Abstract
Understanding the chronological changes in soil microbial and biochemical properties of tea orchard ecosystems after wasteland has been reclaimed is important from ecological, environmental, and management perspectives. In this study, we determined microbial biomass, net N mineralization, and nitrification, enzyme (invertase, urease, proteinase, and acid phosphatase) activities, microbial community diversity assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rDNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products, and related ecological factors in three tea orchard systems (8-, 50-, and 90-year-old tea orchards), adjacent wasteland and 90-year-old forest. Soil microbial biomass C (Cmic) and activity, i.e., soil basal respiration (Rmic), microbial biomass C as a percent of soil organic C (Cmic/Corg), N mineralization, invertase, urease, proteinase, and acid phosphatase, significantly increased after wasteland was reclaimed; however, with the succeeding development of tea orchard ecosystems, a decreasing trend from the 50- to 90-year-old tea orchard became apparent. Soil net nitrification showed an increasing trend from the 8- to 50-year-old tea orchard and then a decreasing trend from the 50- to 90-year-old tea orchard, and was significantly higher in the tea orchards compared to the wasteland and forest. Urea application significantly stimulated soil net nitrification, indicating nitrogen fertilizer application may be an important factor leading to high-nitrification rates in tea orchard soils. The Shannon’s diversity index (H) and richness (S) based on DGGE profiles of 16S rRNA genes were obviously lower in all three tea orchards than those in the wasteland; nevertheless, they were significantly higher in all three tea orchards than those in the forest. As for the three tea orchard soils, comparatively higher community diversity was found in the 50-year-old tea orchard.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aarnio T, Martikainen PJ (1996) Mineralization of carbon and nitrogen, and nitrification in Scots pine forest soil treated with fast- and slow-release nitrogen fertilizers. Biol Fertil Soils 22:214–220
Aber JD, Nadlehoffer KJ, Steudler PJ, Melillo JM (1989) Nitrogen saturation in northern forest ecosystems. BioScience 39:378–393
Alef K, Nannipieri P (1995) Methods in applied soil microbiology and biochemistry. Academic Press, New York, pp335–337
Anderson TH, Domsch KH (1986a) Carbon assimilation and microbial activity in soil. Z Pflanzenernahr Bodenkd 149:457–486
Anderson TH, Domsch KH (1986b) Carbon link between microbial biomass and soil organic matter. In: Megusar F, Gantar M (eds) Perspectives in microbial ecology. Slovene Society for Microbiology, Ljubljana, pp467–471
Anderson TH, Domsch KH (1989) Ratios of microbial biomass carbon to total organic carbon in arable soils. Soil Biol Biochem 21:471–479
Anderson TH, Domsch KH (1993) The metabolic quotient for CO2 (qCO2) as a specific activity parameter to assess the effects of environmental conditions, such as pH, on the microbial biomass of forest soils. Soil Biol Biochem 25:393–395
Bassam BJ, Caetano-Anolles G, Gresshoff PM (1991) Fast and sensitive silver staining of DNA in polyacrylamide gels. Anal Biochem 196:80–83
Bauhus J, Khanna PK (1994) Carbon and nitrogen turnover in two acid forest soils of southeast Australia as affected by phosphorus addition and drying and rewetting. Biol Fertil Soils 17:212–218
Bergstrom DW, Monreal CM, King DJ (1998) Sensitivity of soil enzyme activities to conservation practices. Soil Sci Soc Am J 62:1286–1295
Bosatta E, Ågren G (1993) Theoretical analysis of microbial biomass dynamics in soils. Soil Biol Biochem 26:143–148
Bossio DA, Girvan MS, Verchot L, Bullimore J, Borelli T, Albrecht A, Scow KM, Ball AS, Pretty JN, Osborn AM (2005) Soil microbial community response to land use change in an agricultural landscape of western Kenya. Microbial Ecol 49:50–62
Cahyani VR, Matsuya K, Asakawa S, Kimura M (2003) Succession and phylogenetic composition of bacterial communities responsible for the composting process of rice straw estimated by PCR-DGGE analysis. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 49:619–630
Chantigny MH, Prévost D, Angers DA, Vézina LP, Chalifour FP (1996) Microbial biomass and N transformations in two soils cropped with annual and perennial species. Biol Fertil Soils 21:239–244
Chenery EM (1955) A preliminary study of aluminium and the tea bush. Plant Soil 6:174–200
Davidson EA, Hart CS, Firestone MK (1992) Internal cycling of nitrate in soils of a mature coniferous forest. Ecology 73:1148–1156
De Boer W, Kowalchuk GA (2001) Nitrification in acid soils: micro-organisms and mechanisms. Soil Biol Biochem 33:853–866
Dick WA, Tabatabai MA (1992) Significance and potential uses of soil enzymes. In: Metting FJB (ed) Soil microbial ecology: applications in agriculture and environmental management. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp95–125
Gianfreda L, Sannino F, Ortefa N, Nannipieri P (1994) Activity of free and immobilized urease in soil: effects of pesticides. Soil Biol Biochem 26:777–784
Grayston SJ, Griffith GS, Mawdsley CD, Campbell CD, Bardgett RD (2001) Accounting for variability in soil microbial communities of temperate upland grassland ecosystems. Soil Biol Biochem 33:533–551
Guan Y (1986) Soil enzyme and research methods. China Agricultural Press, Beijing, pp206–239
Hackl E, Bachmann G, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S (2000) Soil microbial biomass and rhizosphere effects in natural forest stands. Phyton 40:83–90
Hamm D, Feger KH (1996) An optimized method for the determination of protease activity in acid forest soils. Z Pflanzenernahr Bodenkd 159:37–39
Insam H (1990) Are the soil microbial biomass and basal respiration governed by the climate regime? Soil Biol Biochem 22:525–532
Insam H, Domsch KH (1988) Relationship between soil organic carbon and microbial biomass on chronosequences of reclamation sites. Microbial Ecol 15:177–188
Jackson CR, Harper JP, Willoughby D, Roden EE, Churchill PF (1997) A simple, efficient method for the separation of humic substances and DNA from environmental samples. Appl Environ Microb 63:4993–4995
Jenkinson DS, Ladd JN (1981) Microbial biomass in soil: measurement and turnover. In: Paul EA, Ladd JN (eds) Soil biochemistry. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp415–471
Keeney DR, Nelson DW (1982) Nitrogen-inorganic forms. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp643–698
Konishi S (1991) Chemistry of tea. In: Muramatsu K (eds.), Tea science. Asakura-Shoten, Tokyo, pp21–32
Krave AS, Lin B, Braster M, Laverman AM, Van Straalen NM, Roling WFM, Van Verseveld HW (2002) Stratification and seasonal stability of diverse bacterial communities in a Pinus merkusii (pine) forest soil in central Java, Indonesia. Environ Microb 4:361–373
Marschner P, Yang CH, Lieberei R, Crowley DE (2001) Soil and plant specific effects on bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere. Soil Biol Biochem 33:1437–1445
Martikainen PJ (1985) Numbers of autotrophic nitrifiers and nitrification in fertilized forest soil. Soil Biol Biochem 17:245–248
Mendum TA, Sockett RE, Hirsch PR (1999) Use of molecular and isotopic techniques to monitor the response of autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing populations of the β subdivision of the class Proteobacteria in arable soils to nitrogen fertilizer. Appl Environ Microb 66:4155–4162
Nelson DW, Sommers LE (1982) Total carbon, organic carbon and organic matter. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp539–580
Nioh I, Isobe T, Osada M (1993) Microbial biomass and some biochemical characteristics of a strongly acid tea field soil. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 39:617–626
Olsen SR, Sommers LE (1982) Phosphorus. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp539–580
Øvreas L, Forney L, Daae FL, Torsvik T (1997) Distribution of bacterioplankton in meromictic Lake Saelenvannet, as determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of PCR-amplified gene fragments coding for 16S rRNA. Appl Environ Microb 63:3367–3373
Pandey A, Palni LMS (1996) The rhizosphere effect of tea on soil microbes in a Himalayan monsoonal location. Biol Fertil Soils 21:131–137
Pansombat K, Kanazawa S, Horiguchi T (1997) Microbial ecology in tea soils I. Soil properties and microbial populations. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 43:317–327
Powlson DS, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) Measurement of soil microbial biomass provides an early indication of changes in total soil organic matter due to straw incorporation. Soil Biol Biochem 19:159–164
Robertson GP, Vitousek PM (1981) Nitrification potentials in primary and secondary succession. Ecology 62:376–386
Rønn R, McCaig AE, Griffiths BS, Prosser JI (2002) Impact of protozoan grazing on bacterial community structure in soil microcosms. Appl Environ Microb 68:6094–6105
Schinner F, Von Mersi W (1990) Xylanase-, CM-cellulase- and invertase activity in soil: an improved method. Soil Biol Biochem 22:511–515
Smith JL, Paul EA (1990) The significance of soil microbial biomass estimations. In: Stotzky G, Bollag JM (eds) Soil biochemistry. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp357–396
Sparling GP (1992) Ratios of microbial biomass carbon to soil organic carbon as a indicator of changes in soil organic matter. Aust J Soil Res 30:195–207
Sparling GP (1997) Soil microbial biomass, activity and nutrient cycling as indicators of soil health. In: Pankhurst CE, Doube BM, Gupta VVSR (eds) Biological indicators of soil health. CAB International, New York, pp97–119
Sparling GP, Hart PBS, August JA, Leslie DM (1994) A comparison of soil and microbial carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents, and macro-aggregate stability of a soil under native forest and after clearance for pastures and plantation forest. Biol Fertil Soils 17:91–100
Stark JM, Hart SC (1997) High rates of nitrification and nitrate turnover in undisturbed coniferous forests. Nature 385:61–64
Tachibana N, Yoshikawa S, Ikeda K (1995) Influences of heavy application of nitrogen on soil acidification and root growth in tea fields. Jpn J Crop Sci 64:516–522
Tokuda S, Hayatsu M (2001) Nitrous oxide emission potential of 21 acidic tea field soils in Japan. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 47:637–642
Tokuda S, Hayatsu M (2002) Soil microbial biomass and fluorescein diacetate hydrolytic activity in Japanese acidic tea field soils. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 47:865–869
Tokuda S, Hayatsu M (2004) Nitrous oxide flux from a tea field amended with a large amount of nitrogen fertilizer and soil environmental factors controlling the flux. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 50:365–374
Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DC (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass-C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707
Vance ED, Nadkarni NM (1990) Microbial biomass and activity in canopy organic matter and the forest floor of a tropical cloud forest. Soil Biol Biochem 22:677–684
Vitousek PM, Andariese SW (1986) Microbial transformations of labelled nitrogen in a clear-cut pine plantation. Oecologia 68:601–605
Waid JS (1999) Does soil biodiversity depend upon metabiotic activity and influences? Appl Soil Ecol 13:151–158
Walker N, Wickramasinghe KN (1979) Nitrification and autotrophic nitrifying bacteria in acid tea soils. Soil Biol Biochem 11:231–236
Wardle DA (1992) A comparative assessment of factors which influence microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen levels in soils. Biol Rev 67:321–358
Wardle DA, Ghani A (1995) A critique of the microbial metabolic quotient (qCO2) as a bioindicator of disturbance and ecosystem development. Soil Biol Biochem 27:1601–1610
Wedin DA, Tilman D (1990) Species effects on nitrogen cycling: a test with perennial grasses. Oecologia 84:433–441
Wolters V, Jöergensen RG (1991) Microbial carbon turnover in beach forest soils at different stages of acidification. Soil Biol Biochem 23:897–902
Yan T, Yang L, Campbell CD (2003) Microbial biomass and metabolic quotient of soils under different land use in the three Gorges reservoir area. Geoderma 115:129–138
Yang YH, Yao J, Hu S, Qi Y (2000) Effects of agricultural chemicals on DNA sequence diversity of soil microbial community: a study with RAPD marker. Microbial Ecol. 39:72–79
Yao H, He Z, Wilson MJ, Campbell CD (2000) Microbial biomass and community structure in a sequence of soils with increasing fertility and changing land use. Microbial Ecol 40:223–237
Yao H, Liu Y, Xue D (2006) Influence of tea cultivation on soil microbial biomass and substrate utilization pattern. Commun Soil Sci Plan 37:641–651
Yao H, Xu J, Huang C (2003) Substrate utilization pattern, biomass and activity of microbial communities in a sequence of heavy metal—polluted paddy soils. Geoderma 115:139–148
Zak DR, Groffman PM, Pregitzer KS, Christensen S, Tiedje JM (1990) The vernal dam: plant-microbe competition for nitrogen in northern hardwood forests. Ecology 71:651–656
Zak JC, Willig MR, Moorhead DL, Wildman HG (1994) Functional diversity of microbial communities: a quantitative approach. Soil Biol Biochem 26:1101–1108
Zhou J, Bruns MA, Tiedje JM (1996) DNA recovery from soils of diverse composition. Appl Environ Microb 62:316–322
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation of China (No. 30671207 and 40371063). The authors greatly appreciate the field support provided by Professor Wenyan Han.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xue, D., Yao, H. & Huang, C. Microbial Biomass, N Mineralization and Nitrification, Enzyme Activities, and Microbial Community Diversity in Tea Orchard Soils. Plant Soil 288, 319–331 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9123-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9123-2