Effect of litter type on soil microbial parameters and dissolved organic carbon in a laboratory microcosm experiment

Abstract

A laboratory microcosm experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of the four single-species (Pinus tabulaeformis (Pt), Pinus radiata (Pr), Cercidiphyllum japonicum (Cj), and Ostryopsis davidiana (Od) litters from southwestern China and mixed pine-broadleaf (Pt + Cj, Pr + Cj, Pt + Od, Pr + Od) litters on soil microbial activities and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Microcosms with the local typical soil and litterbags containing the eight litter types were incubated with 60% water field capacity for 84 days at 20°C. The results showed that the dynamics of soil microbial parameters and DOC were influenced by the litter types with different initial chemical quality. Due to their initial poor nutrient contents, the Pt and Pr litter treatments always showed lower soil microbial activities and DOC at each sampling compared with the Cj and Od litter treatments. However, compared with the single-species pine litter treatments, the inclusion of broadleaf Cj or Od litter into pine litter significantly increased soil microbial activities, and the concentrations of soil DOC during the whole incubation process. The current work thus provided a good implication for plantation management that it should be appropriate to consider Cj as an ameliorative species or retain Od in the pine plantations to improve soil conditions.

Effect of land cover and hydro‐meteorological controls on soil water DOC concentrations in a high‐elevation tropical environment

“…Lower DOC concentrations in soil water under pine forest could also be attributed to the low quality of pine forests' litter (high lignin content and low soluble carbon content). This can have a direct influence on the microbial biomass resulting in reduced microbial activity, and therefore, to lower DOC releases compared to natural forests (Li et al, 2014;Pinos et al, 2017;Ramírez et al, 2014 Even though C/N ratios at local and global scales are usually positively correlated with DOC concentrations and export (Aitkenhead, Hope, & Billett, 1999;Aitkenhead & Mcdowell, 2000;Bottner et al, 2006), we did not find such a clear relation (Table 1).…”

The impact of a bio-fertilizer on the soil organic matter status and carbon sequestration—results from a field-scale study

“…The DOC is a very important fraction of organic matter, and its content is expressed based on the determination of carbon content in this fraction (Gonet et al 2002;Gonet and Dębska 2006;Chen and Xu 2008;Guo et al 2011;Li et al 2014). It is believed that the formation of mobile compounds that consist of mineral components and dissolved organic matter is one of the reasons for carbon depletion in soil.…”

“…DOM consists of simple organic compounds that have a nonspecific humic substance character (fatty acids, organic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates) and water-soluble compounds that have a humus character. The formation and translocation of DOM in soils is a very important process of organic matter transformation because the DOM takes part in the C cycling between ecosystems even though it only accounts for about 1 % of the total organic carbon in agricultural soils (Gonet and Dębska 2006;Li et al 2014). It should be kept in mind that the content, production, and consumption of dissolved organic matter are closely related to soil microbial activity.…”

Effect of Leaf Litter Treatment on Soil Microbial Biomass

“…Organic inputs as leaf litters in the soil increase the level of soil microbial biomass [3]. It represents an active fraction of soil organic matter due to its rapid turnover rate and fast release of available nutrients [4].…”