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Relationships between culturable soil microbial populations and gross nitrogen transformation processes in a clay loam soil across ecosystems

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Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The size and quality of the soil organic matter (SOM) pool can vary between ecosystems and can affect many soil properties. The objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between gross N transformation rates and microbial populations and to investigate the role that SOM plays in these factors. In our study, culturable microbial and actinomycete populations were positively correlated with gross mineralization and ammonium (NH4+) consumption rates over time in both ecosystems. These correlations provide evidence that microbial plate counts could be a good representation of all microbes responsible for gross mineralization and gross NH4+ consumption. Rates of gross mineralization, nitrification and NH4+ consumption were significantly greater in forest soil than old-field soil. These greater rates in forest soil could be due to the presence of higher levels of readily transferable substrates in SOM. Gross nitrification rates were considerably lower than gross mineralization and NH4+ consumption rates over the experimental period, indicating heterotrophic uptake of NH4+ rather than use by autotrophic nitrifiers under soil and environmental conditions in this study. Additionally, microbial populations were significantly (p<0.01) greater in forest soil than in old-field soil, which could also be related to the higher level of SOM in the forest soil. Net mineralization and nitrification rates were similar between ecosystems. Results also showed that net rates were highly correlated to each other, but were not correlated with culturable microbes or gross N transformation rates, indicating the isolation of net rates in relation to fundamental controlling factors.

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Abbreviations

m:

gross mineralization

n:

gross nitrification

Ac:

NH4+ consumption

Nc:

NO3− consumption

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, 37831, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

    R. G. Silva

  2. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 74820, Ada, OK, USA

    E. E. Jorgensen, S. M. Holub & M. E. Gonsoulin

  3. US Environmental Protection Agency, Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center, P.O. Box 1198, Ada, OK, 74820, USA

    R. G. Silva

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  1. R. G. Silva
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  2. E. E. Jorgensen
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  3. S. M. Holub
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Correspondence to R. G. Silva.

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Silva, R.G., Jorgensen, E.E., Holub, S.M. et al. Relationships between culturable soil microbial populations and gross nitrogen transformation processes in a clay loam soil across ecosystems. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 71, 259–270 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-004-6378-y

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