Estimation of soil microbial biomass: An analysis of the respiratory response of soils

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Abstract

The respiratory response method to determine microbial biomass during soil incubation was investigated. A maximum respiratory response at early stages of incubation can be determined without addition of extra substrates. The amount of substrate required to produce a maximum respiratory response after 2–3 days of incubation was found to be similar to that required after prolonged incubation. Soils with similar levels of soluble-carbon have similar substrate-saturation values. As the nutritional status of the soil would decline during incubation, the use of a more complete substrate than glucose is proposed to keep the soil nutrient composition consistent during respiratory response analysis. With the use of 14C it is possible to estimate the active fraction of the total biomass. The modifications and suggestions described herein for the respiratory response method, for biomass estimation, can enhance and be readily applied to long-term soil incubation studies.

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Present address: Department of Plant and Soil Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, U.S.A.

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