content of microbial biomass nitrogen in differently used soils of the

content of microbial biomass nitrogen in differently used soils of the

ECOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY AND ENGINEERING
A
V ol. 18 , No. 4
20 11
Anna MIECHÓWKA1, Micha³ G¥SIOREK,
Agnieszka JÓZEFOWSKA and Pawe³ ZADRO¯NY
CONTENT OF MICROBIAL BIOMASS NITROGEN
IN DIFFERENTLY USED SOILS
OF THE CARPATHIAN FOOTHILLS
ZAWARTOή AZOTU BIOMASY MIKROBIOLOGICZNEJ
W RÓ¯NIE U¯YTKOWANYCH GLEBACH POGÓRZA KARPACKIEGO
Abstract: T he paper presents resu lts of stu dies on m icrobial biom ass nitrogen content in agricu ltu rally
m anaged soils of the Silesian and Ciezkowickie Foothills. We u sed soil m aterial from 14 soil profiles located
in pairs – on adjoining arable lands and grasslands. In soil m aterial was assessed the basic properties and
m icrobial biom ass nitrogen by chloroform fu m igation-ex traction m ethod. T he analy zed soils were characterized by a high share of m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen in its total content, which m ay ev idence their high
biological activ ity . T he contents of m icrobial biom ass nitrogen and its share in the total nitrogen content in
grassland soils were significant higher than in arable soils. T he content of m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen in
the stu died soils was positiv ely correlated with the contents of total nitrogen and organic carbon, cation
ex change capacity and soil abu ndance in m agnesiu m (av ailable and ex changeable form s) and with
ex changeable sodiu m .
Ke y w o rd s: Silesian and Ciezkowickie Foothills, soil m anagem ent m ethod, total nitrogen, m icrobial biom ass
nitrogen
Microbial biom ass constitu tes a sm all q u ota of the soil organic m atter, bu t du e to its
considerable biochem ical activ ity play s a m ajor role in energy and nu trient cy cling in
the ecosy stem s. T he share of m icrobial biom ass nitrogen in its total contents in arable
soils m ay be a sensitiv e indicator of the ecological balance in soils. Its v alu es generally
fall within the 1–6 % range, and the higher the share, the “ healthier” the soil [1]. It
resu lts from a faster cy cle of m icroorganism biom ass circu lation than the other organic
m atter in soil [1, 2].
T he content of m icrobial biom ass nitrogen in soils depends on the phy sicochem ical
and chem ical properties of soils [2–8 ] and is related to the way of their u se – the highest
in the forest soils, lower in grassland soils and the lowest in soils of arable lands [2, 9 ].
1
Departm ent of Soil Science and Soil Protection, U niv ersity of Agricu ltu re in Krakow, al. A. Mickiewicza
21, 31–120 Krakó w, Poland, phone +48 12 6 6 2 43 7 0 , em ail: rrm iecho@ cy f-kr.edu .pl
578
Anna Miechó wka et al
In soils of arable land it is u nder the effect of the cu ltiv ation m ethod [4, 7 ]. T he im pact
of fertilization and cu ltiv ation sy stem s on the change of the lev el of the m icrobial
biom ass nitrogen content is often analy zed basing on the resu lts of field ex perim ents [5 ,
7 ]. T he content of carbon and m icrobial biom ass nitrogen in the soils is also u sed for the
com plete characterization of the soil env ironm ent of the sam e areas [2, 4, 8 , 10 ]. In the
scientific literatu re there is a lack of su ch data for the agricu ltu ral soils of Carpathian
Foothills.
T he paper aim ed to determ ine the content of m icrobial biom ass nitrogen and its share
in the total nitrogen content in the soils of the Silesian and Ciezkowickie Foothills and
the im pact of soil m anagem ent m ethods and som e chem ical and phy sicochem ical
properties of inv estigated soils on changes of these param eters.
Mate rial an d m e th o d s
T he paper u sed the soil m aterial from 14 profiles of brown soils and soil lessiv es,
form ed from the rock waste of the Œ l¹ sk u nit, of the Carpathian Fly sch localized in 7
sites (T able 1), in pairs – on adjoining arable lands and grasslands, so that when
com paring the analy zed soil properties it was possible to ex clu de the effect of soil
form ing factors, other than the m anagem ent m ethod.
T able 1
L ocalization of analy zed soils
L ocalization
No
L ongitu de
Elev ation
[m a.s.l.]
o
0 18 o49 ¢14,3–15 ,7 ²E
37 9
o
L ocality
L atitu de
Silesian Foothills
1
U stroñ
49 43¢18 ,7 –19 ,5 ²N
2
U stroñ
49 43¢25 ,5 –25 ,6 ²N
0 18 o49 ¢48 ,8 –49 ,3²E
437
3
Gó rki Wielkie
49 o46 ¢38 ,6 –38 ,9 ²N
0 18 o5 1¢15 ,8 –15 ,9 ²E
35 3
Ciezkowickie Foothills
4
49 o5 0 ¢27 ²N
0 21o11¢47 ,3²E
40 2
49 5 1¢12,6 –13,8 ²N
0 21o11¢17 ,6 –19 ,6 ²E
435
Swoszowa
o
5
Joniny
6
Czerm na
49 o49 ¢10 ,1²N
0 21o19 ¢17 ,1²E
36 1
7
Dobrocin
49 o5 0 ¢23,1²N
0 21o0 9 ¢5 8 ,7 ²E
416
T he inform ation abou t the soil m anagem ent m ethods were obtained from the farm ers
cu ltiv ating them . Crop rotation: potatoes, wheat, cereal m ix tu re (wheat, barley and oat)
was u sed on the arable lands, ex cept for site 7 (potatoes, ry e and oat). T he soils were
fertilized ev ery 2–3 y ears with farm y ard m anu re and with m ineral fertilizers, bu t m u ch
lower doses of nitrogen fertilizers were applied on the Ciezkowickie Foothill (ca
10 –30 kg N × ha–1) than on the Silesian Foothill (approx im ately 10 0 –16 0 kg N × kg–1).
L ower nitrogen fertilization was recom pensed by higher farm y ard m anu re doses and on
the sites 4 and 5 additionally pou ltry m anu re was applied. On the grasslands m ineral
fertilizers were u sed only on the sites: 3 (ca 10 0 kg N × kg–1), 4 (14 kg N × kg–1) and 6
Content of Microbial B iom ass Nitrogen in Differently U sed Soils...
579
(23 kg N × kg–1) and farm y ard m anu re and (or) slu rry on sites: 2 (the highest dose), 3
and 6 . T he grasslands on sites 1 and 7 were left u nfertilized.
In the fine earth parts of the analy zed soils, tex tu re was assessed u sing aerom etric
Casagrande m ethod in Proszy nski’s m odification [11], pH in H2O u sing potentiom etric
m ethod [12], the su m of ex changeable bases (B C) by m eans of determ ining indiv idu al
cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+) after their ex traction with 1 m ol × dm –3 CH3COOHN4,
potential acidity (H+) with Kappen m ethod u sing 1 m ol × dm –3 CH3COONa for
ex traction and the contents of: av ailable phosphoru s and potassiu m u sing Egner-Riehm
m ethod, av ailable m agnesiu m with Schachtschabel m ethod [13], total organic carbon
(T OC) with Eu ro T herm oglas T OC-T N 120 0 apparatu s, total nitrogen (T N) with
Kjedahl m ethod by Kjeltec apparatu s and m icrobial biomass nitrogen (B N) u sing
chloroform fu m igation-ex traction m ethod [14].
T he significance of differences between arithm etic m eans of selected properties of
corresponding arable soils and grasslands were assessed u sing T u key test at significance
lev el p < 0 .0 5 . T he v alu e of correlation coefficient was also com pu ted according to
Spearm an’s rank order. T he calcu lations were m ade u sing the STATISTICA program .
Re su lts an d d iscu ssio n
T he analy zed soils were characterized by div ersified tex tu re, chem ical and phy sicochem ical properties, howev er in the su rface horizons of grassland soils m ean contents of
organic carbon, total nitrogen, m icrobial biom ass nitrogen and av ailable m agnesiu m
were apparently higher, whereas av erage concentrations of av ailable phosphoru s and
potassiu m form s were lower than in the arable soils (T able 2, 3). Significant higher
contents of T OC, T N and B N in the grassland soils than in arable soils was in the first
place du e to the fact that greater am ou nt of organic biom ass, processed by a greater
nu m ber of m icroorganism s was su pplied to them [2, 5 , 15 ]. L ower contents of av ailable
P and K form s in the grassland soils can by connected with lower fertilization applied
on these lands in com parison with the plou gh lands, or with a total lack of fertilization
(T able 3). T here are also higher av erage content of ex changeable base (ex cept K+),
higher av erage potential acidity and av erage cation ex change capacity in the su rface
horizons of grassland soils (T able 4).
Soil profiles, com pared in pairs, representing arable lands and grasslands situ ated
close by , were approx im ate considering their m orphology and som e phy sicochem ical
and chem ical properties, particu larly in lower situ ated genetic horizons. In the su rface
horizons of these soils, som e chem ical properties becam e m ore or less div ersified in
resu lt of v ariou s m ethods of soil m anagem ent and accom pany ing fertilization. On all
analy zed sites, the su rface horizons of the grassland soils contained bigger am ou nts of
organic carbon, total nitrogen and m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen than the analogou s
soil horizons of the arable soils. T hese soils were also characterized by a higher share of
m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen in its total content (T able 2). T he highest differences
between the content of discu ssed com ponents in arable soils and grassland soils were
assessed in soils from Czerm na and Dobrocin v illages (sites 6 and 7 ). T he grassland
soils situ ated there contained alm ost 4 tim es m ore T OC, ov er twice m ore T N and
580
Anna Miechó wka et al
5 tim es m ore B N. T hese differences resu lted from low contents of these com ponents in
the arable soils (T able 2).
T able 2
Contents of total organic carbon (T OC), total nitrogen (T N) and m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen (B N)
in su rface horizons of analy zed arable soils and grasslands
Arable soils
No.
T OC
TN
–1
[g × kg d.m .]
Grasslands
B N
–1
B N/T N
[mg × g d.m .]
[% ]
T OC
TN
–1
[g × kg d.m .]
B N
B N/T N
–1
[mg × g d.m .]
[% ]
1
19 .0 8
1.7 3
42.5 0
2.46
24.17
2.0 6
9 7 .41
4.7 3
2
19 .0 8
2.0 0
43.9 9
2.20
26 .0 3
2.8 8
223.8 8
7 .7 9
3
17 .10
2.0 0
40 .8 5
2.0 4
34.42
3.20
128 .9 4
4.0 3
4
11.6 2
1.35
37 .26
2.7 7
30 .33
2.9 9
132.5 6
4.43
5
9 .8 8
1.32
23.9 4
1.8 2
19 .8 9
2.43
111.9 6
4.6 0
6
6 .47
1.15
19 .18
1.6 8
29 .0 2
2.29
121.9 8
5 .32
7
9 .8 2
0 .8 5
25 .0 1
2.9 4
34.9 5
2.22
126 .6 5
5 .7 0
Mean*
13.29 a
1.49 a
33.25 a
2.27 a
28 .40 b
2.5 8 b
134.7 7 b
5 .23b
* Means m arked in colu m n with the different letters are significant at p < 0 .0 5 according to T u key test.
T he indicator characterizing the soil health state is the share of m icrobial biom ass
nitrogen in total nitrogen content [1, 15 ]. T he v alu es of this indicator (1.6 8 –2.9 4 % for
plou gh lands and 4.0 3–7 .7 9 % for grasslands) allow to regard the stu died soils as
m icrobiologically activ e and in good health state. T he highest v alu e of the discu ssed
indicator was noted on site 2 for grasslands (7 .7 9 % ). High biological activ ity of soil on
this land m ight hav e been affected by annu al farm y ard m anu re application. T he q u ota of
m icrobial biom ass nitrogen in its total content was also high in the m eadow soil from
Dobrocin (site 7 ), which was left u nfertilized (T able 2). It confirm s the reports of other
au thors, that farm y ard m anu re fertilization and/or lack of m ineral treatm ent stim u late
soil biological activ ity [5 ].
T he content of m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen in the analy zed soils was positiv ely
correlated with total nitrogen and organic carbon concentrations, cation ex change
capacity and soil abu ndance in m agnesiu m (both av ailable and ex changeable form s) and
in ex changeable sodiu m and negativ ely with clay content (T able 5 ). T he problem of
dependence of m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen content on organic carbon and total
nitrogen contents are often brou ght u p aspects of soil inv estigation [2, 3, 15 ]. Form er
inv estigations [2, 16 ] also pointed to the dependence of the discu ssed param eter on pH,
which was not corroborated by the condu cted research. It is m ost freq u ently assu m ed
that pH assessed in H2O, which is m ost adv antageou s for m icroorganism activ ity in soil
is 6 .5 [2, 16 ]. In the inv estigated soils pH ranged widely between 4.9 and 7 .7 (T able 3),
howev er its effect on m icroorganism biom ass content was not registered. In the soils
with pH v alu es approx im ate to assessed in the analy zed soils Kara and B olat [2]
dem onstrated its negativ e correlation with B N, significant at p < 0 .0 1. T he sam e au thors
Selected properties of su rface horizons of analy zed soils
Arable soils
No.
pH in H2O
< 0 .0 0 2 m m
[% ]
1
5 .6
2
5 .6
3
4
Grasslands
–1
Av ailable com ponents [m g × kg ]
pH in H2O
< 0 .0 0 2 m m
[% ]
P
K
Mg
11
9 1.8
49 6 .9
15 4.4
5 .5
9
15
10 9 .9
48 2.3
19 1.7
5 .6
11
5 .9
18
36 4.6
313.4
9 6 .3
5 .3
9
5 .5
24
11.5
113.7
9 8 .8
5 .5
14
5
5 .3
10
6 1.2
26 9 .7
5 4.9
6 .6
6
7 .7
15
5 2.8
226 .0
7 0 .8
7
5 .1
7
15 8 .6
10 1.2
39 .6
Mean
5 .8
14.3
121.5
28 6 .2
10 0 .9
Av ailable com ponents [m g × kg–1]
P
K
Mg
1.1
7 4.6
10 9 .8
35 .8
6 7 1.6
26 0 .0
48 .3
138 .6
118 .9
16 .7
18 8 .6
18 0 .4
5
16 .7
5 1.3
114.6
6 .4
4
25 .5
17 6 .1
7 2.1
4.9
5
36 .7
16 9 .8
318 .3
5 .7
8 .1
25 .8
210 .1
16 7 .7
Content of Microbial B iom ass Nitrogen in Differently U sed Soils...
T able 3
581
582
T able 4
Sorption properties of su rface horizons of analy zed soils
Arable soils
No
Ca
2+
Mg
2+
Na
+
K
+
B C
Grasslands
a
+
H
CEC
b
a
B S
Ca
2+
Mg
2+
Na
+
K+
B Ca
H+
CECb
[m m ol(+) × kg–1]
[% ]
B Sc
[% ]
1
6 2.7
7 .0
1.2
7 .7
7 8 .6
5 6 .7
135 .3
5 8 .1
35 .7
5 .1
0 .6
2.0
43.4
8 8 .1
131.4
33.0
2
6 9 .9
10 .0
1.4
7 .8
8 9 .0
5 8 .2
147 .2
6 0 .5
7 3.5
13.1
2.0
10 .1
9 8 .6
6 5 .7
16 4.3
6 0 .0
3
7 6 .8
6 .6
1.0
5 .5
9 0 .0
44.3
134.3
6 7 .0
8 4.6
8 .8
1.7
2.5
9 7 .6
6 9 .0
16 6 .7
5 8 .6
4
8 1.0
6 .9
0 .5
1.9
9 0 .3
5 6 .1
146 .4
6 1.7
9 2.6
12.4
0 .9
3.4
10 9 .4
6 1.9
17 1.2
6 3.9
5
17 .3
2.7
0 .7
3.5
24.1
5 8 .0
8 2.1
29 .4
7 7 .5
7 .5
0 .7
0 .9
8 6 .6
30 .0
116 .6
7 4.3
6
10 5 .7
5 .6
0 .7
3.9
115 .8
11.4
127 .2
9 1.1
112.3
4.6
0 .9
3.1
120 .8
21.8
142.6
8 4.7
7
11.3
2.0
0 .6
1.7
15 .6
6 0 .6
7 6 .3
20 .5
38 .8
14.5
1.6
3.3
5 8 .2
6 6 .3
124.5
46 .8
Mean
6 0 .7
5 .8
0 .9
4.6
7 1.9
49 .3
121.2
5 5 .5
7 3.6
9 .4
1.2
3.6
8 7 .8
5 7 .5
145 .3
6 0 .2
B C – ex ch angeable bases;
b
CEC – cation ex ch ange cap acity ;
c
B S – base satu ration ratio.
Anna Miechó wka et al
[m m ol(+) × kg–1]
c
Content of Microbial B iom ass Nitrogen in Differently U sed Soils...
583
obtained, sim ilar as in presented resu lts, a negativ e relationship between B N and clay
content.
In the analy zed soils the share of m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen in total nitrogen
content depended on its soil concentrations. It was also positiv ely correlated with
m agnesiu m content (T able 5 ).
T able 5
V alu es of Spearm an rank correlation coefficients
Soil
properties
B N
B N/T N
a
p £ 0 .0 1,
TN
B N/T N
0 .9 14
0 .6 8 1
b
b
b
0 .8 7 9
—
b
T OC
0 .9 0 3
0 .7 25
b
b
pH in
H 2O
< 0 .0 0 2
m m
–0 .0 47
a
–0 .0 22
–0 .6 8 1
–0 .5 32
a
P
Mg2+
Mg
av ailable
–0 .28 1
–0 .437
0 .6 6 5
Na+
CEC
ex changeable
a
a
0 .45 4
0 .6 0 8
a
0 .5 5 8 a
0 .5 8 8 a
0 .345
a
a
0 .36 8 a
0 .27 3
p £ 0 .0 0 1.
Co n clu sio n s
1. Arable soils of the Silesian and Ciezkowickie Foothills were characterized by a
high share of m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen in its total content, which allows them to
inclu de to soils with a high biological activ ity and in a good health state.
2. It was ascertained that, the soil m anagem ent m ethod was a significant factor
affecting the m icrobial biom ass nitrogen content. T he contents of m icroorganism
biom ass nitrogen and its share in total nitrogen content in grassland soils were m u ch
higher than in arable soils.
3. T he content of m icroorganism biom ass nitrogen in the stu died soils was positiv ely
correlated with the contents of total nitrogen and organic carbon, cation ex change
capacity and soil abu ndance in m agnesiu m (both av ailable and ex changeable form s) and
in ex changeable sodiu m .
4. T he nitrogen content in soils was the factor determ ining the share of m icrobial
biom ass nitrogen in its total content.
Ack n o w le d g e m e n t
T he stu dies were financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Edu cation, Poland, u nder the grant No.
N N310 312434.
Re fe re n ce s
[1] Sparling G.P. [in:] B iological Indicators of Soil Health (eds. Pankhu rst C.E., Dou be B .M. and Gu pta
V .V .S.R.), CAB INT ERNAT IONAL , 19 9 7 , 9 7 –119 .
[2] Kara O. and B olat I.: T u rc. J. Agric. For. 20 0 8 , 3 2 , 28 1–28 8 .
[3] Chowdhu ry M.A.H., Kou no K. and Ando T .: Soil Sci. Plant Nu tr. 19 9 9 , 45 (1), 17 5 –18 6 .
[4] Dilly O., B lu m e H.-P. and Mu nch J.Ch.: B iogeochem istry 20 0 3, 6 5 (3), 319 –339 .
[5 ] B alik J., È erny J., T lu stoš P., Zitkov á M., Sý kora K. and Wiœ niowska-Kielian B .: Chem . In¿ . Ekol. 20 0 4,
1 1 (8 ), 7 0 3–7 11.
584
[6 ]
[7 ]
[8 ]
[9 ]
[10 ]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15 ]
[16 ]
Anna Miechó wka et al
Zwoliñ ski J.: Polish J. Ecol. 20 0 4, 5 2 (4), 5 5 3–5 6 1.
Gajda A. and Marty niu k S.: Polish J. Env iron. Stu d. 20 0 5 , 1 4(2), 15 9 –16 3.
Zhang J., Gu o J., Chen G. and Q ian W.: J. For. Res. 20 0 5 , 1 6 (4), 327 –330 .
B lagodatskii S.A., B ogom olov a I N. and B lagodatskay a E.V .: Microbiology 20 0 8 , 7 7 (1), 9 9 –10 6 .
Scharenbroch B .C. and L loy d J.E.: J. Arboricu ltu re 20 0 4, 3 0 (4), 214–230 .
PN-R-0 40 32: Gleby i u twory m ineralne. Pobieranie pró bek i oznaczanie sk³adu granu lom etry cznego,
19 9 8 .
PN-ISO 10 39 0 : Jakoœ æ gleby . Oznaczanie pH, 19 9 8 .
L ity ñ ski T ., Ju rkowska H. and Gorlach E.: Analiza chem iczno-rolnicza. PWN, Warszawa 19 7 6 , pp. 332.
V oroney R.P., Winter J.P. and B ey aert R.P.: Soil m icrobial biom ass C and N, [in:] Carter M.R.: Soil
sam pling and m ethods of analy sis. L ewis Pu blishers, B oca Raton, U SA 19 9 3, 27 7 –28 6 .
Chen G. and He Z.: J. Zhejiang U niv er. Sci. 20 0 3, 4(4), 48 0 –48 4.
Acosta-Martinez V . and T abatabai M.A.: B iol. Fertil. Soils 20 0 0 , 3 1 , 8 5 –9 1.
ZAWARTOή AZOTU BIOMASY MIKROBIOLOGICZNEJ
W RÓ¯NIE U¯YTKOWANYCH GLEBACH POGÓRZA KARPACKIEGO
Katedra Gleboznawstwa i Ochrony Gleb
U niwersy tet Rolniczy im . Hu gona Ko³³¹ taja w Krakowie
Abstrak t: W pracy przedstawiono wy niki badañ nad zawartoœ ci¹ azotu biom asy m ikrobiologicznej
w u ¿ y tkowany ch rolniczo glebach Pogó rza Œ l¹ skiego i Ciê ¿ kowickiego. Wy korzy stano m ateria³ glebowy z 14
profili gleb zlokalizowany ch param i – na gru ntach orny ch i u ¿ y tkach zielony ch s¹ siadu j¹ cy ch ze sob¹ .
Oznaczono podstawowe w³aœ ciwoœ ci gleb oraz zawartoœ æ azotu biom asy m ikrobiologicznej m etod¹ chloroform owej fu m igacji-ekstrakcji. B adane gleby charaktery zowa³y siê du ¿ y m u dzia³em azotu biom asy m ikroorganizm ó w w jego ogó lnej zawartoœ ci, co œ wiadczy o ich wy sokiej akty wnoœ ci biologicznej. W glebach
u ¿ y tkó w zielony ch zawartoœ æ azotu biom asy m ikrobiologicznej i jego u dzia³ w ca³kowitej zawartoœ ci azotu
by ³y istotnie wiê ksze ni¿ w glebach gru ntó w orny ch. Zawartoœ æ azotu biom asy m ikroorganizm ó w by ³a
dodatnio skorelowana z zawartoœ ci¹ azotu ogó ³em i wê gla organicznego, pojem noœ ci¹ wy m ienn¹ kationow¹
i zasobnoœ ci¹ gleb w m agnez (przy swajalny i wy m ienny ) oraz só d wy m ienny .
S³o w a k lu cz o w e : Pogó rze Œ l¹ skie i Ciê ¿ kowickie, sposó b u ¿ y tkowania gleb, azot ogó ³em , azot biom asy
m ikrobiologicznej