Abstract
It is well known that nutrient availability and microbial biomass and activity in the soil following plant residue addition are influenced by residue composition. But, less is known about the effect of repeated addition of residue with different decomposability on these soil properties and how they are affected by the order in which the residues are added. In this study, low C/N residue (young kikuyu shoots) and high C/N residue (mature wheat shoots) were added four times (on days 0, 10, 20 and 30) at a rate of 7 g C kg−1 in a different order to a silt loam. Respiration was measured over 40 days and microbial biomass C (MBC), N (MBN) and P (MBP) and available N and P were measured on days 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40. Cumulative respiration in the 10 days following low C/N residue addition was higher than with high C/N residue addition. It decreased with increasing proportion of high C/N residue addition compared to four times addition of low C/N residue. Treatments with three or four additions of high C/N residue had lower MBC, MBN and MBP, and available N and P concentrations compared to treatments with three or four times addition of low C/N residue, irrespective of the order in which the residues were added. It can be concluded that with repeated residue addition, microbial biomass and N and P availability at the end of a given 10-day period are mainly influenced by the proportion of low or high C/N residue added previously, whereas the C/N ratio of residue added at the beginning of the period has little effect. Further nutrient availability was not affected by the order in which low or high C/N residue was added.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abiven S, Recous S, Reyes V, Oliver R (2005) Mineralisation of C and N from root, stem and leaf residues in soil and role of their biochemical quality. Biol Fertil Soils 42:119–128. doi:10.1007/s00374-005-0006-0
Anderson JM, Ingram JSI (1993) Tropical soil biology and fertility: a handbook of methods, 2nd edn. CAB International, Wallingford
Barantal S, Roy J, Fromin N, Schimann H, Hattenschwiler S (2011) Long-term presence of tree species but not chemical diversity affect litter mixture effects on decomposition in a neotropical rainforest. Oecologia 167:241–252
Brookes PC, Powlson DS, Jenkinson DS (1982) Measurement of microbial biomass phosphorus in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 14:319–329. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(82)90001-3
Burger M, Jackson L, Lundquist E, Louie D, Miller R, Rolston D, Scow K (2005) Microbial responses and nitrous oxide emissions during wetting and drying of organically and conventionally managed soil under tomatoes. Biol Fertil Soils 42:109–118. doi:10.1007/s00374-005-0007-z
Butterly C, Marschner P, McNeill A, Baldock J (2010) Rewetting CO2 pulses in Australian agricultural soils and the influence of soil properties. Biol Fertil Soils 46:739–753. doi:10.1007/s00374-010-0481-9
Cavagnaro T, Jackson L, Six J, Ferris H, Goyal S, Asami D, Scow K (2006) Arbuscular mycorrhizas, microbial communities, nutrient availability, and soil aggregates in organic tomato production. Plant Soil 282:209–225
Chittleborough DJ, Oades JM (1979) Development of a red-brown earth. 1 A reinterpretation of published data. Aust J Soil Res 17:371–381. doi:10.1071/sr9790371
Duong TTT, Baumann K, Marschner P (2009) Frequent addition of wheat straw residues to soil enhances carbon mineralization rate. Soil Biol Biochem 41:1475–1482. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.04.003
Forster J (1995) Soil nitrogen. In: Alef K, Nannipieri P (eds) Methods in applied soil microbiology and biochemistry. Acadamic Press, London, pp 79–87
Gartner TB, Cardon ZG (2004) Decomposition dynamics in mixed-species leaf litter. Oikos 104:230–246. doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2004.12738.x
Gee GW, Or D (2002) Particle size analysis. In: Dane JH, Topp GC (eds) Methods of soil analysis part 4 physical methods. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, pp 255–294
Hadas A, Kautsky L, Goek M, Erman Kara E (2004) Rates of decomposition of plant residues and available nitrogen in soil, related to residue composition through simulation of carbon and nitrogen turnover. Soil Biol Biochem 36:255–266. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2003.09.012
Hanson WC (1950) The photometric metermination of phosphorus in fertilizers using the phosphovanado-molybdate complex. J Sci Food Agric 1:172–173
Hasbullah H, Marschner P (2014) Residue properties influence the impact of salinity on soil respiration. Biol Fertil Soils :1–13. doi:10.1007/s00374-014-0955-2
Isbell RF (2002) The Australian soil classification. Revised edn. CSIRO, Collingwood
Janssen BH (1996) Nitrogen mineralization in relation to C:N ratio and decomposability of organic materials. Plant Soil 181:39–45. doi:10.1007/BF00011290
Jenkinson DS (1988) Determination of microbial biomass in soil: measurement and turnove. In: Wilson JR (ed) Advances in nitrogen cycling in agricultural ecosystems. CAB International, Wallingford, pp 368–386
Kouno K, Tuchiya Y, Ando T (1995) Measurement of soil microbial biomass phosphorus by an anion exchange membrane method. Soil Biol Biochem 27:1353–1357
Kristiansen SM, Brandt M, Hansen EM, Magid J, Christensen BT (2004) 13C signature of CO2 evolved from incubated maize residues and maize-derived sheep faeces. Soil Biol Biochem 36:99–105. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2003.07.002
Kuzyakov Y, Friedel JK, Stahr K (2000) Review of mechanisms and quantification of priming effects. Soil Biol Biochem 32:1485–1498. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(00)00084-5
Marschner P, Hatam Z, Cavagnaro T (2015) Soil respiration, microbial biomass and nutrient availability after the second amendment are influenced by legacy effects of prior residue addition. Soil Biol Biochem 88:169–177
Miranda KM, Espey MG, Wink DA (2001) A rapid, simple spectrophotometric method for simultaneous detection of nitrate and nitrite. Nitric Oxide 5:62–71
Moore JM, Klose S, Tabatabai MA (2000) Soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen as affected by crop** systems. Biol Fertil Soils 31:200–210. doi:10.1007/s003740050646
Moritsuka N, Yanai J, Mori K, Kosaki T (2004) Biotic and abiotic processes of nitrogen immobilization in the soil-residue interface. Soil Biol Biochem 36:1141–1148. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2004.02.024
Murphy J, Riley JP (1962) A modified single solution for determination of phosphate in natural waters. Anal Chim Acta 27:31–36
Nannipieri P, Giagnoni L, Renella G, Puglisi E, Ceccanti B, Masciandaro G, Fornasier F, Moscatelli MC, Marinari S (2012) Soil enzymology: classical and molecular approaches. Biol Fertil Soils 48:743–762. doi:10.1007/s00374-012-0723-0
Nicolardot B, Recous S, Mary B (2001) Simulation of C and N mineralisation during crop residue decomposition: a simple dynamic model based on the C:N ratio of the residues. Plant Soil 228:83–103. doi:10.1023/A:1004813801728
Partey ST, Preziosi RF, Robson GD (2014) Improving maize residue use in soil fertility restoration by mixing with residues of low C-to-N ratio: effects on C and N mineralization and soil microbial biomass. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr 14:518–531
Rayment GE, Higginson FR (1992) Australian laboratory handbook of soil and water chemical methods. Inkata Press, Melbourne
Saccone P, Morin S, Baptist F, Bonneville J-M, Colace M-P, Domine F, Faure M, Geremia R, Lochet J, Poly F, Lavorel S, Clément J-C (2013) The effects of snowpack properties and plant strategies on litter decomposition during winter in subalpine meadows. Plant Soil 363:215–229. doi:10.1007/s11104-012-1307-3
Sakala WD, Cadisch G, Giller KE (2000) Interactions between residues of maize and pigeonpea and mineral N fertilizers during decomposition and N mineralization. Soil Biol Biochem 32:679–688. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(99)00204-7
Setia R, Marschner P, Baldock J, Chittleborough D, Verma V (2011a) Relationships between carbon dioxide emission and soil properties in salt-affected landscapes. Soil Biol Biochem 43:667–674. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.12.004
Setia R, Smith P, Marschner P, Baldock J, Chittleborough D, Smith J (2011b) Introducing a decomposition rate modifier in the rothamsted carbon model to predict soil organic carbon stocks in saline soils. Environ Sci Technol 45:6396–6403
Shi A, Marschner P (2015) The number of moist days determines respiration in drying and rewetting cycles. Biol Fertil Soils 51:33–41. doi:10.1007/s00374-014-0947-2
Sinsabaugh RL (2010) Phenol oxidase, peroxidase and organic matter dynamics of soil. Soil Biol Biochem 42:391–404. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.10.014
Thomas RJ, Asakawa NM (1993) Decomposition of leaf litter from tropical forage grasses and legumes. Soil Biol Biochem 25:1351–1361. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(93)90050-L
Tian G, Kang BT, Brussaard L (1992) Biological effects of plant residues with contrasting chemical compositions under humid tropical conditions—decomposition and nutrient release. Soil Biol Biochem 24:1051–1060. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(92)90035-V
Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707. doi:10.1016/0038-0717(87)90052-6
Vanlauwe B, Nwoke OC, Sanginga N, Merckx R (1996) Impact of residue quality on the C and N mineralization of leaf and root residues of three agroforestry species. Plant Soil 183:221–231. doi:10.1007/BF00011437
Vogel C, Heister K, Buegger F, Tanuwidjaja I, Haug S, Schloter M, Kögel-Knabner I (2015) Clay mineral composition modifies decomposition and sequestration of organic carbon and nitrogen in fine soil fractions. Biol Fertil Soils 51:427–442. doi:10.1007/s00374-014-0987-7
Walkley A, Black IA (1934) An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci 37:29–38
Wardle DA, Yeates GW, Barker GM, Bonner KI (2006) The influence of plant litter diversity on decomposer abundance and diversity. Soil Biol Biochem 38:1052–1062. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2005.09.003
Wilke BM (2005) Determination of chemical and physical soil properties. In: Margesin R, Schinner F (eds) Manual for soil analysis—monitoring and assessing soil bioremediation. Springer, Berlin, pp 47–93
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nguyen, T.T., Marschner, P. Soil respiration, microbial biomass and nutrient availability in soil after repeated addition of low and high C/N plant residues. Biol Fertil Soils 52, 165–176 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-015-1063-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-015-1063-7