Summary
Three dry tropical forest soils along a topographic sequence were examined to determine the seasonal dynamics of microbial C, N, and P. The lowest microbial biomass was found in forest soils at the foot of the hill followed by midslope forest soils. The hilltop soil, which had the most fine particles, water-holding capacity, organic C, and total N, reflected the presence of greater amounts of microbial C, N, and P. Mean annual microbial C, N, and P ranges were 466–662, 48–72 to 21–30 μg g-1, respectively. The seasonal pattern of microbial biomass, C, N, and P was similar at all sites, the values being greatest during the dry season and lowest during the wet season. The seasonal values for microbial biomass C, N, and P were positively correlated with each other and a negative correlation was found between microbial biomass and the fine root mass in these forest soils.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
American Public Health Association (1985) Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. American Public Health Association, Washington DC
Azam M, Yousaf M, Hussain F, Malik KA (1989) Determination of biomass N in some agricultural soils of Punjab, Pakistan. Plant and Soil 113:223–228
Bottner P, Sallih Z, Billes G (1988) Root activity and carbon metabolism in soils. Biol Fertil Soils 7:71–81
Brookes PC, Powlson DS, Jenkinson DS (1982) Measurement of microbial biomass phosphorus in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 14:319–329
Brookes PC, Powlson DS, Jenkinson DS (1984) Phosphorus in the soil microbial biomass. Soil Biol Biochem 16:169–175
Brookes PC, Landman A, Pruden G, Jenkinson DS (1985) Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil N: A rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass N in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 17:837–842
Chen M, Alexander M (1973) Survival of soil bacteria during prolonged desiccation. Soil Biol Biochem 5:213–221
Dalal RC, Mayer RJ (1987) Long-term trends in fertility of soils under continuous cultivation and cereal cropping in Southern Queensland: VII. Dynamics of nitrogen mineralization potentials and microbial biomass. Aust J Soil Res 25:461–472
Griffin DM (1969) Soil water in ecology of fungi. Annu Rev Phytopathol 7:289–310
Jackson ML (1958) Soil chemical analysis. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Jenkinson DS, Ladd JN (1981) Microbial biomass in soil: Measurement and turnover. In: Paul EA, Ladd JN (eds) Soil biochemistry, vol 5. Marcell Dekker, New York, pp 415–471
Jenkinson DS, Powlson DS (1976) The effects of biocidal treatments on metabolism in soil: V. A method for measuring soil biomass. Soil Biol Biochem 8:209–213
Jenkinson DS, Powlson DS (1980) Measurements of microbial biomass in intact soil cores and in sieved soil. Soil Biol Biochem 12:579–581
Keift TL, Soroker E, Firestone MK (1987) Microbial biomass response to a rapid increase in water potential when dry soil is wetted. Soil Biol Biochem 19:119–126
Klemedtsson L, Berg P, Clarholm M, Schnurer J (1987) Microbial nitrogen transformation in the root environment of barley. Soil Biol Biochem 19:551–558
Livingston G, Vitousek PM, Matson PA (1988) Nitrous oxide fluxes and nitrogen transformations across a landscape gradient in Amazonia. J Geophys Res 93:1593–1599
Lynch JM, Panting LM (1982) Effects of season, cultivation and nitrogen fertiliser on the size of the soil microbial biomass. J Sci Food Agri 33:249–252
Marumoto T, Kai H, Yoshida T, Harada T (1977) Drying effect on mineralizations of microbial cells and their cell walls in soil and contribution of microbial cell walls as a source of decomposable soil organic matter due to drying. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 23:9–19
Piper CS (1944) Soil and Plant Analysis. Interscience Publications, New York
Powlson DS, Brookes PC, Christensen BT (1987) Measurement of soil microbial biomass provides an early indication of changes in total soil organic matter due to straw incorporation. Soil Biol Biochem 19:159–164
Raghubanshi AS, Srivastava SC, Singh RS, Singh JS (1990) Nutrient release in leaf litter. Nature (Lond) 346:227
Ross DJ, Orchard VA, Rhoades DA (1984) Temporal fluctuations in biochemical properties of soil under pasture: I. Respiratory activity and microbial biomass. Aust J Soil Res 22:303–317
Ross DJ, Speir TW, Tate KR, Orchard VA (1985) Effects of sieving on estimations of microbial biomass, and carbon and nitrogen mineralization in soil under pasture. Aust J Soil Res 23:319–324
Ross DJ, Sparling GP, West AW (1987) Influence of Fusarium oxysporium age on proportions of C, N and P mineralized after chloroform fumigation in soil. Aust J Soil Res 25:563–566
Sarathchandra SU, Perrott KW, Upsdell MP (1984) Microbiological and biochemical characteristics of a range of New Zealand soils under established pasture. Soil Biol Biochem 16:177–183
Sarathchandra SU, Perrott KW, Boase MR, Waller JE (1988) Seasonal changes and the effects of fertilizer on soil microbiological, biochemical and chemical characteristics of high producing pastoral soil. Biol Fertil Soils 6:328–335
Schimel DS, Coleman DC, Harton KA (1985) Soil organic matter dynamics in paired rangeland and cropland toposequences in North Dakota. Geoderma 30:201–214
Semb G, Robinson JBD (1969) The natural nitrogen flush in different arable soils and climates in East Africa. East Afr Agric For J 34:350–370
Shields JA, Paul EA, Lowe WE (1973) Turnover of microbial tissue in soil under field conditions. Soil Biol Biochem 5:753–764
Singh L, Singh JS (1991) Species structure, dry matter dynamics and carbon flux of a dry tropical forest of India. Ann Bot (in press)
Singh JS, Raghubanshi AS, Singh RS, Srivastava SC (1989) Microbial biomass acts as a source of plant nutrient in dry tropical forest and savanna. Nature (Lond) 399:499–500
Singh RS, Raghubanshi AS, Singh JS (1991) Nitrogen-mineralization in dry tropical savanna: Effects of burning and grazing. Soil Biol Biochem 23:269–273
Sparling GP, Ross DJ (1988) Microbial contributions to the increased nitrogen mineralization after air-drying of soils. Plant and Soil 105:163–167
Sparling GP, Milne DG, Vincent KW (1997) Effect of moisture regime on the microbial contribution to Olsen P values. NZ J Agric Res 30:79–84
Srivastava SC, Singh JS (1988) Carbon and phosphorus in the soil biomass of some tropical soils of India. Soil Biol Biochem 20:743–747
Srivastava SC, Jha AK, Singh JS (1989) Changes with time in soil biomass C, N and P of mine spoils in a dry tropical environment. Can J Soil Sci 69:849–855
Van Veen JA, Ladd JN, Amato M (1985) Turnover of carbon and nitrogen through the microbial biomass in a sandy loam and a clay soil incubated with [14N(U)] glucose and [15N] (NH4)2SO4 under different moisture regimes. Soil Biol Biochem 17:747–756
Van Veen JA, Merckx R, Van de Geijn SC (1989) Plant- and soil-related controls of the flow of carbon from roots through the soil microbial biomass. In: Clarholm M, Bergstrom L (eds) Ecology of arable land. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 43–52
Warcup JM (1957) Studies on the occurrence and activity of fungi in a wheat field soil. Trans Br Mycol Soc 40:327–362
West AW, Sparling GP, Speir TW, Wood JM (1988) Dynamics of microbial C, N, N-flush and ATP, and enzyme activities of gradually dried soils from a climosequence. Aust J Soil Res 26:519–530
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Raghubanshi, A.S. Dynamics of soil biomass C, N, and P in a dry tropical forest in India. Biol Fert Soils 12, 55–59 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00369388
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00369388