Abstract
Factors influencing rates of C and N mineralization of soil and plant materials, and the reliability of different procedures for estimating microbial biomass, were measured in a soil (Typic Dystrochrept) that had been restored under grazed pasture in a temperate environment for 10–11 years after 20 cm of the original topsoil had been removed by stripping.
Rates of net N mineralization were appreciably lower, but CO2-C production higher, in the stripped than in the unstripped soil. These activities were not influenced directly by levels of soil mineral-N, but they were influenced by differences in plant composition. Herbage and litter, and roots, from the stripped plots were generally mineralized more readily to CO2-C, but more slowly to net mineral-N, than were the corresponding materials from the unstripped plots. Rates of mineralization of herbage and litter, or roots, were mainly indistinguishable in stripped and unstripped soil, whereas rates of mineralization of all standing dead material were lower in stripped soil.
Measurements of extractable-C flush, and of CO2-C flush (using a fumigated soil control) and mineral-N flush by fumigation-incubation procedures, indicated that microbial biomass in stripped soil had recovered to at least 88 percent of the levels in unstripped soil. Substrate-induced respiration also generally indicated high levels of recovery of microbial biomass. The fumigation-incubation procedure appeared to under-estimate microbial biomass markedly in stripped soil when unfumigated soil controls were used; the used of a large soil inoculum (20 percent w/w) only sometimes overcame this problem. Possible reasons for apparent anomalies in estimation of microbial C are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, J P E and Domsch, K H 1978 A physiological method for the quantitative measurement of microbial biomass in soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 10, 215–221.
Ayanaba, A, Tuckwell, S B and Jenkinson, D S 1976 The effects of clearing and cropping on the organic reserves and biomass of tropical forest soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 8, 519–525.
Bartha, R and Pramer, D 1965 Features of a flask and method for measuring the persistence and biological effects of pesticides in soil. Soil Sci. 100, 67–70.
Bartholomew W V 1965 Mineralization and immobilization of nitrogen in the decomposition of plant and animal residues. In Soil Nitrogen. Eds. W V Bartholomew and F E Clark. pp 285–306. Agronomy 10.
Blakemore L C, Searle P L and Daly B K 1987 Methods for the chemical analysis of soils. N.Z. Soil Bur. Sci. Rep. 80.
Cook, F J, McQueen, D J and Hart, P B S 1986 Physical properties of surfaze soil in a topsoil removal area and a nearby undisturbed site. N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 29, 137–142.
Harding, D E and Ross, D J 1964 Some factors in low-temperature storage influencing the mineralisable-nitrogen of soils. J. Sci. Food Agric. 15, 829–834.
Hart, P B S and August, J A 1988 Use of nitrogen fertiliser in restoration of pasture productivity and soil fertility after topsoil mining. N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 31, 439–443.
Hart P B S, Watts H M and Milne J D G 1986 Agronomic consequences of removal of topsoil from Judgeford silt loam (Typic Dystrochrept). N.Z. Soil Bur. Sci. Rep. 76.
Hart, P B S, August, J A and West, A W 1989 Long-term consequences of topsoil mining on select biological and physical characteristics of two New Zealand loessial soils under grazed pasture. Land Degrad. Rehab. 1, 77–88.
Hunt, W F 1983 Nitrogen cycling through senescent leaves and litter in swards of Ruanui and Nui ryegrass with high and low nitrogen inputs. N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 26, 461–471.
Insam, H and Domsch, K H 1988 Relationship between soil organic carbon and microbial biomass on chronosequences of reclamation sites. Microb. Ecol. 15, 177–188.
Insam, H and Haselwandter, K 1989 Metabolic quotient of the soil microflora in relation to plant succession. Oecologia 79, 174–178.
Janzen, H H and Kucey, R M N 1988 C, N and S mineralization of crop residues as influenced by crop species and nutrient regime. Plant and Soil 106, 35–41.
Jenkinson, D S 1966 The priming action. In The Use of Isotopes in Soil Organic Matter Studies. Report of FAO/IAEA Technical Meeting, Brunswick-Volkenrode, 9–14 September, 1963. pp 199–208. Pergamon, Oxford.
Jenkinson, D S 1988 Determination of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in soil. In Advances in Nitrogen Cycling in Agricultural Ecosystems. Ed J RWilson. pp 368–386. C.A.B. International, Wallingford.
Jenkinson, D S and Ladd, J N 1981 Microbial biomass in soil: Measurement and turnover. In Soil Biochemistry Vol. 5. Eds. E APaul and J NLadd. pp 415–471. Marcel Dekker, New York.
Jenkinson, D S and Powlson, D S 1976 The effects of biocidal treatments on metabolism in soil. V. A method for measuring soil biomass. Soil Biol. Biochem. 8, 209–213.
Myrold, D D 1987 Relationship between microbial biomass nitrogen and a nitrogen availability index. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 51, 1047–1049.
Parfitt, R L, Joe, E N and Cook, F J 1985 Water use and pasture growth on Judgeford silt loam. N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 28, 387–392.
Powlson, D S and Jenkinson, D S 1981 A comparison of the organic matter, biomass, adenosine triphosphate and mineralizable nitrogen contents of ploughed and direct-drilled soils. J. Agric. Sci., Camb. 97, 713–721.
Ramsay, A J and Orchard, V A 1984 Soil respiration and numbers of bacteria in soil under pasture 5 years after removal of topsoil. N.Z. J. Sci. 27, 413–417.
Roder, W, Mason, S C, Clegg, M D, Doran, J W and Kniep, K R 1988 Plant and microbial responses to sorghum-soybean cropping systems and fertility management. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 52, 1337–1342.
Ross, D J 1988 Modifications to the fumigation procedure to measure microbial biomass C in wet soils under pasture: Influence on estimates of seasonal fluctuations in the soil biomass. Soil Biol. Biochem. 20, 377–383.
Ross, D J 1990a Influence of soil mineral-nitrogen content on soil respiratory activity and measurements of microbial carbon and nitrogen by fumigation-incubation procedures. Aust. J. Soil Res. 28, 311–321.
Ross, D J 1990b Measurements of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in grassland soils by fumigation-incubation procedures: Influence of inoculum size and the control. Soil Biol. Biochem. 22, 289–294.
Ross, D J 1990c Estimation of soil microbial C by a fumigation-extraction method: Influence of seasons, soils, and calibration with the fumigation-incubation procedure. Soil Biol. Biochem. 22, 295–300.
Ross, D J, Molloy, L F, Collie, T W and Ball, R 1978 Influence of fertiliser nitrogen on nitrogen fractions and nonstructural carbohydrates in grazed grass-clover herbage. N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 21, 231–239.
Ross, D J, Speir, T W, Tate, K R, Cairns, A, Meyrick, K F and Pansier, E A 1982 Restoration of pasture after topsoil removal: Effects on soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization, microbial biomass and enzyme activities. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 575–581.
Ross, D J, Speir, T W, Tate, K R, Cowling, J C and Watts, H M 1984 Restoration of pasture after topsoil removal: Changes in soil biochemical properties over a 5-year period: A note. N.Z. J. Sci. 27, 419–422.
Smith, J L, Norton, J M and Paul, E A 1989 Decomposition of 14C- and 15N-labelled organisms in soil under anaerobic conditions. Plant and Soil 116, 115–118.
Sparling, G P and West, A W 1988 A direct extraction method to estimate soil microbial C: Calibration in situ using microbial respiration and 14C labelled soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 20, 337–343.
Sparling G P and West A W 1990 A comparison of gas chromatography and differential respirometer methods to measure soil respiration and to estimate the soil microbial biomass. Pedobiol. (In press)
Sparling, G P, Feltham, C W, Reynolds, J, West, A W and Singleton, P L 1990 Estimation of soil microbial C by a fumigation-extraction method: Use on soils of high organic matter content, and a reassessment of the k EC-factor. Soil Biol. Biochem. 22, 301–307.
Steel, R G D and Torrie, J H 1980 Principles and Procedures of Statistics. McGraw-Hill, New York, 633 p.
Stockdill S M J and Cossens G G 1966 The role of earthworms in pasture production and moisture conservation. Proc N.Z. Grassl. Assoc., 168–183.
Syers, J K and Springett, J A 1983 Earthworm ecology in grassland soils. In Earthworm Ecology from Darwin to Vermiculite. Ed. J ESatchell. pp 67–83. Chapman and Hall, London.
Tate, K R, Ross, D J and Feltham, C W 1988 A direct extraction method to estimate soil microbial C: Effects of experimental variables and some different calibration procedures. Soil Biol. Biochem. 20, 329–335.
Umbreit, W W, Burris, R H and Stauffer, J F 1964 Manometric Techniques. Burgess, Minneapolis, MN, 305 p.
Vance, E D, Brookes, P C and Jenkinson, D S 1987 An extraction method for measuring soil microbial C. Soil Biol. Biochem. 19, 703–707.
Waring, S A and Bremner, J M 1964 Ammonium production in soil under waterlogged conditions as an index of nitrogen availability. Nature, London 201, 951–952.
West, A W and Sparling, G P 1986 Modifications to the substrate-induced respiration method to permit measurement of microbial biomass in soils of differing water contents. J. Microbiol. Meth. 5, 177–189.
Woods, L E and Schuman, G E 1988 Cultivation and slope position effects on soil organic matter. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 52, 1371–1376.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ross, D.J., Hart, P.B.S., Sparling, G.P. et al. Soil restoration under pasture after topsoil removal: Some factors influencing C and N mineralization and measurements of microbial biomass. Plant Soil 127, 49–59 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010836
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010836