Seasonal responses in microbial biomass carbon, phosphorus and sulphur in soils under pasture

Autor: Zhenli He, Jinshui Wu, J. K. Syers, Anthony G. O'Donnell
Rok vydání: 1997
Předmět:
Zdroj: Biology and Fertility of Soils. 24:421-428
ISSN: 1432-0789
0178-2762
DOI: 10.1007/s003740050267
Popis: The response of the soil microbial biomass to seasonal changes was investigated in the field under pastures. These studies showed that over a 9-month period, microbial biomass carbon, phosphorus and sulphur (biomass C, P, S), and their ratios (C:P, C:S, and P:S) responded differently to changes in soil moisture and to the input of fresh organic materials. From October to December (1993), when plant residues were largely incorporated into the soils, biomass C and S increased by 150–210%. Biomass P did not increase over this time, having decreased by 22–64% over the dry summer (July to September). There was no obvious correlation between biomass C, P, and S and air temperature. The largest amounts of biomass C and P (2100–2300μg and 150–190μgg–1 soil, respectively) were found in those soils receiving farmyard manure (FYM or FYM+NPK) and P fertilizer, whereas the use of ammonium sulphate decreased biomass C and P. The C:P, C:S, and P:S ratios of the biomass varied considerably (9–276:1; 50–149:1; and 0.3–14:1, respectively) with season and fertilizer regime. This reflected the potential for the biomass to release (when ratios were narrow) or to immobilize (wide ratios) P and S at different times of the year. Thus, seasonal responses in biomass C, P, and S are important in controlling the cycling of C, P, and S in pasture and ultimately in regulating plant availability of P and S. The uptake of P in the pasture was well correlated with the sum of P in the biomass and soil available pools. Thus, the simultaneous measurement of microbial biomass P and available P provide useful information on the potential plant availability of P.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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