for the determination of the growing and sustaining fractions of the microbial biomass as well as its specific growth rate (μ _max). These microbial biomass characteristics were measured periodically in a loamy silt and a sandy loam soil incubated under laboratory conditions. Less than 1% of the biomass oxidizing glucose was able to grow immediately due to the chronic starvation of the microbial populations in situ. Glucose applied at a rate of 0.5 mg C g^–1 increased that portion to 4–10%. Both soils showed similar dynamics with a peak in the growing biomass at day 3 after initial glucose amendment, while the total (sustaining plus growing) biomass was maximum at day 7. The microorganisms in the loamy silt soil showed a larger growth potential, with the growing biomass increasing 16-fold after glucose application compared to a sevenfold increase in the sandy loam soil. The results gained by the applied kinetic approach were compared to those obtained by the substrate-induced respiration (SIR) technique for soil microbial biomass estimation, and with results from a simple exponential model used to describe the growth response. SIR proved to be only suitable for soils that contain a sustaining microbial biomass and no growing microbial biomass. The exponential model was unsuitable for situations where a growing microbial biomass was associated with a sustaining biomass. The kinetic model tested in this study (Panikov and Sizova 1996) proved to describe all situations in a meaningful, quantitative and statistically reliable way. Received: 19 July 1999     

Fumigation-extraction and substrate-induced respiration derived microbial biomass C,and respiration rate in limed soil of Scots pine sapling stands

The effect of liming on microbial biomass C and respiration activity was studied in four liming experiments on young pine plantations. One of the experimental sites had been limed and planted 12 years before, two 5 years before, and one a year before soil sampling. The youngest experimental site was also treated with ash fertilizer. Liming raised the pH_KCl of the humus layer by 1.5 units or less. Microbial biomass was measured using the fumigation-extraction and substrate-induced respiration methods. Liming did not significantly affect microbial biomass C, except in the experiment which had been limed 11 years ago, where there was a slight biomass increase. Basal respiration, which was measured by the evolution of CO₂, increased in the limed soils, except for the youngest experiment, where there was no effect. Ash fertilization raised the soil pH_KCl by about 0.5 unit, but did not influence microbial biomass C or basal respiration. Fumigation-extraction and substrate-induced respiration derived microbial biomass C values were correlated positively with each other (r=0.65), but substrate-induced respiration gave approximately 1.3 times higher results. In addition, the effect of storing the soil samples at +6 and -18°C was evaluated. The effects were variable but, generally, the substrate-induced respiration derived microbial biomass C decreased, and the fumigation-extraction derived microbial biomass C and basal respiration decreased or were not affected by storage.     

Relationship between soil microbial biomass determined by SIR and PLFA analysis in floodplain soils

Purpose  

Although the challenge of linking pedology and hydrology has been identified recently, the microbial diversity in floodplain soils has been studied little in comparison to terrestrial soils. In terrestrial soils, the relationship between soil microbial biomass (SMB) determined by substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) was examined in several studies. Floodplain soils reveal substantially different properties; they are exposed to drastic changes in water regime from flooded to dry conditions. The relation between SMB determined by SIR and PLFA has, up to the present, not been adequately proved in floodplain soils. Thus, this study was conducted to elucidate the relationship between SMB determined with both methods in a set of floodplain soils of eleven study sites from three study areas along the Elbe River (Germany).     

不同农田生态系统土壤微生物生物量碳的变化研究

试验研究不同农田生态系统土壤微生物生物量碳的变化结果表明,长期单施N、P肥处理对土壤有机碳和微生物生物量碳的影响不明显,施有机肥处理土壤微生物生物量碳及微生物生物量碳/有机碳值均高于其他施肥处理,轮作中引入豆科作物或豆科连作均对土壤微生物生物量碳的积累有显著作用。     

Effect of paclobutrazol on microbial biomass,respiration and cellulose decomposition in soil

Paclobutrazol is a plant growth regulator largely utilized in mango cultivation and usually applied directly to soil. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of paclobutrazol on soil microbial biomass, soil respiration and cellulose decomposition in Brazilian soils under laboratory conditions. Soil samples were collected from fields with and without a reported history of paclobutrazol application. A solution of paclobutrazol (8 mg of active ingredient kg^?1 of soil) was added to soils, which were then incubated at 28 °C for 30 days. Paclobutrazol decreased soil microbial biomass, soil respiration and cellulose decomposition in soil with and without a report of paclobutrazol application, while significant increase was observed in the respiratory quotient (qCO₂). Our results show that the soil microbiological attributes were negatively affected by paclobutrazol in short-term experiment.     

Relationships of soil respiration to microbial biomass, substrate availability and clay content

The roles of microbial biomass (MBC) and substrate supply as well as their interaction with clay content in determining soil respiration rate were studied using a range of soils with contrasting properties. Total organic C (TOC), water-soluble organic carbon, 0.5 M K₂SO₄-extractable organic C and 33.3 mM KMnO₄-oxidisable organic carbon were determined as C availability indices. For air-dried soils, these indices showed close relationship with flush of CO₂ production following rewetting of the soils. In comparison, MBC determined with the chloroform fumigation-extraction technique had relatively weaker correlation with soil respiration rate. After 7 d pre-incubation, soil respiration was still closely correlated with the C availability indices in the pre-incubated soils, but poorly correlated with MBC determined with three different techniques—chloroform fumigation extraction, substrate-induced respiration, and chloroform fumigation-incubation methods. Results of multiple regression analyses, together with the above observations, suggested that soil respiration under favourable temperature and moisture conditions was principally determined by substrate supply rather than by the pool size of MBC. The specific respiratory activity of microorganisms (CO₂-C/MBC) following rewetting of air-dried soils or after 7 d pre-incubation was positively correlated with substrate availability, but negatively correlated with microbial pool size. Clay content had no significant effect on CO₂ production rate, relative C mineralization rate (CO₂-C/TOC) and specific respiratory activity of MBC during the first week incubation of rewetted dry soils. However, significant protective effect of clay on C mineralization was shown for the pre-incubated soils. These results suggested that the protective effect of clay on soil organic matter decomposition became significant as the substrate supply and microbial demand approached to an equilibrium state. Thereafter, soil respiration would be dependent on the replenishment of the labile substrate from the bulk organic C pool.     

C and N natural abundance of the soil microbial biomass

Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool in the study of soil organic matter formation. It is often observed that more decomposed soil organic matter is ¹³C, and especially ¹⁵N-enriched relative to fresh litter and recent organic matter. We investigated whether this shift in isotope composition relates to the isotope composition of the microbial biomass, an important source for soil organic matter. We developed a new approach to determine the natural abundance C and N isotope composition of the microbial biomass across a broad range of soil types, vegetation, and climates. We found consistently that the soil microbial biomass was ¹⁵N-enriched relative to the total (3.2 ‰) and extractable N pools (3.7 ‰), and ¹³C-enriched relative to the extractable C pool (2.5 ‰). The microbial biomass was also ¹³C-enriched relative to total C for soils that exhibited a C3-plant signature (1.6 ‰), but ¹³C-depleted for soils with a C4 signature (−1.1 ‰). The latter was probably associated with an increase of annual C3 forbs in C4 grasslands after an extreme drought. These findings are in agreement with the proposed contribution of microbial products to the stabilized soil organic matter and may help explain the shift in isotope composition during soil organic matter formation.     

土壤微生物体氮的季节性变化及其与土壤水分和温度的关系

以杨陵土垫旱耕人为土(中等肥力红油土)为供试土壤进行田间试验和室内培养试验,研究土壤微生物体氮的动态变化及其土壤含水量和温度的关系。结果表明,田间土壤微生物体氮的变化有明显的季节性;夏季最高,冬季最低,其它时期居中;且与土壤温度有显著或极显著的正相关性,相关系数在0.855以上;试验期间土壤水分含量在10%以上,基本能满足微生物活动所需,因而微生物体氮的变化与水分关系并不密切。应用培养试验结果进一步证明了田间试验结果,即在4～36℃范围内,微生物体氮与温度呈线性相关,而在土壤含水量为6.75%～23.23%范围内,与水分呈指数相关关系,当土壤水分小于10.87%时,水分对微生物体氮有突出结果,当超过10.87%后,几乎没有影响。频繁的干湿交替会使微生物体氮显著减少,但冻融交替却无明显影响。     

不同土壤类型和农业用地方式对土壤微生物量碳的影响

通过野外调查与室内分析,研究了山东桓台县3种土壤类型(潮土、褐土和砂姜黑土)与农业用地方式(林地、菜地和粮田)对土壤表层(0—10.cm)微生物量碳的影响。结果表明,不同农业用地方式对微生物量碳的影响较大,3种利用方式的微生物量碳含量差异显著,依次为:粮田>菜地>林地;土壤类型不同,土壤微生物量碳含量也不相同。任何一种土壤,菜地的N、P、K含量都高于粮田和林地;有机质含量粮田>菜地>林地;pH值林地>粮田>菜地。全N、有机质与土壤微生物量碳呈极显著正相关,有效P与微生物量碳呈弱负相关,速效K、pH值和微生物量碳不相关。不同用地方式下土壤养分与微生物量碳的相关程度不同。秸秆还田和施用有机肥有利于提高土壤中微生物量碳水平,施用化肥在一定程度上能够增加微生物量碳。     

Effect of plant roots on carbon metabolism of soil microbial biomass

The utilization of plant- and soil-C by the microbial biomass in the rhizosphere of maize plants was investigated as a function of root proximity. The plants were cultivated in pots with divided root chambers and their shoots supplied with ¹⁴CO₂ for 23 days. Subsequently the individual soil zones were analyzed for organic C, ¹⁴C, biomass C and biomass ¹⁴C. Plant roots induced a 197% increase in microbial biomass and a 5.4% decrease in soil organic C compared with an 1.2% decrease in the unplanted control soil. The contributions of plant- and soil-C to this increased microbial growth amounted to 68% and 32% respectively. Biomass-¹⁴C corresponded to 1.6% of the total photosynthetically fixed ¹⁴C, to about 15% of the organic ¹⁴C-input into the rhizosphere and to 58% of the plant carbon remaining in soil after the removal of roots. 20% of this biomass-¹⁴C was found outside the immediate root zone. These results demonstrate that growing roots are a significant C-source for the microbial biomass and render an additional fraction of soil-C available to microbial utilization. The efficiency of C-utilization by the rhizosphere biomass is lower than values obtained with liquid cultures in laboratory experiments. The supply of plant-C to the microbial biomass outside the immediate root vicinity indicates that the overall volume of the maize rhizosphere is greater than what has been supposed so far.     

Microwave irradiation of soil for routine measurement of microbial biomass carbon

 Microwave irradiation was evaluated as a non-toxic alternate to chloroform fumigation for routine measurement of soil microbial biomass C. Microwave energy was applied to moist soil to disrupt microbial cells. The flush of C released was then measured after extraction or incubation. Microwave irradiation at 800 J g^–1 soil was optimal because this level resulted in an almost instantaneous rise in soil temperature (≥80  °C), an abrupt reduction in microbial activity, maximal release of biomass C, and minimal solubilization of humic substances. Both incubation-CO₂ titration and extraction-colorimetry methods were used on separate 20-g subsamples to compare the labile C in the microwave-treated and untreated soil samples. The incubation-titration method was also used to measure C in chloroform-fumigated soil samples. Averaged across soils, the chloroform fumigation yielded 123.3±5.1 mg CO₂-C kg^–1. Microwave irradiation yielded 93.6±3.9 mg CO₂-C kg^–1 soil determined by incubation and 52.4±2.4 mg C kg^–1 soil determined by extraction, accounting for 76% and 42% of the net flush of C measured by the chloroform fumigation. Microwave-stimulated net flushes of C were correlated closely (r ²=0.974 for incubation or 0.908 for extraction) with microbial biomass C measured by the chloroform fumigation. Little correlation was found with the total soil organic C (r ²=0.241 for incubation or for 0.166 extraction). Mean efficiency factors for incubation (K _MI) or extraction (K _ME) were used to calculate microbial biomass C from net flushes of C between microwaved and unmicrowaved soils. Values of K _MI and K _ME were not affected by soil pH, bulk density or clay contents. Extraction of microwaved soil by 0.5M K₂SO₄ proved to be a simple, fast, precise, reliable, and safe method to measure soil microbial biomass C. Received: 12 September 1997     

Phosphorus in the soil microbial biomass

Phosphorus in the soil microbial biomass (biomass P) and soil biomass carbon (biomass C) were linearly related in 15 soils (8 grassland, 6 arable, 1 deciduous woodland), with a mean P concentration of 3.3% in the soil biomass. The regression accounted for 82% of the variance in the data. The relationship was less close than that previously measured between soil biomass C and soil ATP content and indicates that biomass P measurements can only provide a rough estimate of biomass C content. Neither P concentration in the soil biomass, nor the amount of biomass P in soil, were correlated with soil NaHCO₃-extractable inorganic, organic or total P.The calculated mean annual flux of P through the biomass (in a soil depth of 10 cm) in 8 grassland soils was large, 23 kg P ha^?1 yr^?1, and more than three times the mean annual P flux through 6 arable soils (7 kg P ha^?1 yr^?1), suggesting that biomass P could make a significant contribution to plant P nutrition in grassland.About 3% of the total soil organic P in the arable soils was in microbial biomass and from 5 to 24% in the grassland soils. The decline in biomass P when an old grassland soil was put into an arable rotation for about 20 yr was sufficient to account for about 50% of the decline in total soil organic P during this period. When an old arable soil reverted to woodland, soil organic P doubled in 100 yr; biomass P increased 11-fold during the same period.     

Adenosine triphosphate and microbial biomass in soil

Two methods for measuring adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) in soil were compared, one based on extraction with NaHCO₃-CHCl₃ and thel other on extraction by a trichloracetic acid-phosphate-paraquat reagent. Recoveries of added ATP were greater with the NaHCO₃-CHCl₃ reagent but the extraction of “native” soil ATP by NaHCO₃-CHCl₃ was only about a third of that by TCA-phosphate-paraquat.Microbial biomass C and ATP were measured in 8 contrasting English soils, using the fumigation method to measure biomass C and the TCA-phosphate-paraquat method to measure ATP. Except in one acid woodland soil, the ratio (ATP content of the soil)/(biomass C content of the soil) was relatively constant, with a mean of 7.3 mg ATP g^?1 biomass C for the different soils. This value is very similar to that obtained earlier in a range of 11 grassland and arable soils from Australia. Taking the English and Australian grassland and arable soils together, there is a close (r = 0.975) linear relationship between ATP and microbial biomass C that holds over a wide range of soils and climates. From this relationship, the soil biomass contains 7.25 mg ATP g^?1 biomass C, equivalent to an ATP-to-C ratio of 138, or to 6.04 μmoles ATP g^?1 dry biomass.The acid woodland soil (pH 3.9) contained much less biomass C, as measured by the fumigation method, than would have been expected from this relationship. This, and other evidence, suggests that the fumigation method for measuring microbial biomass C breaks down in strongly acid soils.The ATP content of the biomass did not depend on the P status of the soil, as indicated by NaHCO₃-extractable P.     

Impact of black carbon addition to soil on the determination of soil microbial biomass by fumigation extraction

The efficiency of the fumigation extraction method on the determination of soil microbial biomass carbon and ninhydrin-N was tested in three different soils (UK grassland, UK arable, Chinese arable) amended with black carbon (biochar or activated charcoal). Addition of activated charcoal to soil resulted in a significant decrease in K₂SO₄ extractable carbon and ninhydrin-N in all three soils, whereas the addition of biochar generally did not. A lower concentration of the extraction reagent (0.05 M vs. 0.5 M K₂SO₄) resulted in a significantly lower extraction efficiency in the grassland soil. The extraction efficiency of organic carbon was more affected by black carbon than that of ninhydrin-N, which resulted in a decreased biomass C/ninhydrin-N ratio. The impact of black carbon on the extraction efficiency of soil microbial biomass depended on the type of black carbon, on the concentration of the extraction medium and on soil type.