Summary
The course of the CO2 evolution rates of soil samples has been followed continuously in the absence and in the presence of various organic compounds. After an incubation period of 300 hours at 13 and 20°C the CO2 evolution from pasture soil (containing 1.76% soil organic carbon) amounted to 0.13 and 0.44μg CO2−C.g soil−1.h−1, respectively. For arable soil (containing 1.20% soil organic carbon) the rates amounted to 0.04 and 0.09 μg CO2−C.g soil−1.h−1, respectively.
At 20°C larger amounts of the organic substrates added to the soil supplied with 20 μg NH4NO3−N.g soil−1 were lost as CO2 than at 13°C, indicating a higher efficiency of the growth of microorganisms at lower temperatures. In the absence of NH4NO3 the respiration rates were initially higher than in its presence, suggesting that a part of the soil microflora is inhibited by low concentrations of NH4NO3. The amounts of carbon lost were low for phenolcarboxylic acids with OH groups in the ortho position. The replacement of one of these groups by a methoxyl group resulted in a larger amount of the C lost as CO2. The replacement of the COOH group by a C=C−COOH group had a decreasing effect on the decomposition of the phenolic acids tested. The decomposition of vanillic acid,p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and of the benzoic acids with OH groups in the meta position was as complete as that of glucose, amino acids or casein. The decomposition of bacterial cells to CO2 was considerably less than that of glucose.
No evidence could be obtained that the low percentage of substrate converted to CO2 at the time of maximal respiration rate was due to the decreasing diffusion rate of substrate to the microbial colonies in the soil during the consumption of substrate.
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
Alexander, M. 1977 Introduction to Soil Microbiology. 2nd Ed. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York, 467 p.
Chahal, K. S. and Wagner, G. H. 1965 Decomposition of organic matter in Sanborn field soils amended with C14 glucose. Soil Sci.100, 96–103.
Gilmour, C. M., Damsky, L. and Bollen, W. B. 1958 Manometric gas analysis as an index of microbial oxidations and reductions in soil. Can. J. Microb.4, 287–293.
Haider, J. and Martin, J. P. 1975 Decomposition of specifically carbon-14 labeled benzoic and cinnamic acid derivatives in soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc.39, 657–662.
Haider, K., Martin, J. P. and Filip, Z. 1975 Humus biochemistry.In Soil Biochemistry4. Eds. E. A. Paul and A. D. McLaren. Marcel Dekker Inc. New York, pp 195–244.
Huntjens, J. L. M. 1979 A sensitive method for continuous measurement of the carbon dioxide evolution rate of soil samples. Plant and Soil53, 529–534.
Kowalenko, C. G., Ivarson, K. C. and Cameron, D. R. 1978 Effect of moisture content, temperature and nitrogen fertilization on carbon dioxide evolution from field soils. Soil Biol. Biochem.10, 417–423.
Kubát, J., Novak, B. and Ružička, M. 1980 Modelling the growth of bacteria during glucose decomposition in soil under different temperatures. Plant and Soil55, 77–84.
McCormick, R. W. and Wolf, D. C. 1980 Effect of sodium chloride on CO2 evolution, ammonification, and nitrification in a Sassafras sandy loam. Soil Biol. Biochem.12, 153–157.
Somogyi, M. 1952 Notes on sugar determination. J. Biol. Chem.195, 19–23.
Wagner, G. H. 1975 Microbial growth and carbon turnover.In Soil Biochemistry3. Eds. E. A. Paul and A. D. McLaren. Marcel Dekker Inc. New York, pp 269–305.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huntjens, J.L.M., Oosterveld-van Vliet, W.M. & Sayed, S.K.Y. The decomposition of organic compounds in soil. Plant Soil 61, 227–242 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02277376
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02277376