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Soil amendments alter plant biomass and soil microbial activity in a semi-desert grassland

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Abstract

Aims

We tested the effects of soil biotic disturbance and biochar or woodchip amendments on plant growth, soil microbial biomass and activity, and soil physiochemical parameters in response to disturbance in a semi-desert grassland.

Methods

In a 78-day growth chamber experiment using six grass species native to the Southwest U.S., we compared the effects of autoclave heatshock, which mimics soil stockpiling in hot drylands, and amendments on plant and microbial biomass, potential extracellular enzyme activity, and soil moisture and nutrient availability.

Results

Plant biomass was lowest in woodchip-amended soils, and highest in autoclaved and biochar-amended soils (p < 0.05). Root:shoot ratios were higher in the autoclaved and woodchip-amended soils (p < 0.05). Biochar addition improved soil water-holding capacity resulting in higher dissolved organic carbon (p < 0.001) and nitrogen (p < 0.001). Soil microbial activity and plant biomass were not correlated. Amendment-induced changes in activity could be partially explained by nutrient availability. Neither microbial biomass nor activity recovered to pre-disturbance values.

Conclusions

In this study, biochar and woodchip amendment and autoclave-induced changes to moisture and nutrient availability influenced plant biomass allocation and soil microbial activity. Amendments increased carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus mineralizing enzyme activities with no significant change in microbial biomass, indicating that soil recovery in drylands is a long-term process. Understanding plant-soil feedbacks in drylands is critically important to mitigating climate and anthropogenic-driven changes and retaining or reestablishing native plant communities.

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Acknowledgements

This study was carried out with financial support from Rosemont Copper Company. JSF, REG, and CR received partial support from the University of Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station. REG acknowledges support from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA ARZT-1360540-H12-199). We thank Jean McLain and Yusheng Qian for technical support and use of the PikoReal™ Real-Time PCR System, and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Environment and Natural Resources 2, The University of Arizona, 1064 East Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Martha Gebhardt, Jeffrey S. Fehmi & Rachel E. Gallery

  2. Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, 1177 E. 4th Street, P.O. Box 210038, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Craig Rasmussen

  3. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, 1041 East Lowell Street, P.O. Box 210088, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Rachel E. Gallery

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  1. Martha Gebhardt
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  2. Jeffrey S. Fehmi
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  3. Craig Rasmussen
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  4. Rachel E. Gallery
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Correspondence to Martha Gebhardt.

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Responsible Editor: Jeff R. Powell .

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Gebhardt, M., Fehmi, J.S., Rasmussen, C. et al. Soil amendments alter plant biomass and soil microbial activity in a semi-desert grassland. Plant Soil 419, 53–70 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3327-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3327-5

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