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Microbial Resource Limitation in Aggregates in Karst and Non-Karst Soils

Wang, Yunqiu ; Shahbaz, Muhammad LU ; Zhran, Mostafa ; Chen, Anlei ; Zhu, Zhenke ; Galal, Yehia Galal Mohamed ; Ge, Tida and Li, Yuhong (2021) In agronomy 11(8).
Abstract
Karst is a widespread ecosystem with properties that affect the microbial activity and storage and cycling of soil organic carbon. The mechanisms underlying microbial resource availability in karst, which limit the microbial growth and activity in soil aggregates, remain largely unknown. We assessed the microbial resource limitations using exoenzymatic stoichiometry and key extracellular enzyme activities in bulk soil and aggregates in karst and non-karst forest soils. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen were significantly higher in bulk soil and the aggregate fractions in karst forests. However, the microbial biomass accumulation was higher in finer aggregates than in macroaggregate fractions.... (More)
Karst is a widespread ecosystem with properties that affect the microbial activity and storage and cycling of soil organic carbon. The mechanisms underlying microbial resource availability in karst, which limit the microbial growth and activity in soil aggregates, remain largely unknown. We assessed the microbial resource limitations using exoenzymatic stoichiometry and key extracellular enzyme activities in bulk soil and aggregates in karst and non-karst forest soils. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen were significantly higher in bulk soil and the aggregate fractions in karst forests. However, the microbial biomass accumulation was higher in finer aggregates than in macroaggregate fractions. This may be attributed to the surface area of finer aggregates that increase the microbial C accumulation. In karst forests, the activity of extracellular enzymes β-d-glucosidase, β-N-acetylglucosaminidase, α-glucosidase, and α-d-1,4-cellobiosidase was two to three times higher in microaggregates (0.053–0.25 mm) and mineral fractions (<0.053 mm) than in macroaggregates. This coincided with the distribution of microbial biomass carbon and phosphorus in finer aggregate fractions. The microorganisms in bulk soil and aggregates in karst forests were largely co-limited by carbon and phosphorus and rarely by nitrogen and only by phosphorus in non-karst soils. The microbial phosphorus limitation in non-karst soils was alleviated in finer soil aggregates, while these fractions reflected slightly higher. microbial C limitations than bulk and other aggregates in karst forests. The patterns of microbial resource limitations in the bulk and aggregate fractions in karst ecosystems reflected the regulation of enzyme activity and soil organic carbon accumulation in finer aggregate fractions but not in other aggregates (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
agronomy
volume
11
issue
8
article number
1591
pages
18 pages
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85113904163
ISSN
2073-4395
DOI
10.3390/agronomy11081591
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ca4b0886-5257-49b0-bfe2-7a9b14f93755
date added to LUP
2021-08-13 07:41:03
date last changed
2023-02-21 11:27:04
@article{ca4b0886-5257-49b0-bfe2-7a9b14f93755,
  abstract     = {{Karst is a widespread ecosystem with properties that affect the microbial activity and storage and cycling of soil organic carbon. The mechanisms underlying microbial resource availability in karst, which limit the microbial growth and activity in soil aggregates, remain largely unknown. We assessed the microbial resource limitations using exoenzymatic stoichiometry and key extracellular enzyme activities in bulk soil and aggregates in karst and non-karst forest soils. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen were significantly higher in bulk soil and the aggregate fractions in karst forests. However, the microbial biomass accumulation was higher in finer aggregates than in macroaggregate fractions. This may be attributed to the surface area of finer aggregates that increase the microbial C accumulation. In karst forests, the activity of extracellular enzymes β-d-glucosidase, β-N-acetylglucosaminidase, α-glucosidase, and α-d-1,4-cellobiosidase was two to three times higher in microaggregates (0.053–0.25 mm) and mineral fractions (&lt;0.053 mm) than in macroaggregates. This coincided with the distribution of microbial biomass carbon and phosphorus in finer aggregate fractions. The microorganisms in bulk soil and aggregates in karst forests were largely co-limited by carbon and phosphorus and rarely by nitrogen and only by phosphorus in non-karst soils. The microbial phosphorus limitation in non-karst soils was alleviated in finer soil aggregates, while these fractions reflected slightly higher. microbial C limitations than bulk and other aggregates in karst forests. The patterns of microbial resource limitations in the bulk and aggregate fractions in karst ecosystems reflected the regulation of enzyme activity and soil organic carbon accumulation in finer aggregate fractions but not in other aggregates}},
  author       = {{Wang, Yunqiu and Shahbaz, Muhammad and Zhran, Mostafa and Chen, Anlei and Zhu, Zhenke and Galal, Yehia Galal Mohamed and Ge, Tida and Li, Yuhong}},
  issn         = {{2073-4395}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{8}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{agronomy}},
  title        = {{Microbial Resource Limitation in Aggregates in Karst and Non-Karst Soils}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11081591}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/agronomy11081591}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}