转Bt水稻对土壤可溶性有机碳氮及微生物学性质的影响

研究了3种转Bt水稻［克螟稻（KMD）、华恢1号（HH1）和Bt汕优63（BtSY63）］及对应亲本在2年大田条件下对土壤可溶性有机碳（DOC）和可溶性有机氮（DON）及微生物学性质的影响.结果表明：测定指标均随采样时间发生显著变化.与对应亲本相比,转Bt水稻对土壤DOC、DON和微生物生物量氮（MBN）的影响不显著,而对土壤微生物生物量碳（MBC）、基础呼吸（BR）和微生物代谢熵（qCO₂）的影响在大田种植第1年某些时段达到显著水平（P<0.05）,但这种影响没有持续到第2年;3种亲本水稻土壤DOC、DON及微生物学性质差异均不显著,但相应转Bt水稻土壤MBC、BR、qCO₂差异显著,BtSY63土壤MBC和BR显著高于KMD及HH1,而qCO₂显著低于KMD及HH1.转Bt水稻2年的大田种植对土壤DOC和DON及微生物学性质的影响较小,但3种转Bt水稻之间微生物学性质的差异比亲本之间的差异大,表明长期监测可能有助于发现转Bt水稻对土壤生态系统结构和功能的影响.     

凋落物输入对三江平原弃耕农田土壤基础呼吸和活性碳组分的影响

土壤有机碳的积累主要由土壤有机质的输入与输出间的净平衡决定的,植被的恢复和凋落物质的大量输入是土壤恢复的先决条件,凋落物的输入在土壤恢复过程中起着至关重要的作用.通过对不同类型凋落物输入到三江平原弃耕农田后土壤的基础呼吸、溶解有机碳(DOC)和土壤微生物量碳(MBC)的研究表明:相同种类凋落物输入后,输入到土壤总有机碳(TOC)背景值低的凋落物被微生物降解的速率大于TOC背景值高的土壤,TOC较低的土壤能够加快微生物对输入凋落物的分解,不利于有机质的积累;不同类型凋落物的输入使土壤基础呼吸、DOC和MBC等活性组分的生成和降解产生差异,改变了凋落物的降解速率,在三江平原研究的4种主要植被类型中,人工林凋落物最容易降解,小叶章、大豆的降解能力次之,玉米是最难降解的凋落物.     

油松 辽东栎混交林地表凋落物与氮添加对土壤微生物生物量碳、氮及其活性的影响

2010年9月-2011年10月,在山西省灵空山油松和辽东栎混交林样地采取随机区组设计,研究了地表凋落物和氮添加处理对土壤微生物生物量碳、氮和微生物活性的影响.凋落物处理包括: 剔除凋落物(N)、叶凋落物加倍(L)、枝果凋落物加倍(B)和混合凋落物加倍(LB);氮添加量分别为0(N₀)、5 g·m^-2·a^-1(N₁)和10 g·m^-2·a^-1(N₂).结果表明: 剔除地表凋落物且无氮添加时,油松和辽东栎混交林地的土壤有机碳(SOC)含量显著降低,其他试验处理间对SOC的影响无显著差异.土壤微生物生物量碳(MBC)、氮(MBN)及其活性(MR)的变化范围依次为: 262.42～873.16 mg·kg^-1、73.55～173.85 mg·kg^-1和2.38～3.68mg·kg^-1·d^-1.MBC、MBN和MR两两间呈极显著正相关.氮添加对MBC、MBN和MR均无显著影响;凋落物处理对MR影响显著,表现为混合凋落物加倍处理的MR最高,叶凋落物加倍处理次之,剔除凋落物处理最低,而对MBC和MBN无显著影响.凋落物和氮添加处理在整个试验过程中未表现出交互作用.短期的氮添加处理和森林地表凋落物变化对土壤微生物过程的影响有限.     

施肥对雷竹林土壤活性有机碳的影响

采用重施肥料试验研究了不同重施肥习惯对雷竹林土壤碳库产生的影响,结果表明,各有机肥、化肥混合处理土壤总有机碳(TOC)、水溶性碳(WSOC)、微生物量碳(MBC)、矿化态碳(MC)及WSOC/TOC、MBC/TOC和MC/TOC均显著或极显著高于单施化肥各处理.3个有机肥、化肥混施处理中,随着有机肥用量减少,TOC、WSOC、MBC和MBC/TOC显著下降,有机肥用量减少一半,上述各类碳分别下降10.75%、12.02%、30.94%和22.61%.单施化肥处理中,氮素用量超过1009.5 kg·hm^-2·年^-1会使土壤WSOC、MBC、MBC/TOC明显降低.雷竹土壤TOC、WSOC、MBC和MC两两之间相关性均达显著或极显著水平,进一步通过6个处理变异系数分析发现,土壤MBC、MBC/TOC是衡量雷竹土壤碳库质量的最佳指标.     

异龄复层混交对马尾松人工林土壤团聚体碳组分和转化的影响

复层混交种植的近自然化经营是我国亚热带地区最常用的营林模式之一,但目前其对土壤有机碳（SOC）的积累及其稳定性的影响仍不明确。为探讨该营林模式对土壤碳组分及其转化的影响,该文选取南亚热带复层混交经营的马尾松近自然林（CP）作为研究对象,并以相邻未改造的马尾松纯林（PP）作为对照（CK）,重点探究异龄复层混交后原土和不同粒径土壤团聚体的稳定性、有机碳组分、微生物生物量和酶活性等的变化规律及其之间的关系。结果表明：（1）复层混交后表征土壤团聚体稳定性的平均重量直径（MWD）显著提高;与PP相比,CP原土和不同粒径土壤团聚体的SOC、高度不稳定有机碳（LOC）、中度不稳定有机碳（IOC）、惰性有机碳（ROC）、土壤碳氮比（C/N）、微生物生物量碳和氮（MBC和MBN）、微生物呼吸（MR）、β-葡萄糖苷酶（BG）、纤维二糖水解酶（CB）、N-乙酰-葡萄糖苷酶（NAG）和酚氧化酶（PO）均显著提高,而其MBC/MBN和微生物代谢熵（qCO₂）却显著降低。（2）几乎所有原土和土壤团聚体的SOC、总活性有机碳（LOC+IOC）、ROC和ROC数（RCI）均与MWD呈显著或极显著...     

杉木凋落物对土壤有机碳分解及微生物生物量碳的影响

利用¹³C稳定同位素示踪技术,研究了杉木凋落物对杉木人工林表层(0～5 cm)和深层(40～45 cm)土壤有机碳分解、微生物生物量碳和可溶性碳动态的影响.结果表明: 杉木人工林中深层土壤有机碳分解速率显著低于表层土壤,但其激发效应却显著高于表层土壤.杉木凋落物添加使土壤总微生物生物量碳和源于原有土壤的微生物生物量碳均显著增加,但对土壤可溶性碳没有显著影响.深层土壤被翻到林地表层,可能加速杉木人工林土壤中碳的损失.     

亚热带天然阔叶林转换为杉木人工林对土壤呼吸的影响

采用静态箱-气相色谱法对浙江省临安市玲珑山风景区天然阔叶林和由天然阔叶林改造的杉木人工林的土壤呼吸进行1年的定位监测.结果表明：天然阔叶林和杉木人工林土壤CO₂排放速率均呈现一致的季节性变化规律即夏秋季高、冬春季低;天然阔叶林和杉木人工林土壤CO₂排放速率分别为20.0～111.3和4.1～118.6 mg C·m^-2·h^-1;天然阔叶林土壤CO₂年累积排放通量（16.46 t CO₂·hm^-2·a^-1）显著高于杉木人工林（11.99 t CO₂·hm^-2·a^-1）.天然阔叶林和杉木人工林土壤CO₂排放速率与土壤含水量均没有显著相关性,而与5 cm处土壤温度呈显著指数相关,Q₁₀值分别为1.44和2.97;天然阔叶林土壤CO₂排放速率与土壤水溶性碳（WSOC）含量无显著相关性,杉木人工林土壤CO₂排放速率与WSOC含量呈显著相关.天然阔叶林转换为杉木人工林显著降低了土壤CO₂排放,提高了土壤呼吸对环境因子的敏感性.
     

火烧迹地不同恢复方式土壤有机碳分布特征

以大兴安岭1987年重度火烧后恢复的兴安落叶松人工林、樟子松人工林、人促杨桦林和天然次生杨桦林为对象,研究不同恢复方式林分土壤有机碳、土壤可溶性有机碳和土壤微生物生物量碳的分布特征.结果表明: 4种恢复方式林分的土壤有机碳、土壤可溶性有机碳和土壤微生物生物量碳分别为9.63～79.72 g·kg^-1、33.21～186.30 mg·kg^-1和200.85～1755.63 mg·kg^-1,且随土层深度增加而降低.不同恢复方式间土壤有机碳、土壤可溶性有机碳和土壤微生物生物量碳差异显著,以人促杨桦林最高,兴安落叶松人工林和天然次生杨桦林次之,樟子松人工林最低.各恢复方式林分的土壤微生物熵为1.1%～2.3%,以人促杨桦林最高,樟子松人工林最低,不同林分土壤微生物熵的垂直分布特征不同.土壤微生物生物量碳与土壤有机碳、土壤可溶性有机碳含量均呈显著正相关.人促杨桦林土壤有机碳活性高于其他林分,火烧迹地采用人工促进天然恢复的方式较人工恢复和天然恢复的土壤碳循环能力更强.     

罗浮栲林土壤微生物碳利用效率对短期氮添加的响应

作为调节土壤碳矿化过程的重要参数,微生物碳利用效率(CUE)对理解陆地生态系统中的碳循环至关重要。本研究在戴云山罗浮栲林设置对照(0 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)、低氮(40 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1)和高氮(80 kg N·hm^-2·a^-1) 3个氮添加水平以模拟氮沉降,测定了表层(0～10 cm)土壤基本理化性质、有机碳组分、微生物生物量和酶活性;并利用¹⁸O标记水方法测定土壤微生物CUE,以更好地理解氮沉降加剧对微生物CUE的影响及其影响因素。结果表明: 短期氮添加显著降低了土壤微生物的呼吸速率、碳和氮获取酶活性,但显著增加了土壤微生物CUE。β-N-乙酰氨基酸葡糖苷酶(NAG)/微生物生物量碳(MBC)、微生物呼吸速率、β-葡萄糖苷酶(BG)/MBC、纤维素水解酶(CBH)/MBC和土壤有机碳含量是影响CUE的主要因素,且CUE与NAG/MBC、微生物呼吸速率、BG/MBC和CBH/MBC呈显著负相关,与土壤有机碳呈显著正相关。综上,短期氮添加导致土壤微生物获取碳和氮的成本降低,减少微生物呼吸,从而提高了土壤微生物CUE,这将有助于提高罗浮栲林土壤碳固存潜力。     

有机肥氮投入比例对双季稻田根际土壤微生物生物量碳、氮和微生物熵的影响

为探明不同有机肥氮素占总氮投入的百分比对双季稻区早、晚稻各生育时期稻田根际土壤微生物的影响,本研究以大田定位试验为平台,应用氯仿熏蒸-K₂SO₄提取法和化学分析法系统分析了施用化肥N(M₁)、30%有机肥N(M₂)、50%有机肥N(M₃)、100%有机肥N(M₄)和无N对照(M₀)5个不同施肥处理双季稻田根际土壤微生物生物量碳(MBC)、微生物生物量氮(MBN)和微生物熵的差异.结果表明: 在早稻和晚稻各主要生育时期,施肥措施均能提高稻田根际土壤MBC、MBN和微生物熵,各施肥处理根际土壤MBC、MBN和微生物熵均随水稻生育期推进呈先增加后降低的变化趋势,均于齐穗期达到最大值,成熟期为最低值;其中,各处理双季稻田根际土壤MBC、MBN、MBC/MBN值和微生物熵一般均表现为M₄＞M₃＞M₂＞M₁＞M₀,M₂、M₃和M₄处理间均无显著差异,但均显著高于M₀处理.可见,单独施用化肥措施对提高根际土壤微生物生物量碳、氮和微生物熵效果有限,施用有机肥或有机无机肥配施提高根际土壤微生物生物量碳、氮和微生物熵的效果较好.     

The role of environmental, root, and microbial biomass characteristics in soil respiration in temperate secondary forests of Northeast China

For secondary forests, the major forest resources in China (accounting for more than 50% of the national total), soil respiration (R _S) and the relationship between R _S and various biotic/abiotic factors are poorly understood. The objectives of the present study were to examine seasonal variations in soil respiration during the growing season, and to explore the factors affecting the variation in soil respiration rates for three forest types (Mongolian oak, Manchurian walnut and mixed forests) of temperate secondary forest in Northeast China. The results showed that (1) the maximum total R _S rate occurred in July, following a bell-shaped curve with season, (2) for all forest types, the total R _S was significantly influenced by soil temperature (P < 0.01), and did not significantly correlate with soil moisture, (3) compared with fine root biomass, coarse root biomass was more closely related with the root respiration in mixed forest (R ² = 0.711, P = 0.017) and in Manchurian walnut forest (R ² = 0.768, P = 0.010), and (4) microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen were significantly correlated with heterotrophic R _S in Mongolian oak forest (R ² = 0.664, P = 0.026; R ² = 0.784, P = 0.008, respectively) and in mixed forest (R ² = 0.918, P = 0.001; R ² = 0.967, P = 0.001, respectively). We can conclude that in temperate secondary forests: (1) the R _S rate and the relationships between R _S and abiotic/biotic factors change greatly with forest types, and (2) R _S is strongly influenced by soil temperature, MBC, microbial biomass nitrogen and coarse root biomass in temperate secondary forests.     

Short‐term soil carbon sink potential of oil palm plantations

Oil palm plantations cover ≈14.6 million ha worldwide and the total area under cultivation is expected to increase during the 21st century . Indonesia and Malaysia together account for 87% of global palm oil production and the combined harvested area in these countries has expanded by 6.5 million ha since 1990. Despite this, soil C cycling in oil palm systems is not well quantified but such information is needed for C budget inventories. We quantified soil C storage (root biomass, soil organic matter (SOM) and microbial biomass) and losses [potential soil respiration (R_s) and soil surface CO₂ flux (F_s)] in mineral soils from an oil palm plantation chronosequence (11–34 years since planting) in Selangor, Malaysia. There were no significant effects of plantation age on SOM, microbial biomass, R_s or F_s, implying soil C was in dynamic equilibrium over the chronosequence. However, there was a significant increase in root biomass with plantation age, indicating a short‐term C sink. Across the chronosequence, R_s was driven by soil moisture, soil particle size, root biomass and soil microbial biomass N but not microbial biomass C. This suggests that the nutrient status of the microbial community may be of equal or greater importance for soil CO₂ losses than substrate availability and also raises particular concerns regarding the addition of nitrogenous fertilizer, i.e. increased yields will be associated with increased soil CO₂ emissions. To fully assess the impact of oil palm plantations on soil C storage, initial soil C losses following land conversion (e.g. from native forest or other previous plantations) must be accounted for. If initial soil C losses are large, our data show that there is no accumulation of stable C in the soil as the plantation matures and hence the conversion to oil palm would probably represent a net loss of soil C.     

Contribution of Root Respiration to Total Soil Respiration in a Leymus chinensis （Trin.） Tzvel, Grassland of Northeast China

The loss of carbon through root respiration Is an Important component of grassland carbon budgets. However, few data are available concerning the contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration in grasslands in China. We Investigated seasonal variations of soil respiration rate, root blomaaa, microbial blomaaa C and organic C content of the soil In a semi-arid Leymus chinensis （Trin.） Tzvel. grassland of northeast China during the 2002 growing season （from May to September）. The linear regression relationship between soil respiration rate and root blomaaa was used to determine the contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration. Soil respiration rate ranged from 2.5 to 11.9 g C/m^2 per d with the maximum in late June and minimum In September. The microbial blomaaa C and organic C content of the soil ranged from 0.3 to 1.5 g C/m^2 and from 29 to 34 g C/kg respectively. Root blomaaa had two peaks, In early June （1.80 kg/m^2） and mid-August （1.73 kg/m^2）. Root respiration rate peaked In mid-August （6.26 g C/m^2 per d）, whereas microbial respiration rate peaked In late June （7.43 g C/m^2 per d）. We estimated that the contribution of root respiration to total soil respiration during the growing season ranged from 38% to 76%.     

凋落物化学组成对土壤微生物学性状及土壤酶活性的影响

通过模拟试验的方法研究了单一施加杉木(Cunn inghan ia lancceola ta(L am b)Hook.)叶凋落物,杉木(C.lancceola ta)和桤木(A lnus crem astogyne Burk ill)混合凋落物,杉木(C.lancceola ta)和枫香(L iqu id am ba f orm osana H ance)混合凋落物,杉木(C.lancceola ta)、桤木(A.crem astogyne)、枫香(L.f orm osana)混合凋落物对土壤化学性状和土壤微生物量碳、代谢熵(qCO2)、土壤酶活性的影响。研究结果表明,土壤微生物学性状比土壤化学性状对不同凋落物处理的效应反应更敏感;与单一杉木叶凋落物比较,混合凋落物处理的土壤微生物量碳明显增加,土壤脲酶、蔗糖酶、脱氢酶活性升高;土壤代谢熵(qCO2)和土壤多酚氧化酶活性有下降趋势;另外,研究结果也表明,不同树种的叶凋落物混合对土壤质量的影响存在差异,有桤木叶的混合凋落物对土壤质量的改善效果似乎更明显。     

Six years of in situ CO2 enrichment evoke changes in soil structure and soil biota of nutrient-poor grassland

Nutrient‐poor grassland on a silty clay loam overlying calcareous debris was exposed to elevated CO₂ for six growing seasons. The CO₂ exchange and productivity were persistently increased throughout the experiment, suggesting increases in soil C inputs. At the same time, elevated CO₂ lead to increased soil moisture due to reduced evapotransporation. Measurements related to soil microflora did not indicate increased soil C fluxes under elevated CO₂. Microbial biomass, soil basal respiration, and the metabolic quotient for CO₂ (qCO₂) were not altered significantly. PLFA analysis indicated no significant shift in the ratio of fungi to bacteria. 0.5 m KCl extractable organic C and N, indicators of changed DOC and DON concentrations, also remained unaltered. Microbial grazer populations (protozoa, bacterivorous and fungivorous nematodes, acari and collembola) and root feeding nematodes were not affected by elevated CO₂. However, total nematode numbers averaged slightly lower under elevated CO₂ (?16%, ns) and nematode mass was significantly reduced (?43%, P = 0.06). This reduction reflected a reduction in large‐diameter nematodes classified as omnivorous and predacious. Elevated CO₂ resulted in a shift towards smaller aggregate sizes at both micro‐ and macro‐aggregate scales; this was caused by higher soil moisture under elevated CO₂. Reduced aggregate sizes result in reduced pore neck diameters. Locomotion of large‐diameter nematodes depends on the presence of large enough pores; the reduction in aggregate sizes under elevated CO₂ may therefore account for the decrease in large nematodes. These animals are relatively high up the soil food web; this decline could therefore trigger top‐down effects on the soil food web. The CO₂ enrichment also affected the nitrogen cycle. The N stocks in living plants and surface litter increased at elevated CO₂, but N in soil organic matter and microbes remained unaltered. Nitrogen mineralization increased markedly, but microbial N did not differ between CO₂ treatments, indicating that net N immobilization rates were unaltered. In summary, this study did not provide evidence that soils and soil microbial communities are affected by increased soil C inputs under elevated CO₂. On the contrary, available data (¹³C tracer data, minirhizotron observations, root ingrowth cores) suggests that soil C inputs did not increase substantially. However, we provide first evidence that elevated CO₂ can reduce soil aggregation at the scale from µ m to mm scale, and that this can affect soil microfaunal populations.     

Effects of Single Chinese Fir and Mixed Leaf Litters on Soil Chemical, Microbial Properties and Soil Enzyme Activities

The quality of leaf litter can control decomposition processes and affect the nutrient availability for plant uptake. In this study, we investigated the effect of single leaf litter (Chinese fir – Cunninghamia lamcealata (Lamb.) Hook) and mixed leaf litters (C. lamcealata, Liquidamba formosana Hance and Alnus cremastogyne Burk) on soil chemical properties, soil microbial properties and soil enzyme activities during 2 years decomposition. The results showed that soil microbial biomass C, the ratio of soil microbial biomass C to total soil organic C (soil microbial quotient, Cmic/Corg) and soil enzymes (urease, invertase, dehydrogenase) activities increased significantly in mixed leaf litters treatments whereas soil chemical properties remained unchanged. However, soil microbial metabolic quotient (qCO₂) values and soil polyphenol oxidase activity were higher in the single Chinese fir leaf litter treatment that had a higher C:N (carbon:nitrogen) ratio (79.53) compared with the mixed leaf litter (C:N ratios of 76.32, 56.90, 61.20, respectively). Our results demonstrated that the mixed leaf litter can improve forest soil quality, and that soil microbial properties and soil enzyme activities are more sensitive in response to litter quality change than soil chemical properties.     

Differential effects of warming and nitrogen fertilization on soil respiration and microbial dynamics in switchgrass croplands

The mechanistic understanding of warming and nitrogen (N) fertilization, alone or in combination, on microbially mediated decomposition is limited. In this study, soil samples were collected from previously harvested switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) plots that had been treated with high N fertilizer (HN: 67 kg N ha^?1) and those that had received no N fertilizer (NN) over a 3‐year period. The samples were incubated for 180 days at 15 °C and 20 °C, during which heterotrophic respiration, δ¹³C of CO₂, microbial biomass (MB), specific soil respiration rate (R_s: respiration per unit of microbial biomass), and exoenzyme activities were quantified at 10 different collections time. Employing switchgrass tissues (referred to as litter) with naturally abundant ¹³C allowed us to partition CO₂ respiration derived from soil and amended litter. Cumulative soil respiration increased significantly by 16.4% and 4.2% under warming and N fertilization, respectively. Respiration derived from soil was elevated significantly with warming, while oxidase, the agent for recalcitrant soil substrate decomposition, was not significantly affected by warming. Warming, however, significantly enhanced MB and R_s indicating a decrease in microbial growth efficiency (MGE). On the contrary, respiration derived from amended litter was elevated with N fertilization, which was consistent with the significantly elevated hydrolase. N fertilization, however, had little effect on MB and R_s, suggesting little change in microbial physiology. Temperature and N fertilization showed minimal interactive effects likely due to little differences in soil N availability between NN and HN samples, which is partly attributable to switchgrass biomass N accumulation (equivalent to ~53% of fertilizer N). Overall, the differential individual effects of warming and N fertilization may be driven by physiological adaptation and stimulated exoenzyme kinetics, respectively. The study shed insights on distinct microbial acquisition of different substrates under global temperature increase and N enrichment.     

Simulated chronic NO3− deposition reduces soil respiration in northern hardwood forests

Chronic N additions to forest ecosystems can enhance soil N availability, potentially leading to reduced C allocation to root systems. This in turn could decrease soil CO₂ efflux. We measured soil respiration during the first, fifth, sixth and eighth years of simulated atmospheric NO₃^? deposition (3 g N m^?2 yr^?1) to four sugar maple‐dominated northern hardwood forests in Michigan to assess these possibilities. During the first year, soil respiration rates were slightly, but not significantly, higher in the NO₃^?‐amended plots. In all subsequent measurement years, soil respiration rates from NO₃^?‐amended soils were significantly depressed. Soil temperature and soil matric potential were measured concurrently with soil respiration and used to develop regression relationships for predicting soil respiration rates. Estimates of growing season and annual soil CO₂ efflux made using these relationships indicate that these C fluxes were depressed by 15% in the eighth year of chronic NO₃^? additions. The decrease in soil respiration was not due to reduced C allocation to roots, as root respiration rates, root biomass, and root turnover were not significantly affected by N additions. Aboveground litter also was unchanged by the 8 years of treatment. Of the remaining potential causes for the decline in soil CO₂ efflux, reduced microbial respiration appears to be the most likely possibility. Documented reductions in microbial biomass and the activities of extracellular enzymes used for litter degradation on the NO₃^?‐amended plots are consistent with this explanation.     

A comparative account of the microbiological characteristics of soils under natural forest,grassland and cropfield from Eastern India

Microbiological and physico-chemical characteristics of tropical forest, grassland and cropfield soils from India were investigated. The study revealed that the conversion of natural forest led to a reduction of soil organic C (26–36%), total N (26–35%), total P (33–44%), microfungal biomass (44–66%) and total microbial biomass C, N and P (25–60%) over a period of 30–50 years. Comparative analysis of microbial activity in terms of basal soil respiration revealed maximum activity in the forest and minimum in the cropfield soil. Analysis of microbial metabolic respiratory activity (qCO₂) indicated relatively greater respiratory loss of CO₂-C per unit microbial biomass in cropfield and grassland than in forest soil. Considering the importance of the microbial component in soil, we conclude that the conversion of the tropical forest to different land uses leads to the loss of biological stability of the soil.     

Microbial biomass and nitrogen cycling responses to fertilization and litter removal in young northern hardwood forests

The influence of site fertility on soil microbial biomass and activity is not well understood but is likely to be complex because of interactions with plant responses to nutrient availability. We examined the effects of long-term (8 yr) fertilization and litter removal on forest floor microbial biomass and N and C transformations to test the hypothesis that higher soil resource availability stimulates microbial activity. Microbial biomass and respiration decreased by 20–30 % in response to fertilization. Microbial C averaged 3.8 mg C/g soil in fertilized, 5.8 mg C/g in control, and 5.5 mg C/g in litter removal plots. Microbial respiration was 200 µg CO₂-C g^–1 d^–1 in fertilized plots, compared to 270 µg CO₂-C g^–1 d^–1 in controls. Gross N mineralization and N immobilization did not differ among treatments, despite higher litter nutrient concentrations in fertilized plots and the removal of substantial quantities of C and N in litter removal plots. Net N mineralization was significantly reduced by fertilization. Gross nitrification and NO₃ ^– immobilization both were increased by fertilization. Nitrate thus became a more important part of microbial N cycling in fertilized plots even though NH₄ ⁺ availability was not stimulated by fertilization.Soil microorganisms did not mineralize more C or N in response to fertilization and higher litter quality; instead, results suggest a difference in the physiological status of microbial biomass in fertilized plots that influenced N transformations. Respiration quotients (qCO₂, respiration per unit biomass) were higher in fertilized plots (56 µg CO₂-C mg C^–1 d^–1) than control (48 µg CO₂-C mg C^–1 d ^–1) or litter removal (45 µg CO₂-C mg C^–1 d^–1), corresponding to higher microbial growth efficiency, higher proportions of gross mineralization immobilized, and lower net N mineralization in fertilized plots. While microbial biomass is an important labile nutrient pool, patterns of microbial growth and turnover were distinct from this pool and were more important to microbial function in nitrogen cycling.