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Decomposition of maize residues after manipulation of colonization and its contribution to the soil microbial biomass

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Abstract

A 28-day incubation experiment at 12°C was carried out on the decomposition of maize leaf litter to answer the questions: (1) Is the decomposition process altered by chemical manipulations due to differences in the colonization of maize leaf litter? (2) Do organisms using this maize material contribute significantly to the soil microbial biomass? The extraction of the maize straw reduced its initial microbial biomass C content by 25%. Fumigation and extraction eliminated the microbial biomass by 88%. In total, 17% of added maize straw C was mineralized to CO2 during the 28-day incubation at 12°C in the treatment with non-manipulated straw. Only 14% of added C was mineralized in the treatment with extracted straw as well as in the treatment with fumigated and extracted straw. The net increase in microbial biomass C was 79 μg g−1 soil in the treatment with non-manipulated straw and an insignificant 9 μg g−1 soil in the two treatments with manipulated straw. However, the net increase did not reflect the fact that the addition of maize straw replaced an identical 58% (≈180 μg g−1 soil) of the autochthonous microbial biomass C3-C in all three straw treatments. In the two treatments with manipulated straw, the formation of maize-derived microbial biomass C4-C was significantly reduced by 25%. In the three straw treatments, the ratio of fungal ergosterol-to-microbial biomass C ratio showed a constant 60% increase compared to the control, and the contents of glucosamine and muramic acid increased by 18%. The average fungal C/bacterial C ratio was 3.6 in the soil and 5.0 in the recovered maize straw, indicating that fungal dominance was not altered by the initial chemical manipulations of the maize straw-colonizing microorganisms.

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Acknowledgments

This project was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The authors would like to thank Anja Becker and Lars Swzec (Göttingen) as well as Gabriele Dormann and Anett Grosscurth (Witzenhausen) for their skilled technical assistance.

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Author notes

  1. Martin Potthoff

    Present address: Research Centre for Agriculture and the Environment, University of Göttingen, Am Vogelsang 6, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

  2. Jens Dyckmans

    Present address: Centre for Stable Isotope Research and Analysis, University of Göttingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Soil Science and Forest Nutrition, University of Göttingen, Buesgenweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Martin Potthoff, Jens Dyckmans, Heinz Flessa & Friedrich Beese

  2. Department of Soil Biology and Plant Nutrition, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstr. 1a, 37243, Witzenhausen, Germany

    Martin Potthoff & Rainer Georg Joergensen

Authors
  1. Martin Potthoff
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  2. Jens Dyckmans
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  3. Heinz Flessa
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  4. Friedrich Beese
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  5. Rainer Georg Joergensen
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Correspondence to Rainer Georg Joergensen.

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Potthoff, M., Dyckmans, J., Flessa, H. et al. Decomposition of maize residues after manipulation of colonization and its contribution to the soil microbial biomass. Biol Fertil Soils 44, 891–895 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-007-0266-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-007-0266-y

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