Seasonal dynamics of microbial biomass C, N and P during regrowth of a disturbed subtropical humid forest in north-east India

doi:10.1016/0929-1393(96)00101-1

Applied Soil Ecology

Volume 4, Issue 1, July 1996, Pages 31-37

https://doi.org/10.1016/0929-1393(96)00101-1 Get rights and content

Abstract

Seasonal dynamics of microbial biomass C, N and P were studied in 7-, 13- and 16-year-old regrowths of a disturbed subtropical humid forest in north-east India. Microbial biomass C, N and P were highest during the winter and lowest during the rainy season at both the 0–10 and 10–20 cm sample depths. The surface soil layer (0–10 cm) had significantly higher microbial biomass C, N and P than the subsurface layer (10–20 cm). Microbial biomass C, N and P were highest in the 16-year-old regrowth and lowest in the 7-year-old regrowth, coinciding with highest and lowest clay content and nutrient status of the soil in the 16- and 7-year-old regrowths, respectively. The C/N and C/P ratios in microbial biomass showed a similar trend. Microbial biomass was negatively correlated with soil temperature and pH in all three regrowths.

References (30)

K. Alef et al.
A comparison of methods to estimate microbial biomass and N-mineralization in agricultural and grassland soils
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1988)
H. Bolton et al.
Soil microbial biomass and activity of a disturbed and undisturbed shrubsteppe ecosystem
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1993)
P.C. Brookes et al.
Phosphorus in the soil microbial biomass
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1984)
P.C. Brookes et al.
Chloroform-fumigation and release of soil nitrogen: The effect of fumigation time and temperature
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1985)
M.R. Carter
Microbial biomass and mineralizable nitrogen in Solonetzic soils: Influence of gypsum and lime amendments
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1986)
N.L. Christensen et al.
Soil mineral nitrogen transformations during succession in the Piedmont of North California
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1985)
M. Diaz-Ravina et al.
Microbial biomass and metabolic activity in four acid soils
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1988)
M.E. Fenn et al.
Microbial N and biomass, respiration and N mineralization in soil beneath two chaparral species along a fire-induced age gradient
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1993)
J. Henrot et al.
Vegetation removal in two soils of the humid tropics: Effect on microbial biomass
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1994)
D.S. Jenkinson et al.
The effect of biocidal treatments on metabolism in soil - V. A method for measuring soil biomass
Soil Biol. Biochem.
(1976)

E.A. Kaiser et al.

Evaluation of methods to estimate the soil microbial biomass and the relationship with soil texture and organic matter

Soil Biol. Biochem.

(1992)

R.C.C. Luizao et al.

Seasonal variation of soil microbial biomass - the effect of clear felling in a tropical rain forest and establishment of pasture in the Central Amazon

Soil Biol. Biochem.

(1992)

P.J. Martikainen et al.

Evaluation of the fumigation-extraction method for the determination of microbial C and N in a range of forest soils

Soil Biol. Biochem.

(1990)

D.D. Patra et al.

Seasonal changes of soil microbial biomass in an arable land and a grassland soil which have been under uniform management for many years

Soil Biol. Biochem.

(1990)

D.J. Ross et al.

Fluctuations in microbial biomass indices at different sampling times from tussock grasslands

Soil Biol. Biochem.

(1981)

Cited by (80)

Dynamics of soil bio-physicochemical properties under different disturbance regimes in sal forests in western Himalaya, India
2023, Science of the Total Environment
Disturbance is a key factor in controlling vegetation diversity, nutrient influx rate, and biochemical cycling in terrestrial forest ecosystems. Limited studies are available on changes in tree diversity, soil nutrients and enzyme activities in response to different intensities of land disturbances in the Himalayan forests. Present study investigated the impact of varying intensities of disturbances on tree diversity and their relationship with soil physical and bio-chemical properties in sal forests, Western Himalayas. Sites were categorized into four different classes of disturbances, namely, No disturbance (ND), Low disturbance (LD), Moderate disturbance (MD), and High disturbance (HD). Composite samples were collected at two depths (0–15 and 15–30 cm) in each plot to investigate soil physical and biochemical properties. Multivariate analyses were conducted to find relationship between tree vegetation and soil physical and biochemical properties. Soil organic carbon (C_org), total nitrogen (N_ttl), available phosphorous (P_avl), microbial biomass carbon (C_mic), nitrogen (N_mic), phosphorous (P_mic), and enzymes (dehydrogenase (DHA), Urease, acid and alkaline phosphatase) followed the order: MD > ND > LD > HD. Across disturbances, soil physical and biochemical characteristics significantly (p < 0.05) decreased with increasing soil depths. Across the sites, positive correlation was observed among soil microbial biomass, enzymes, C_org, clay, and moisture. Redundancy analysis (RDA) results revealed that species distribution is essential regulator in the variation of prominent soil variables, viz., nutrients (N_ttl and P_avl), C_mic, and DHA across disturbance categories and soil depths. Moreover, variance partitioning analysis (VPA) showed that changes in vegetation composition across disturbance levels explain 13.12 % of the variation in soil biochemical subset higher than soil physicochemical subset. The result illustrated that moderate disturbance increases species composition, soil nutrient properties and microbial activity. These findings would help understand microbial activity and its relationship with disturbances, suggesting site-specific measurements for soil nutrient availability and above-below ground interactions.
Microbial respiration, microbial biomass and activity are highly sensitive to forest tree species and seasonal patterns in the Eastern Mediterranean Karst Ecosystems
2021, Science of the Total Environment
Citation Excerpt :
This result is consistent with some other previous studies showing an increased microbial population when soil temperature and moisture were optimal (Barbhuiya et al., 2004; Babur, 2019). Conversely, the highest microbial biomass in a subtropical humid forest has been found to occur during the winter rather than in the rainy season (Maithani et al., 1996). Our results showed that the lowest Nmic concentrations occurred in the spring and winter seasons.
Soil microbial biomass and functions are the most affected soil components by environmental changes. Therefore, determining the factors affecting soil microorganisms is very important for forest management. This study was conducted to determine the influence of forest type and seasonal variations on microbial biomass and activities in soil. For this, a total of 360 soil samples were collected (120 from each of the Black Pine, Lebanon Cedar, and Oriental Beech) during four seasons of the year in the Eastern Mediterranean Karst Mountain of Taurus, Turkey. Soil samples were used to determine soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), microbial biomass carbon (C_mic), microbial biomass nitrogen (N_mic), and microbial respiration (MR). With these data, the metabolic quotient (MR/C_mic ratio) and microbial quotient (qCO₂ = C_mic/SOC ratio) were calculated. Soil C_mic and N_mic were significantly higher in Cedar (789.5 ± 438 μg C g⁻¹; 305.26 ± 93 μg N g⁻¹) than in the Beech (691.8 ± 246 μg C g⁻¹; 148.18 ± 43 μg N g⁻¹) and Pine forests (659.4 ± 224 μg C g⁻¹; 130.1 ± 22 μg N g⁻¹). Microbial properties were highly sensitive to forest tree species and seasonal patterns, which can be further used as potential indicators of the effects that forest management practices may have on SOC dynamics. The three forest types showed significant differences in the seasonal C_mic and N_mic patterns, with maximum values occurring in the fall and minimum in the winter season. However, averaged across forest species, SOC did not vary among different seasons. The qCO₂ was higher in Cedar forest in the winter season and lower in the Beech forest during the spring season. These findings show that Cedar forest could be more conducive to higher microbial activity and overall soil quality than the Beech and Pine forests.
Soil moisture integrates the influence of land-use and season on soil microbial community composition in the Ethiopian highlands
2019, Applied Soil Ecology
Conversion of old-growth natural forest to crop land or grazing land and then to eucalyptus plantation is prevalent under the present socio-economic conditions in Ethiopia. To investigate the soil microbial and soil biochemical properties among the different land-use types in the highlands of the Northeastern Ethiopia, we measured soil microbial biomass and the potential activities of six extracellular enzymes. The soil microbial biomass was higher in natural forest than in plantation and grazing land, which was explained by the higher soil C concentrations. The microbial C:N ratio was higher in the dry (C:N 11–19) than in the wet season (C:N 5–10), indicating more fungal biomass in the dry season. The strong positive correlation between the microbial C:N ratio and chitinase activity supports the interpretation that the microbial C:N ratio reflects the dominance between fungi and bacteria in soil. The C:N ratio was negatively correlated with soil moisture within and between seasons, indicating that soil moisture considerably influenced the microbial community. Our study demonstrated that land-use affects soil microbial properties and enzyme activity. Nonetheless, the increase in the microbial C:N ratio after land-use change is driven mainly by soil moisture (which is influenced by land use) rather than by changes in vegetation or soil properties.
Effect of vegetation type and season on microbial biomass carbon in Central Himalayan forest soils, India
2018, Catena
Citation Excerpt :
In the present study, soil microbial quotient ranged between 1.43 and 4.88. These values were lower than those reported by Luizao et al. (1992) for tropical forest soils (1.5–5.3) Barbhuiya et al. (2005) for tropical wet evergreen forest soils (4–6) and higher than those reported by Maithani et al. (1996) for subtropical humid forest soils (0.7–1.7). The soil microbial quotient in Chir-pine forest soils (2.52–4.18) and Banj-oak forest soils (2.26–4.02) were higher than those reported in Mixed oak-pine forest soils (1.44–2.24).
Soil microbial biomass is an important component of soil organic matter constituting from 2 to 5% of the soil organic carbon and play a significant role in the cycling of nutrients and overall organic matter dynamics. The present study assessed the effects of three forest types (Banj-oak forest, Chir-pine forest and Mixed oak-pine forest) on the soil physico-chemical properties and microbial biomass Carbon in Central Himalaya, India. The soil microbial biomass carbon was determined by chloroform fumigation extraction method. In the 2 year of study period, the soil microbial biomass carbon (C_mic) was significantly higher in Mixed oak-pine forest (681 ± 1.81–763 ± 1.82 μg g⁻¹) than in the Banj-oak (518 ± 1.50–576 ± 1.73 μg g⁻¹) and Chir-pine forest (418 ± 1.42–507 ± 2.05 μg g⁻¹). Though insignificant, all the forest types showed distinct seasonal variations in microbial biomass carbon with a minimum value in winter season and maximum value in rainy season. The soil microbial quotients (C_mic to C_org) were higher in Chir-pine (2.52–4.18) and Banj-oak forest (2.26–4.02) than those reported in Mixed oak-pine forest (1.44–2.24). These results indicate that Mixed oak-pine forest is better in sustaining the soil microbial biomass and soil nutrients than Banj-oak and Chir-pine forest. It recommends that nutrients rich Mixed oak-pine forest should be preferred as a forest management practice to promote microbial diversity, their activities and soil quality enhancement in Central Himalayan forests.
Natural forests maintain a greater soil microbial diversity than that in rubber plantations in Southwest China
2018, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
Citation Excerpt :
Only a few studies have found lower microbial biomass in tropical forests in the wet season (Maithani et al., 1996; Singh et al., 1989; Wang et al., 2016). High microbial biomass in wet season might be due to favorable conditions (high temperature and high moisture) for rapid mineralization in the soil (Maithani et al., 1996; Singh et al., 1989). However, greater demand of nutrients by plants during wet season may cause competition among microorganisms for nutrients.
The conversion of tropical forests to monoculture rubber plantations throughout Southeast Asia threatens to have widespread negative impacts on ecosystem services. The aim of this study was to identify the impacts of forest conversion to rubber plantations on soil microorganisms, using a space for time substitution design. Soil microbial communities from natural forests, young rubber and mature rubber plantations were investigated using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. Microbial PLFA biomass of all functional groups including actinomycete, arbuscular mycorrhiza, fungi, bacteria and protozoa was lower in rubber plantations as compared to natural forests. This was true for young rubber and mature rubber plantations tested in both dry and wet seasons. The composition of microbial communities differed between natural forests, young rubber and mature rubber plantations. Changes in microbial community composition were strongly correlated with pH, which was lower in mature rubber plantations than in natural forests and young rubber plantations. In addition, our results showed that the variation in soil microbial community composition was strongly affected by seasonality, with higher PLFA biomass recorded in the dry season than in the wet season. The low soil microbial biomass in rubber plantations has long term implications regarding the soil health of rubber plantations.
Effects of vegetation type on microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in subalpine mountain forest soils
2015, Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection
Microbial biomass plays an important role in nutrient transformation and conservation of forest and grassland ecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine the microbial biomass among three vegetation types in subalpine mountain forest soils of Taiwan.
Tatachia is a typical high-altitude subalpine temperate forest ecosystem in Taiwan with an elevation of 1800–3952 m and consists of three vegetation types: spruce, hemlock, and grassland. Three plots were selected in each vegetation type. Soil samples were collected from the organic layer, topsoil, and subsoil. Microbial biomass carbon (C_mic) was determined by the chloroform fumigation–extraction method, and microbial biomass nitrogen (N_mic) was determined from the total nitrogen (N_tot) released during fumigation–extraction. Bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, cellulolytic microbes, phosphate-solubilizing microbes, and nitrogen-fixing microbes were also counted.
The C_mic and N_mic were highest in the surface soil and declined with the soil depth. These were also highest in spruce soils, followed by in hemlock soils, and were lowest in grassland soils. C_mic and N_mic had the highest values in the spring season and the lowest values in the winter season. C_mic and N_mic had significantly positive correlations with total organic carbon (C_org) and N_tot. Contributions of C_mic and N_mic, respectively, to C_org and N_tot indicated that the microbial biomass was immobilized more in spruce and hemlock soils than in grassland soils. Microbial populations of the tested vegetation types decreased with increasing soil depth.
C_mic and N_mic were high in the organic layer and decreased with the depth of layers. These values were higher for spruce and hemlock soils than for grassland soils. Positive correlations were observed between C_mic and N_mic and between C_org and N_tot.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text