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Long-term effects of grassland management on soil microbial abundance: implications for soil carbon and nitrogen storage
- Source :
- Biogeochemistry. 141:213-228
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2018.
-
Abstract
- Grassland management intensification can significantly affect the structure and composition of important soil microbial groups such as bacteria and fungi. Changes to these microbial communities can greatly influence carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling in grassland soils. Here we specifically address how microbial abundances might shift under the effect of multiple management practices and how this in turn might relate to changes in soil C and N storage. Soil samples were collected from a 23-year-old grassland experiment and real-time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed to address whether and how (1) chronic nutrient additions, (2) liming (i.e., the addition of CaCO3 to soils), and (3) grazing by rabbits might affect archaeal, bacterial and fungal microbial groups. We found that liming additions significantly increased archaeal and bacterial abundance whilst strongly reducing fungal abundance. The addition of N-only (as NH4NO3) significantly reduced bacterial abundance while chronic grazing by rabbits resulted in positive effects on archaeal abundance. Despite long-term grassland management significantly affecting soil microbial abundances (and Fungal-to-Bacterial ratios), microbial changes were not related to either changes in soil C or N pools. Overall, our results suggest that (1) important microbial-‘soil functioning’ relationships may only be detected at lower taxonomic levels, and (2) liming-induced increases in soil pH determined significant shifts in soil microbial abundance, which could have important consequences for the delivery of multiple soil ecosystem services (i.e., nutrient regulation, C and N sequestration) from permanent grassland.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
Soil test
Chemistry
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
Soil carbon
complex mixtures
Grassland
03 medical and health sciences
030104 developmental biology
Nutrient
Agronomy
Abundance (ecology)
Soil pH
Soil water
040103 agronomy & agriculture
0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries
Environmental Chemistry
Ecosystem
Earth-Surface Processes
Water Science and Technology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 1573515X and 01682563
- Volume :
- 141
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Biogeochemistry
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........da3cbb71bbc94b1512241deb5e45fcb6