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Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community

Fraser, F.C.; Todman, L.C.; Corstanje, R.; Deeks, L.K.; Harris, J.A.; Pawlett, M.; Whitmore, A.P.; Ritz, Karl

Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community Thumbnail


Authors

F.C. Fraser

L.C. Todman

R. Corstanje

L.K. Deeks

J.A. Harris

M. Pawlett

A.P. Whitmore

Karl Ritz



Abstract

Factors governing the turnover of organic matter (OM) added to soils, including substrate quality, climate, environment and biology, are well known, but their relative importance has been difficult to ascertain due to the interconnected nature of the soil system. This has made their inclusion in mechanistic models of OM turnover or nutrient cycling difficult despite the potential power of these models to unravel complex interactions. Using high temporal-resolution respirometery (6 min measurement intervals), we monitored the respiratory response of 67 soils sampled from across England and Wales over a 5 day period following the addition of a complex organic substrate (green barley powder). Four respiratory response archetypes were observed, characterised by different rates of respiration as well as different time-dependent patterns. We also found that it was possible to predict, with 95% accuracy, which type of respiratory behaviour a soil would exhibit based on certain physical and chemical soil properties combined with the size and phenotypic structure of the microbial community. Bulk density, microbial biomass carbon, water holding capacity and microbial community phenotype were identified as the four most important factors in predicting the soils’ respiratory responses using a Bayesian belief network. These results show that the size and constitution of the microbial community are as important as physico-chemical properties of a soil in governing the respiratory response to OM addition. Such a combination suggests that the 'architecture' of the soil, i.e. the integration of the spatial organisation of the environment and the interactions between the communities living and functioning within the pore networks, is fundamentally important in regulating such processes.

Citation

Fraser, F., Todman, L., Corstanje, R., Deeks, L., Harris, J., Pawlett, M., Whitmore, A., & Ritz, K. (in press). Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 103, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.09.015

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 17, 2016
Online Publication Date Oct 13, 2016
Deposit Date Nov 3, 2016
Publicly Available Date Nov 3, 2016
Journal Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Print ISSN 0038-0717
Electronic ISSN 1879-3428
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 103
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.09.015
Keywords Soil respiration; Microbial community; Soil architecture;
Complex substrate; Bayesian belief network
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/823600
Publisher URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038071716302383
Contract Date Nov 3, 2016

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