Microbial biomass, and C and N mineralization, in litter and mineral soil of adjacent montane ecosystems in a southern beech (Nothofagus) forest and a tussock grassland

Ross, D. J.; Tate, K. R.; Feltham, C.W.

doi:10.1016/s0038-0717(96)00255-6

Cited by 54 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In contrast, soil under tussock grassland generally has higher C and N status than soil under adjacent forest (Ross et al 1996). Consequently, the lower organic matter status we found at the Hutton's shearwater site is unlikely to have been driven by vegetation type.…”

Section: Vegetation Differences As a Potential Explanation For The Recontrasting

confidence: 53%

Surface soil chemistry at an alpine procellariid breeding colony in New Zealand, and comparison with a lowland site

Harrow

Hawke

Holdaway³

2006

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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Procellariid seabirds occupied colonies on the pre-human New Zealand mainland from the lowlands to alpine areas, but the effect of geographic environment on soil nutrient cycling has not been investigated. To facilitate qualitative predictions of seabird breeding effects on terrestrial ecology and biogeochemistry, we compared surface soil (0-15 cm) results from a Hutton's shearwater colony at 1230 m with a Westland petrel colony in lowland forest. Soil acidity, total C, total N, total Cd, and Cd excess (the soil Cd which cannot be accounted for by parent material weathering) concentrations were all lower at the Hutton's shearwater colony despite higher burrow occupancy and density. Lower δ 15 N values and higher pH imply that guano was less nitrified in the soil before being lost. At both colonies, parent material contributed a large portion of total P and total Cd. Correlations between total N, P excess and Cd excess with total C suggested that guano nutrient retention is driven by soil organic matter. We conclude that seabird colony location affected the cycling of seabird-derived nutrients in pre-human New Zealand.

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Section: Vegetation Differences As a Potential Explanation For The Recontrasting

confidence: 53%

Surface soil chemistry at an alpine procellariid breeding colony in New Zealand, and comparison with a lowland site

Harrow

Hawke

Holdaway³

2006

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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“…Other studies have reported similar diff erences in SOC decomposability between forest and rangeland soils or among forest types. For example, Ross et al (1996) found greater C decomposability in montane Nothofagus forest soils than in tussock grassland soils, and Kammer et al (2009) also found greater decomposability of SOC under conifers than in tundra soils in the Ural Mountains. Our fi ndings do not agree with McCulley et al (2004), who concluded that the SOC in semiarid woody communities was more recalcitrant than that in grasslands.…”

Section: Soil Organic Carbon Decomposabilitymentioning

confidence: 98%

Factors Affecting Carbon Dioxide Release from Forest and Rangeland Soils in Northern Utah

Olsen

Miegroet

2010

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Laboratory and field CO2 efflux measurements were used to investigate the influence of soil organic C (SOC) decomposability and soil microclimate on summer SOC dynamics in seasonally dry montane forest and rangeland soils at the T.W. Daniel Experimental Forest in northern Utah. Soil respiration, soil temperature, and soil moisture content (SMC) were measured between July and October 2004 and 2005 in 12 control and 12 irrigated plots laid out in a randomized block design in adjacent forest (aspen or conifer) and rangeland (sagebrush [Artemisia tridentata Nutt.] or grass–forb) sites. Irrigated plots received a single water addition of 2.5 cm in July 2004 and two additions in July 2005. The SOC decomposability in mineral soil samples (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm) was derived from 10‐mo lab incubations. The amount of SOC accumulated in the A horizon (16 Mg ha−1) and the top 1 m (74 Mg ha−1) of the mineral soil did not differ significantly among vegetation type, but upper forest soils tended to contain more decomposable SOC than rangeland soils. The CO2 efflux measured in the field varied significantly with vegetation cover (aspen > conifer = sagebrush > grass–forb), ranging from 12 kg CO2–C ha−1 d−1 in aspen to 5 kg CO2–C ha−1 d−1 in the grass–forb sites. It increased (∼35%) immediately following water additions, with treatment effects dissipating within 1 wk. Soil temperature and SMC, which were negatively correlated (r = −0.53), together explained ∼60% of the variability in summer soil respiration. Our study suggests that vegetation cover influences summer CO2 efflux rates through its effect on SOC quality and the soil microclimate.

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“…Microbial stoichiometry relations are partly dependent on the validity of the microbial C, N and P estimates which, in fumigation procedures, are dependent on the k-factors used (Ross et al 1996). Our results confirm that microbial biomass stoichiometry is well constrained and considering that the use of laboratory-determined fixed factors may not be accurate for a diverse soil community and could mask differences between soil types and depths, microbial N:P could be cautiously used, in addition to N:P ratios in plants and soils, to estimate nutrient deficiency in terrestrial ecosystems (Cleveland and Liptzin 2007).…”

Section: Soil Microbial Carbon Nitrogen and Phosphorus In Mediterranmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study microbial C was estimated using the fumigationextraction technique that recovers only a fraction of the total microbial C, most of which is cytoplasmic, and relates it to the total by an empirical constant (K C ). Changes in the concentration of cytoplasmic C may therefore be a source of error in microbial biomass measurements (Ross et al 1996;Schimel et al 1989). We suggest that in our studied soils a fraction of the total microbial population might have died during summer drought, what together with summer root decay (Joergensen et al 1994) could account for the K 2 SO 4 -extractable DOC peak recorded in this season.…”

Section: Soil Microbial Carbon Nitrogen and Phosphorus In Mediterranmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial C, N and P in soils of Mediterranean oak forests: influence of season, canopy cover and soil depth

2010

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In Mediterranean ecosystems the effect of aboveground and belowground environmental factors on soil microbial biomass and nutrient immobilization-release cycles may be conditioned by the distinctive seasonal pattern of the Mediterraneantype climates. We studied the effects of season, canopy cover and soil depth on microbial C, N and P in soils of two Mediterranean forests using the fumigation-extraction procedure. Average microbial values recorded were 820 lg C g -1 , 115 lg N g -1 and 19 lg P g -1 , which accounted for 2.7, 4.7 and 8.8% of the total pools in the surface soil, respectively. Microbial N and P pools were about 10 times higher than the inorganic N and P fractions available for plants. Microbial C values differed between forest sites but in each site they were similar across seasons. Both microbial and inorganic N and P showed maximum values in spring and minimum values in summer, which were positively correlated with soil moisture. Significant differences in soil microbial properties among canopy cover types were observed in the surface soil but only under favourable environmental conditions (spring) and not during summer. Soil depth affected microbial contents which decreased twofold from surface to subsurface soil.Microbial nutrient ratios (C/N, C/P and N/P) varied with seasons and soil depth. Soil moisture regime, which was intimately related to seasonality, emerged as a potential key factor for microbial biomass growth in the studied forests. Our research shows that under a Mediterranean-type climate the interaction among season, vegetation type and structure and soil properties affect microbial nutrient immobilization and thus could influence the biogeochemical cycles of C, N and P in Mediterranean forest ecosystems.

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Microbial biomass, and C and N mineralization, in litter and mineral soil of adjacent montane ecosystems in a southern beech (Nothofagus) forest and a tussock grassland

Cited by 54 publications

References 22 publications

Surface soil chemistry at an alpine procellariid breeding colony in New Zealand, and comparison with a lowland site

Surface soil chemistry at an alpine procellariid breeding colony in New Zealand, and comparison with a lowland site

Factors Affecting Carbon Dioxide Release from Forest and Rangeland Soils in Northern Utah

Microbial C, N and P in soils of Mediterranean oak forests: influence of season, canopy cover and soil depth

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