scholarly journals Biochar amendment and phosphorus fertilization altered forest soil microbial community and native soil organic matter molecular composition

2016 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perry J. Mitchell ◽  
André J. Simpson ◽  
Ronald Soong ◽  
Jonathan S. Schurman ◽  
Sean C. Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Forest Soil ◽  
Soil Microbial Community ◽  
Molecular Composition ◽  
Phosphorus Fertilization ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Native Soil ◽  
Biochar Amendment

Biochar amendment altered the molecular-level composition of native soil organic matter in a temperate forest soil

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perry J. Mitchell ◽  
André J. Simpson ◽  
Ronald Soong ◽  
Myrna J. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Forest Soil ◽  
Microbial Activity ◽  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Native Soil ◽  
Biochar Amendment

Environmental contextBiochar amendment in soil can sequester carbon but may also stimulate microbial activity, potentially enhancing soil organic matter degradation. We incubated biochar in a temperate forest soil and characterised the soil organic matter composition using molecular-level biomarker and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. Biochar amendment altered the native soil organic matter composition and decreased the concentration of easily degradable soil organic matter components. AbstractBiochar amendment in soil can sequester carbon and improve soil water and nutrient retention, fertility and plant productivity. However, biochar may stimulate microbial activity, leading to priming or accelerated soil organic matter (OM) degradation, which could alter the native soil OM molecular composition. To investigate this, we amended sugar maple wood biochar (pyrolysed at 500°C) at four concentrations (0, 5, 10 and 20 metric tons per hectare) in a temperate forest soil for 32 weeks. Solvent extraction and CuO oxidation were used to characterise free compounds and lignin-derived phenols respectively at 8 week intervals, while base hydrolysis was used to examine plant wax, cutin and suberin components at the end of the incubation. Stimulated soil microbial activity following an adaptation period (16 weeks) resulted in increased inputs of microbial- and plant-derived soil OM components including solvent-extractable short-chain n-alkanols and n-alkanoic acids, long-chain n-alkanes and n-alkanols, and sugars. Degradation parameters for base-hydrolysable cutin- and suberin-derived compounds did not show any significant degradation of these plant biopolymers. Analysis of lignin-derived phenols revealed lower concentrations of extractable phenols and progressive oxidation of syringyl and vanillyl phenols at higher biochar application rates over time. Solution-state 1H nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of base-extractable soil OM after 32 weeks showed a decrease in the proportion of labile OM components such as carbohydrates and peptides and a relative increase in more recalcitrant polymethylene OM constituents in the amended soils. The biochar-mediated shifts in soil OM composition and reduction in labile carbon may reduce soil fertility in biochar-amended systems with long-term amendment.

scholarly journals Nutrient Cycling and Soil Health in Organic Cropping Systems - Importance of Management Strategies and Soil Resilience

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek H. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
Soil Microbial Community ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Soil Microbial

<p>Organic field crop systems are characterized by complex rotations with high spatial and temporal vegetative diversity, an enhanced use of legumes, and reduced external nutrient (nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)) use. At the same time, a core premise of certified organic agriculture is that this farming system provides benefits to soil health via enhanced microbial diversity. The following short review, drawing primarily upon selected studies from North America, examines the impact of farming systems, and various management strategies within these, on soil organic matter, N and P dynamics, and soil microbial and macrofaunal abundance and diversity. Organic cropping systems are shown to provide benefits with respect to reduced farm N and P surpluses, in combination with maintenance of soil organic matter and improved soil health. However, soil health benefits appear consistently achieved only for larger soil organisms partly due to the resilience of the soil microbial community. Recent research examining soil P dynamics and P uptake in relation to legume biological N<sub>2</sub> fixation and bacterial and mycorrhizal community diversity provide evidence of the resilience of the soil microbial community with respect to functionality, if not diversity of microbial community composition. These latter results may challenge organic agriculture core premises of consistent benefits to soil health via enhanced microbial diversity, but in its place may lead to an improved understanding of how specific cropping practices and production system intensity overall, rather than farming system per se, influences both nutrient cycling and soil ecosystem functioning.</p>

Organic matter additions to soil and effects on microbially mediated carbon cycling

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel hasler ◽  
Mark pawlett ◽  
Jim harris ◽  
Helen bostock ◽  
Marc redmile-gordon
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Carbon Cycling ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Soil Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Horse Manure ◽  
Soil Microbial Community Composition

&lt;p&gt;The type of soil organic amendment selected can have profound implications for carbon cycling processes in soils. Understanding the link between this choice and its effect on the soil microbiome will improve our understanding of the capacity of these materials to improve carbon sequestration and cycling dynamics. Understanding and facilitating the lifestyle strategies of microorganisms processing organic matter is essential to improving our understanding of the terrestrial carbon cycle. This research focuses on utilising organic amendments to alter the indigenous soil microbial community composition and function to improve the capacity of the soil to cycle and store carbon in horticultural soils. &amp;#160;The effects of annual application of various organic fertilisers (peat, bracken, bark, horse manure, garden compost) in a long-term (10year) field experiment were explored. Sampling was completed pre and post application of organic matter within one season (following 10 years of applications) to identify which organic amendment was more effective in producing benefits to plants through improved soil organic matter and which amendments provide the greatest legacy effect on carbon cycling. The response of the soil microbial community composition (phospholipid fatty acid analysis) and carbon functional cycling dynamics (respiration using MicroResp&amp;#8482;) were determined with a view to improving our understanding of the interaction between the materials applied and microbial processes. PCA of the MicroResp&amp;#8482; data identified that all treatments had a different functional profile compared to the control[PM1]&amp;#160; with peat being significantly different from all other treatments. Horse manure and bark differed significantly within a single growing season; prior and post organic matter addition in spring 2019. &amp;#160;Microbial biomass measurements for garden compost and horse manure were significantly higher following organic matter addition compared to all other treatments and the control[PM2]&amp;#160;.&amp;#160; All treatments had a significant effect [PM3]&amp;#160;on hot water extractable carbon and total carbon. Peat had a significantly different effect[PM4]&amp;#160;, when compared to other treatments, on the soil PLFA profile and bark application significantly increased [PM5]&amp;#160;the neutral lipid (NLFA) biomarker 16:1&amp;#969;5. &amp;#160;Bark and horse manure application both significantly increased PLFA fungal biomarker 18:2&amp;#969;6,9. No significant differences were found between the fungal/bacterial ratios of the organic matter additions prior to being added to the soil. These findings show that altering the resources available to the soil microbial community has a significant impact on soil microbial community composition and microbially mediated carbon cycling functionality. Increasing our understanding of how soil functions are altered by land management decisions will enable better informed predictions of the long-term benefits of organic matter applications on carbon sequestration and cycling dynamics.&lt;/p&gt;

The sensitivity of a forest soil microbial community to acute gamma-irradiation

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niall P. McNamara ◽  
Robert I. Griffiths ◽  
Amandine Tabouret ◽  
Nicholas A. Beresford ◽  
Mark J. Bailey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Gamma Irradiation ◽  
Forest Soil ◽  
Soil Microbial Community ◽  
Soil Microbial
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