P.J. Kuikman

Soil structural aspects of decomposition of organic matter by micro-organisms

Soil architecture is the dominant control over microbially mediated decomposition processes in terrestrial ecosystems. Organic matter is physically protected in soil so that large amounts of well-decomposable compounds can be found in the vicinity of largely starving microbial populations. Among the mechanisms proposed to explain the phenomena of physical protection in soil are adsorption of organics on inorganic clay surfaces and entrapment of materials in aggregates or in places inaccessible to microbes. Indirect evidence for the existence of physical protection in soil is provided by the occurrence of a burst of microbial activity and related increased decomposition rates following disruption of soil structures, either by natural processes such as the remoistening of a dried soil or by human activities such as ploughing. In contrast, soil compaction has only little effect on the transformation of 14C-glucose.Another mechanism of control by soil structure and texture on decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems is through their impact on microbial turnover processes. The microbial population is not only the main biological agent of decomposition in soil, it is also an important, albeit small, pool through which most of the organic matter in soil passes.Estimates on the relative importance of different mechanisms controlling decomposition in soil could be derived from results of combined tracer and modelling studies. However, suitable methodology to quantify the relation between soil structure and biological processes as a function of different types and conditions of soils is still lacking.

Nitrous oxide emission from soils amended with crop residues

Crop residues incorporated in soil are a potentially important source of nitrous oxide (N2O), though poorly quantified. Here, we report on the N2O emission from 10 crop residues added to a sandy and a clay soil, both with and without additional nitrate (NO3). In the sandy soil, total N2O emission from wheat, maize, and barley residues was not significantly different from the control. The total N2O emission from white cabbage, Brussels sprouts, mustard, sugar beet residues and broccoli ranged from 0.13 to 14.6 % of the amount of N added as residue and were higher with additional NO3 than without additional NO3. In the clay soil, similar effects of crop residues were found, but the magnitude of the N2O emission was much smaller than that in the sandy soil: less than 1 % of the residue N evolved as N2O. The C-to-N ratio of the residue accounted for only 22–34% and the mineralizable N content of the residue for 18–74% of the variance in N2O emission. We suggest that the current IPCC methodology for estimating N2O emission from crop residues may be considerably improved by defining crop specific emission factors instead of one emission factor for all crop residues.

Carbon translocation to the rhizosphere of maize and wheat and influence on the turnover of native soil organic matter at different soil nitrogen levels

Wheat and maize were grown in a growth chamber with the atmospheric CO2 continuously labelled with 14C to study the translocation of assimilated carbon to the rhizosphere. Two different N levels in soil were applied. In maize 26–34% of the net assimilated 14C was translocated below ground, while in wheat higher values (40–58%) were found. However, due to the much higher shoot production in maize the total amount of carbon translocated below ground was similar to that of wheat. At high N relatively more of the C that was translocated to the root, was released into the soil due to increased root respiration and/or root exudation and subsequent microbial utilization and respiration. The evolution rate of unlabelled CO2 from the native soil organic matter decreased after about 25 days when wheat was grown at high N as compared to low N. This negative effect of high N in soil was not observed with maize.

Microbial utilization of 14C[U]glucose in soil is affected by the amount and timing of glucose additions

Microbial utilization of glucose-14C by soil microbes was investigated in two laboratory experiments. In the first experiment, 14C-labelled glucose was added to two soils at seven rates ranging from 36 to 2304 μg C g−1 soil. An average of 42% of added 14C was mineralized by day 3 at glucose rates ⩾288 μgCg−1 soil in both soils, but this proportion declined at lower rates. Only 30% of added 14was mineralized at the lowest rate of glucose addition. The fraction of soil 14C released by fumigation-extraction (FE-14C) ranged from 11 to 36%, and decreased linearly with the proportion of 14C mineralized in both soils. The effects of addition rate persisted until the end of the experiment, at 35 days. In the second experiment, addition of unlabelled glucose at 6, 24 or 72 h after addition of glucose-14C at 30 μg C g−1 soil did not appreciably affect the proportion of 14C mineralized, while addition 72 h before or immediately after 14C addition increased 14C mineralization by about 50%. Fumigation-labile 14C was reduced in all cases by addition of unlabelled glucose, with the greatest reduction when unlabelled glucose was added immediately after glucose-14C. We conclude that assimilated glucose-14C was incompletely metabolized at low rates of glucose addition unless soil microorganisms were ‘activated’ by a prior addition of glucose. The proportion of 14C mineralized at low rates of glucose addition to soils may be useful as an indicator of C availability: a small proportion mineralized may indicate low C availability whereas a large proportion mineralized may indicate high C availability.

Dynamics of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii introduced into soil; the effect of bentonite clay on predation by protozoa

Abstract Population dynamics of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii after introduction into a loamy sand was followed using selective plating and immunofluorescence detection techniques. Cell numbers declined steadily during the 60 days of the experiment. Upon introduction of R. leguminosarum biovar trifolii into loamy sand amended with 10% bentonite clay the population size remained constant throughout the incubation. In sterile loamy sand with or without the addition of 10% bentonite clay numbers of R. leguminosarum biovar trifolii initially increased and then remained stable. Inoculation of sterile soil with a soil suspension or with soil protozoa resulted in a decrease in rhizobial cell numbers. However, in both cases survival was significantly improved when soil was amended with bentonite clay. These results suggested that protozoa might be at least partly responsible for the decline of rhizobial numbers in loamy sand, and that bentonite clay conferred partial protection of introduced rhizobial cells against predation by protozoa.

Global change pressures on soils from land use and management

Soils are subject to varying degrees of direct or indirect human disturbance, constituting a major global change driver. Factoring out natural from direct and indirect human influence is not always straightforward, but some human activities have clear impacts. These include land-use change, land management and land degradation (erosion, compaction, sealing and salinization). The intensity of land use also exerts a great impact on soils, and soils are also subject to indirect impacts arising from human activity, such as acid deposition (sulphur and nitrogen) and heavy metal pollution. In this critical review, we report the state-of-the-art understanding of these global change pressures on soils, identify knowledge gaps and research challenges and highlight actions and policies to minimize adverse environmental impacts arising from these global change drivers. Soils are central to considerations of what constitutes sustainable intensification. Therefore, ensuring that vulnerable and high environmental value soils are considered when protecting important habitats and ecosystems, will help to reduce the pressure on land from global change drivers. To ensure that soils are protected as part of wider environmental efforts, a global soil resilience programme should be considered, to monitor, recover or sustain soil fertility and function, and to enhance the ecosystem services provided by soils. Soils cannot, and should not, be considered in isolation of the ecosystems that they underpin and vice versa. The role of soils in supporting ecosystems and natural capital needs greater recognition. The lasting legacy of the International Year of Soils in 2015 should be to put soils at the centre of policy supporting environmental protection and sustainable development.

The impact of protozoa on the availability of bacterial nitrogen to plants

SummaryMicrobial N from 15N-labelled bacterial biomass was investigated in a microcosm experiment, in order to determine its availability to wheat plants. Sterilized soil was inoculated with either bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa alone or with a suspension of a natural bacterial population from the soil) or bacteria and protozoa to examine the impact of protozoa. Plant biomass, plant N, soil inorganic N and bacterial and protozoan numbers were determined after 14 and 35 days of incubation. The protozoa reduced bacterial numbers in soil by a factor of 8, and higher contents of soil inorganic N were found in their presence. Plant uptake of N increased by 20010 in the presence of protozoa. Even though the total plant biomass production was not affected, the shoot: root ratios increased in the presence of protozoa, which is considered to indicate an improved plant nutrient supply. The presence of protozoa resulted in a 65010 increase in mineralization and uptake of bacterial 15N by plants. This effect was more pronounced than the protozoan effect on N derived from soil organic matter. It is concluded that grazing by protozoa strongly stimulates the mineralization and turnover of bacterial N. The mineralization of soil organic N was also shown to be promoted by protozoa.

Seasonal variation in N2O emissions from urine patches: effects of urine concentration, soil compaction and dung

Urine patches in pastures rank among the highest sources of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) from animal production systems. Previous laboratory studies indicate that N2O emissions for urine-N in pastures may increase with a factor five or eight in combination with soil compaction and dung, respectively. These combinations of urine, compaction and dung occur regularly in pastures, especially in so-called camping areas. The aims of this study were (i) to experimentally quantify the effect of compaction and dung on emission factors of N2O from urine patches under field conditions; (ii) to detect any seasonal changes in emission from urine patches; and (iii) to quantify possible effects of urine concentration and -volume. A series of experiments on the effects of compaction, dung, urine-N concentration and urine volume was set up at a pasture on a sandy soil (typic Endoaquoll) in Wageningen, the Netherlands. Artificial urine was applied 8 times in the period August 2000–November 2001, and N2O emissions were monitored for a minimum of 1 month after each application. The average emission factor for urine-only treatments was 1.55%. Over the whole period, only soil compaction had a clear significant effect, raising the average N2O emissions from urine patches from 1.30% to 2.92% of the applied N. Dung had no consistent effect; although it increased the average emissions from 1.60% to 2.82%, this was clearly significant (P< 0.01) for only one application date and marginally significant (P=0.054) for the whole experiment. Both compaction and dung increased water-filled pore space (WFPS) of the topsoil for a more prolonged time than high urine volumes. No effect of amount of urine-N or urine volume on N2O emissions relative to added N was detected for the whole experiment. There were clear differences between application dates, with highest emissions for urine-only treatments of 4.25% in October, 2000, and lowest of −0.11% in June, 2001. Emissions peaked at 60–70% WFPS, and decreased rapidly with both higher and lower WFPS. We conclude that compaction leads to a considerable increase in the N2O emissions under field conditions, mainly through higher WFPS. Dung addition may have the same effect, although this was not consistent throughout our experiment. Seasonal variations seemed mainly driven by differences in WFPS. Based on this study, mitigation strategies should focus on minimizing the grazing period with wet conditions leading to WFPS > 50%, avoiding camping areas in pastures, and on avoiding grazing under moist soil conditions. Greenhouse gas budgets for grazing conditions should include the effects of soil compaction and dung to represent actual emissions.

Bioenergy by-products as soil amendments? Implications for carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions

An important but little understood aspect of bioenergy production is its overall impact on soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. Increased energy production from biomass will inevitably lead to higher input of its by‐products to the soil as amendments or fertilizers. However, it is still unclear how these by‐products will influence microbial transformation processes in soil, and thereby its greenhouse gas (GHG) balance and organic C stocks. In this study, we assess C and N dynamics and GHG emissions following application of different bioenergy by‐products to soil. Ten by‐products were selected from different bioenergy chains: anaerobic digestion (manure digestates), first generation biofuel by‐products (rapeseed meal, distilled dried grains with solubles), second‐generation biofuel by‐products (nonfermentables from hydrolysis of different lignocellulosic materials) and pyrolysis (biochars). These by‐products were added at a constant N rate (150 kg N ha−1) to a sandy soil and incubated at 20 °C. After 60 days, >80% of applied C had been emitted as CO2 in the first‐generation biofuel residue treatments. For second‐generation biofuel residues this was approximately 60%, and for digestates 40%. Biochars were the most stable residues with the lowest CO2 loss (between 0.5% and 5.8% of total added C). Regarding N2O emissions, addition of first‐generation biofuel residues led to the highest total N2O emissions (between 2.5% and 6.0% of applied N). Second‐generation biofuel residues emitted between 1.0% and 2.0% of applied N, with the original feedstock material resulting in similar N2O emissions and higher C mineralization rates. Anaerobic digestates resulted in emissions <1% of applied N. The two biochars used in this study decreased N2O emissions below background values. We conclude that GHG dynamics of by‐products after soil amendment cannot be ignored and should be part of the lifecycle analysis of the various bioenergy production chains.

Protozoan predation and the turnover of soil organic carbon and nitrogen in the presence of plants.

SummaryThe impact of protozoan grazing on the dynamics and mineralization of 14C- and 15N-labelled soil organic material was investigated in a microcosm experiment. Sterilized soil was planted with wheat and either inoculated with bacteria alone or with bacteria and protozoa or with bacteria and a 1:10 diluted protozoan inoculum. 14C−CO2 formation was continuously monitored. It served as an indicator of microbial activity and the respiration of soil organic C. The activity of protozoa increased the turnover of 14C-labelled substrates compared to soil without protozoa. The accumulated 14C−CO2 evolved from the soils with protozoa was 36% and 53% higher for a 1:10 and for a 1:1 protozoan inoculum, respectively. Protozoa reduced the number of bacteria by a factor of 2. In the presence of protozoa, N uptake by plants increased by 9% and 17% for a 1:10 and a 1:1 protozoan inoculum, respectively. Both plant dry matter production and shoot: root ratios were higher in the presence of protozoa. The constant ratio of 15N: 14+15N in the plants for all treatments indicated that in the presence of protozoa more soil organic matter was mineralized. Bacteria and protozoa responded very rapidly to the addition of water to the microcosms. The rewetting response in terms of the 14C−CO2 respiration rate was significantly higher for 1 day in the absence and for 2 days in the presence of protozoa after the microcosms had been watered. It was concluded that protozoa improved the mineralization of N from soil organic matter by stimulating the turnover of bacterial biomass. Pulsed events like the addition of water seem to have a significant impact on the dynamics of food-chain reactions in soil in terms of C and N mineralization.