Effects of ecological restoration on microbial activity, microbial functional diversity, and soil organic matter in mixed-oak forests of southern Ohio, USA

Cropping systems are structured to maximize crop yields and increase sustainability in agricultural production. A field study was conducted to investigate different long-term cropping systems on soil organic matter and microbial communities. The cropping systems studied were: (i) a 14-year continuous alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) (CA), (ii) a 9-year alfalfa removed and rotated with 4–5 years continuous annual crops (spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), maize (Zea mays L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), and millet (Panicum miliaceum L.)), and (iii) a 5-year field fallow after alfalfa. Results showed that continued annual crops decreased total organic C and labile organic C by 10 to 20% and 17 to 34% in the topsoil (0–30 cm), and by 15 to 35% and 20 to 46% in the subsoil (30–60 cm), respectively, compared with CA. Similar trends were found in soil total N concentration, which decreased by 7 to 20% in the topsoil. Highest microbial biomass C was found in CA. Shannon-Wiener diversity and substrate richness of soil microbes measured by Biolog EcoPlates was significantly affected by cropping system with CA exhibiting a higher degree of soil microbial functional diversity in the topsoil, while the lowest values were found in the alfalfa-potato system. The higher soil organic matter content and functional diversity of soil microbe in CA indicates that soil nutrition and microbial activity did not limit alfalfa development and growth in the dryland area. The lower microbial activity and functional diversity observed in the potato field indicates the importance of crop selection in cropping systems.

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Arctic Permafrost Active Layer Detachments Stimulate Microbial Activity and Degradation of Soil Organic Matter

Environmental Science & Technology ◽

10.1021/es903685j ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 44 (11) ◽

pp. 4076-4082 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Brent G. Pautler ◽

André J. Simpson ◽

David J. Mcnally ◽

Scott F. Lamoureux ◽

Myrna J. Simpson

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Activity ◽

Active Layer

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CO2-C losses and carbon quality of selected Maritime Antarctic soils

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102012000648 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 11-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Juliana Vanir De Souza Carvalho ◽

Eduardo De Sá Mendonça ◽

Newton La Scala ◽

César Reis ◽

Efrain Lázaro Reis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Soil Temperature ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Humic Substances ◽

Microbial Activity ◽

Chemical Characteristics ◽

Maritime Antarctic ◽

Antarctic Soils ◽

Humification Degree

AbstractPolar Regions are the most important soil carbon reservoirs on Earth. Monitoring soil carbon storage in a changing global climate context may indicate possible effects of climate change on terrestrial environments. In this regard, we need to understand the dynamics of soil organic matter in relation to its chemical characteristics. We evaluated the influence of chemical characteristics of humic substances on the process of soil organic matter mineralization in selected Maritime Antarctic soils. A laboratory assay was carried out with soils from five locations from King George Island. We determined the contents of total organic carbon, oxidizable carbon fractions of soil organic matter, and humic substances. Two in situ field experiments were carried out during two summers, in order to evaluate the CO2-C emissions in relation to soil temperature variations. The overall low amounts of soil organic matter in Maritime Antarctic soils have a low humification degree and reduced microbial activity. CO2-C emissions showed significant exponential relationship with temperature, suggesting a sharp increase in CO2-C emissions with a warming scenario, and Q10 values (the percentage increase in emission for a 10°C increase in soil temperature) were higher than values reported from elsewhere. The sensitivity of the CO2-C emission in relation to temperature was significantly correlated with the humification degree of soil organic matter and microbial activity for Antarctic soils.

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Linking microbial activity and soil organic matter transformations in forest soils under elevated CO2

Global Change Biology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.00909.x ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 203-212 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

S. A. Billings ◽

S. E. Ziegler

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Activity ◽

Elevated Co2 ◽

Forest Soils

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Salinity affects microbial activity and soil organic matter content in tidal wetlands

Global Change Biology ◽

10.1111/gcb.12431 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 1351-1362 ◽

Cited By ~ 160

Author(s):

Ember M. Morrissey ◽

Jaimie L. Gillespie ◽

Joseph C. Morina ◽

Rima B. Franklin

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Activity ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Matter Content ◽

Tidal Wetlands ◽

Soil Organic Matter Content

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Soil microbiological properties during decomposition of crop residues under conventional and zero tillage

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/s03-083 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 84 (4) ◽

pp. 411-419 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

N. Z. Lupwayi ◽

G. W. Clayton ◽

J. T. O’Donovan ◽

K. N. Harker ◽

T. K. Turkington ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Biomass ◽

Microbial Diversity ◽

Microbial Activity ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Crop Residue ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Zero Tillage ◽

Microbial Functional Diversity ◽

Soil Microbial

Field experiments were conducted to correlate decomposition of red clover (Trifolium pratense) green manure (GM), field pea (Pisum sativum), canola (Brassica rapa) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) residues, and soil organic C (SOC), under zero tillage and conventional tillage, with soil microbial biomass C (MBC), bacterial functional diversity and microbial activity (CO2 evolution). A greenhouse experiment was also conducted to relate crop residue quality to soil microbial characteristics. Zero tillage increas ed MBC only in the 0- to 5-cm soil layer. Soil MBC decreased more with soil depth than either microbial diversity or total SOC. Legume GM residues induced greater initial CO2 evolution than the other residues. This means that results that do not include the initial flush of microbial activity, e.g., by sampling only in the season(s) following residue placement, probably underestimate gas evolution from legume crop residues. Residue N, P and K contents were positively correlated with microbial functional diversity and activity, which were positively correlated with crop residue decomposition. Therefore, microbial functional diversity and activity were good indicators of microbial decomposition processes. Residue C/N and C/P ratios (i.e., high C content) were positively correlated with MBC, which was positively correlated with SOC. Therefore, soil MBC was a good indicator of soil quality (soil organic matter content). Key words: Biological soil quality, crop residues, crop rotation, microbial activity, microbial biomass, microbial diversity

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Effects of pre-planting site management on soil organic matter and microbial community functional diversity in subtropical Australia

Applied Soil Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.apsoil.2012.07.006 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 62 ◽

pp. 31-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Shahla Hosseini Bai ◽

Timothy J. Blumfield ◽

Zhihong Xu ◽

Chengrong Chen ◽

Clyde H. Wild

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Site Management ◽

Subtropical Australia

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The Relationship between Winter Temperature Rise and Soil Fertility properties

Air Soil and Water Research ◽

10.4137/aswr.s8599 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. ASWR.S8599 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xiao Guoju ◽

Zhang Qiang ◽

Bi Jiangtao ◽

Zhang Fengju ◽

Luo Chengke

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Activity ◽

Soil Ph ◽

Salt Content ◽

Soil Microbial Activity ◽

Winter Temperature ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Available Nitrogen ◽

Soil Microbial

The effects of winter temperature rises on soil microbial activity, nutrient and salinity in Ningxia Plain were studied in a field experiment using an infrared radiator to raise temperatures. Winter temperature rises led to increases in soil organic matter, available phosphorus, soil pH and total salt content, but decreased the available nitrogen in soil and the activities of soil catalase, urease and phosphatase. With a winter temperature of 0.5 °C-2.0 °C, the activities of soil catalase, urease and phosphatase were respectively decreased by 0.08-1.20 mL g-1, 0.004-0.019 mg g-1, and 0.10-0.25 mg kg-1; soil organic matter was increased by 0.01-0.62 g kg-1, available nitrogen decreased by 2.45-4.66 g kg-1, available phosphorus increased by 2.92-5.74 g kg-1; soil pH increased by 0.42-0.67, and total salt increased by 0.39-0.50 g kg-1. Winter temperature rises decreased soil microbial activity, accelerated the decomposition of soil nutrients, and intensified soil salinization.

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Flooding and ecological restoration promote wetland microbial communities and soil functions on former cranberry farmland

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0260933 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. e0260933

Author(s):

Rachel L. Rubin ◽

Kate A. Ballantine ◽

Arden Hegberg ◽

Jason P. Andras

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Soil Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Ecological Restoration ◽

Cation Exchange Capacity ◽

Exchange Capacity ◽

Soil Functions ◽

Wetland Development ◽

Denitrification Potential

Microbial communities are early responders to wetland degradation, and instrumental players in the reversal of this degradation. However, our understanding of soil microbial community structure and function throughout wetland development remains incomplete. We conducted a survey across cranberry farms, young retired farms, old retired farms, flooded former farms, ecologically restored former farms, and natural reference wetlands with no history of cranberry farming. We investigated the relationship between the microbial community and soil characteristics that restoration intends to maximize, such as soil organic matter, cation exchange capacity and denitrification potential. Among the five treatments considered, flooded and restored sites had the highest prokaryote and microeukaryote community similarity to natural wetlands. In contrast, young retired sites had similar communities to farms, and old retired sites failed to develop wetland microbial communities or functions. Canonical analysis of principal coordinates revealed that soil variables, in particular potassium base saturation, sodium, and denitrification potential, explained 45% of the variation in prokaryote communities and 44% of the variation in microeukaryote communities, segregating soil samples into two clouds in ordination space: farm, old retired and young retired sites on one side and restored, flooded, and natural sites on the other. Heat trees revealed possible prokaryotic (Gemmatimonadetes) and microeukaryotic (Rhizaria) indicators of wetland development, along with a drop in the dominance of Nucletmycea in restored sites, a class that includes suspected mycorrhizal symbionts of the cranberry crop. Flooded sites showed the strongest evidence of wetland development, with triple the soil organic matter accumulation, double the cation exchange capacity, and seventy times the denitrification potential compared to farms. However, given that flooding does not promote any of the watershed or habitat benefits as ecological restoration, we suggest that flooding can be used to stimulate beneficial microbial communities and soil functions during the restoration waiting period, or when restoration is not an option.

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Characterization of Peat Microbial Functional Diversity in Aerobic Rice Rhizosphere

Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science ◽

10.47836/pjtas.43.4.18 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Nor Ayshah Alia Ali Hassan ◽

Halimi Mohd Saud

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Microbial Activity ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Rice Variety ◽

Carbon Sources ◽

Aerobic Rice ◽

Species Evenness ◽

Fertilizer Rate ◽

H Index ◽

Microbial Functional Diversity

Microorganisms in the rhizosphere possess numerous metabolic activities. The addition of inorganic substance such as fertilizer could affect the microbial functional diversity. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different rate of NPK fertilizer on microbial functional diversity in the rhizosphere of local aerobic rice variety. Aerobic rice variety MRIA 1 was used in this study. Peat was taken from a non-agricultural area in Klang, Malaysia. The effect of fertilizer rate was determined with 4 different rates (C = non-fertilized; T1 = 100 kg/ha NPK; T2 = 200 kg/ha NPK; T3 = 400 kg/ha NPK). Microbial functional diversity was performed using Biolog™ Ecoplate System and measured by microbial activities, such as average well color development (AWCD), species richness (R), Shannon-Weaver index (H index) and species evenness (E). As a result, microbial activity increased to 5.7% when fertilizer applied at T2, while fertilizer rate at T3 increased species richness by 3.2%. However, addition of fertilizer did not affect the H index while species evenness slightly decreased by 1.1% when applied at T3. Bacteria population was reduced when fertilizer added at T1. Fertilizer addition to the peat soil decreased the culturable population of nitrogen-fixing microbes while no effect was found on culturable fungal, actinomycetes and phosphate-solubilizing microbe population. Microbes in T2 utilized many carbon sources. Variation in carbon sources used by microbes was found when fertilizer was applied at different rates. D-cellobiose, pyruvic acid methyl ester, and L-serine were the carbon sources that influenced the microbial function in soil. It is concluded that fertilizer has an effect on microbial functional diversity in the peat rhizosphere of local aerobic variety. The recommended fertilizer rate (T2) increased the microbial activity while high fertilizer rate (T3) increased species richness and decreased species evenness.

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