Biochemical indices of microbial biomass and other biochemical properties of a Typic Haplaquoll, sampled under pasture over four seasons, were compared in intact cores and soil sieved through a 6 mm and a 2 mm mesh. Sieving had an inconsistent influence on biomass C estimates, which tended, however, to be higher in <2 mm-mesh than in <6 mm-mesh soil. Sieving had no deleterious effect on mineral-N flush values, and no significant effect on biomass P, and generally adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), contents. Judged by the values of biomass C/ATP and biomass C/mineral-N flush ratios, the biomass C estimates of winter samples, collected under water-logged conditions, were unrealistically low, particularly in sieved soil. CO2 production by soil at a standardized water potential tended to be lowest in <2 mm-mesh samples. In contrast, net mineralization of N, in all except the winter <2 mm-mesh soil, was highest in sieved soil, as generally were extractable inorganic and organic P contents. Overall, sieving is considered preferable to the use of intact cores for measurements of these biochemical properties in soil under pasture.
Inversely Estimating the Vertical Profile of the Soil CO2 Production Rate in a Deciduous Broadleaf Forest Using a Particle Filtering Method