Arginine ammonification, a simple method to estimate microbial activity potentials in soils

“…As dehydrogenase and ADA are only found in viable cells these enzyme assays are ideal measures for overall microbial activity in soils (Alef and Kleiner, 1986;Dick, 1992). FDA hydrolysis is carried out by a variety of enzymes (e.g.…”

Section: Soil Sampling and Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of past and current crop management on soil microbial biomass and activity

et al. 2006

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As soil biota is influenced by a number of factors, including land use and management techniques, changing management practices could have significant effects on the soil microbial properties and processes. An experiment was conducted to investigate differences in soil microbiological properties caused by long-and short-term management practices. Intact monolith lysimeters (0.2 m 2 surface area) were taken from two sites of the same soil type that had been under long-term organic or conventional crop management and were then subjected to the same 2½-year crop rotation (winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), maize (Zea mais L.), lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) rape (Brassica napus L. ssp. oleifera)) and two fertiliser regimes (following common organic and conventional practices). Soil samples were taken after crop harvest and analysed for microbial biomass C and N, microbial activity (fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis, arginine deaminase activity, dehydrogenase activity) and total C and N. The incorporation of the green manure stimulated growth and activity of the microbial communities in soils of both management histories. Soil microbial properties did not show any differences between organically and conventionally fertilised soils, indicating that crop rotation and plant type had a larger influence on the microbial biomass and enzyme activities than fertilisation. Initial differences in microbial biomass declined, while the effects of farm management history were still evident in enzyme activities and total C and N. Links between enzyme activities and microbial biomass C varied depending on treatment indicating differences in microbial community composition.

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“…The functions were bacterial biomass production and kinetics of amino-acid utilization with arginine as a model substance. Uptake of arginine by bacterial populations has previously been used as an indicator of microbial activity in soils and has been shown to correlate with respiration of the microbial community (Alef and Kleiner, 1986;Bonde et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Links between bacterial production, amino-acid utilization and community composition in productive lakes

et al. 2007

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Influence of distribution and abundance of bacterial taxa on ecosystem function are poorly understood for natural microbial communities. We related 16S rRNA-based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism to bacterial production and arginine uptake kinetics to test if functional features of bacterioplankton in four lakes could be predicted from community composition. Maximum arginine uptake rate (arginine V max ) ranged from 10% to 100% of bacterial production. Owing to high growth efficiencies on arginine (63-77%), the bacterial community could potentially saturate its carbon demand using this single organic substrate, for example, during sudden surges of free amino acids. However, due to low in situ concentrations of arginine in these lakes (o0.9 lg l À1 ), actual uptake rates at ambient concentrations rarely exceeded 10% of V max . Bacterial production and arginine V max could be predicted from a subset of bacterial ribotypes, tentatively affiliated with several bacterial divisions (Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria). Multivariate statistical analysis indicates that there were both highly important and less important ribotypes for the prediction of bacterial production and arginine V max . These populations were either negatively or positively related to the respective functional feature, indicating contrasting ecological roles. Our study provides a statistically robust demonstration that, apart from environmental conditions, patterns in bacterial community composition can also be used to predict lake ecosystem function.

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Arginine ammonification, a simple method to estimate microbial activity potentials in soils

Cited by 147 publications

References 12 publications

Emissions of Nitrous Oxide (N2O) and Di-Nitrogen (N2) from the Agricultural Landscapes, Sources, Sinks, and Factors Affecting N2O and N2 Ratios

Emissions of Nitrous Oxide (N2O) and Di-Nitrogen (N2) from the Agricultural Landscapes, Sources, Sinks, and Factors Affecting N2O and N2 Ratios

Effects of past and current crop management on soil microbial biomass and activity

Links between bacterial production, amino-acid utilization and community composition in productive lakes

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