Abstract
The fate and turnover of microbial carbon (C) in an arable soil following crop residue addition likely depends on the quality of both native soil organic matter (SOM) and residues. We labeled the microbial biomass with 13C-glucose and followed the microbial 13C turnover into different SOM pools under the influence of three plant amendments (mature wheat, immature wheat, and vetch) in a laboratory incubation experiment using a soil with two different contents of organic C (0.9 and 1.3 %) owing to different soil management. At the end of incubation, more labeled glucose C was assimilated into microbial biomass in amended samples compared to an unamended control. The addition of plant residues also caused a positive priming effect, enhancing mineralization of soil organic C, which led to overall less glucose-derived C being incorporated into soil C pools. This was more pronounced in the soil with lower soil organic C content. Recovery of microbial C as recalcitrant C ranged between 6.0 and 7.1 %, with no significant effect of initial SOM content and addition of plant materials. Although the short-term fate of C present in microbial biomass was clearly affected by residue additions and initial native SOM, the extent to which it was stabilized as recalcitrant C during this time was not affected and must therefore be controlled by other factors than soil amendments and land management.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amato M, Ladd JN (1991) Decomposition of 14C-labelled glucose and legume material in soils: properties influencing the accumulation of organic residue and microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 24:455–464
Anderson JPE, Domsch KH (1978) A physiologocal method for the quantitative measurement of microbial biomass in soils. Soil Biol Biochem 10:215–221
Aoyama M, Angers DA, N’Dayegamiye A, Bissonnette N (2000) Metabolism of 13C-labeled glucose in aggregates from soils manure application. Soil Biol Biochem 31:295–300
Balser TC, Wixon DL (2009) Investigating biological control over soil carbon temperature sensitivity. Glob Chang Biol 15:2935–2949
Blagodatskaya EV, Kuzyakov Y (2008) Mechanisms of real and apparent priming effects and their dependence on soil microbial biomass and community structure: critical review. Biol Fertil Soils 45:115–131
Brendel O, Iannetta PPM, Stewart D (2000) A rapid and simple method to isolate pure alpha-cellulose. Phytochem Anal 11:7–10
Cayuela ML, Sinicco T, Mondini C (2009) Mineralization dynamics and biochemical properties during initial decomposition of plant and animal residues in soil. Appl Soil Ecol 41:118–127
Comeau LP, Lemke RL, Knight JD, Bedard-Haughn A (2013) Carbon input from 13C-labeled crops in four soil organic matter fractions. Biol Fertil Soils 49:1179–1188
Crossman ZM, Abraham F, Evershed RP (2004) Stable isotope pulse-chasing and compound specific stable carbon isotope analysis of phospholipid fatty acids to assess methane oxidizing bacterial populations in landfill cover soils. Environ Sci Technol 38:1359–1367
De Nobili M, Contin M, Mondini C, Brookes PC (2001) Soil microbial biomass is triggered into activity by trace amounts of substrate. Soil Biol Biochem 33:1163–1170
Dungait JAJ, Kemmit SJ, Michallon L, Guo S, Wen Q, Brookes PC, Evershed RP (2011) Variable responses of the soil microbial biomass to trace concentrations of 13C-labelled glucose, using 13C-PLFA analysis. Eur J Soil Sci 62:117–126
Evershed RP, Crossman ZM, Bull ID, Mottram H, Dungait JAJ, Maxfield PJ, Brennand EL (2006) 13C-labelling of lipids to investigate microbial communities in the environment. Curr Opin Biotechnol 17:72–82
Fernández JM, Plaza C, Hernandez D, Polo A (2007) Carbon mineralization in an arid soil amended with thermally dried and composted sewage sludge. Geoderma 137:497–503
Fontaine S, Barot S (2005) Size and functional diversity of microbe populations control plant persistence and long-term soil carbon accumulation. Ecol Lett 8:1075–1087
Fontaine S, Bardoux G, Abbadie L, Mariotti A (2004) Carbon input to soil may decrease soil organic carbon content. Ecol Lett 7:314–320
Guenet B, Neill C, Bardoux G, Abbadie L (2010) Is there a linear relationship between priming effect intensity and the amount of organic matter input? Appl Soil Ecol 46:436–442
Hatfield RD, Jung HJG, Ralph J, Buxton DR, Weimer PJ (1994) A comparison of the insoluble residues produced by the Klason lignin and acid detergent lignin procedures. J Sci Food Agric 65:51–58
Horwath WR, Paul EA (1994) Microbial biomass. Chapter 36. In: Weaver RW (ed) Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Microbiological and biochemical properties. Soil Science Society of America. Inc, Madison, pp 760–761
Hoyle FC, Murphy DV, Brookes PC (2008) Microbial response to the addition of glucose in low-fertility soils. Biol Fertil Soils 44:571–579
Jenkinson DS (1978) The soil biomass. CSIRO Report
Kögel-Knabner I, Guggenberger G, Kleber M, Kandeler E, Kalbitz K, Scheu S, Eusterhues K, Leinweber P (2008) Organo-mineral associations in temperate soils: integrating biology, mineralogy and organic matter chemistry. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 171:61–82
Mambelli S, Bird JA, Gleixer G, Dawson TE, Tom MS (2011) Relative contribution of foliar and fine root pine litter to the molecular composition of soil organic matter after in situ degradation. Org Geochem 42(9):1099–1108
Rasmussen C, Southard RJ, Horwath WR (2008) Litter type and soil minerals control temperate forest soil carbon response to climate change. Glob Chang Biol 14:2064–2080
Rovira P, Vallejo VR (2007) Labile, recalcitrant, and inert organic matter in Mediterranean forest soils. Soil Biol Biochem 39:202–215
Soil Survey Staff (2014) Keys to soil taxonomy, 12th edn. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Washington DC
Toosi E, Doane TA, Horwath WR (2012) Abiotic solubilization of soil organic matter, a less-seen aspect of dissolved organic matter production. Soil Biol Biochem 50:12–21
Turrión MB, Lafuente D, Mulas R, Ruipérez C, Pando V (2012) Effects on soil organic matter mineralization and microbiological properties of applying compost to burned and unburned soils. J Environ Manag 95:245–259
Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707
Acknowledgments
Dr. Moreno-Cornejo thanks the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena for her FPU fellowship and providing a visiting fellowship during the course of this study and the J. G. Boswell Endowed Chair in Soil Science for funding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Moreno-Cornejo, J., Zornoza, R., Doane, T.A. et al. Influence of cropping system management and crop residue addition on soil carbon turnover through the microbial biomass. Biol Fertil Soils 51, 839–845 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-015-1030-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-015-1030-3