An empirical model for describing the influence of water content and concentration of sulfamethoxazole (antibiotic) in soil on the total net CO2 efflux

The aim of the study was to describe the impact of the soil water content and sulfamethoxazole, SUL, (antibiotic) concentration in soil on the net CO2 efflux. Soil samples were taken from topsoils of a Haplic Fluvisol and Haplic Chernozem. Soil samples were packed into the steel cylinders. The net CO2 efflux was measured from these soil columns after application of fresh water or SUL solution at different soil water contents. The experiments were carried out in dark at 20°C. The trends in the net CO2 efflux varied for different treatments. While initially high values for water treatment exponentially decreased in time, values for solution treatment increased during the first 250–650 minutes and then decreased. The total net CO2 effluxes measured for 20 hours related to the soil water content followed the second order polynomial functions. The maximal values were measured for the soil water content of 0.15 cm3 cm−3 (Haplic Fluvisol with water or solution, Haplic Chernozem with solution) and 0.11 cm3 cm−3 (Haplic Chernozem with water). The ratios between values measured for solution and water at the same soil water contents exponentially increased with increasing SUL concentration in soils. This proved the increasing stimulative influence of SUL on soil microbial activity.