Abstract
Microbial metabolic quotient (MMQ) is the rate of soil microbial respiration per unit of microbial biomass, and represents the capacity of soil microbes to utilize soil organic matter. Understanding the regional variation and determinants of MMQ can help predict the responses of soil respiration rate to global climate change. Accordingly, we measured and analyzed MMQ-related data (e.g., soil basic respiration rate at 20°C and soil microbial biomass) from 17 grassland sites, which located in meadow steppe, typical steppe, and desert steppe along a 1000-km transect across the Inner Mongolian grasslands, China. Results showed that MMQ varied significantly among the different grassland types (P < 0.05; desert > typical > meadow) and decreased from southwest to northeast (r = − 0.81) with increasing latitude (r = − 0.50), and with increasing mean annual precipitation (r = − 0.69). Precipitation accounted for 56% of the total variation in MMQ, whereas temperature accounted for 26%. MMQ was negatively correlated with precipitation across the Inner Mongolian grasslands. Therefore, climate change, especially in regard to precipitation, may influence soil microbial respiration and soil carbon dynamics through altering MMQ. These results highlighted the importance of spatial patterns in MMQ for accurately evaluating the responses of soil respiration to climate change at regional and global scales.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aldezabal A, Moragues L, Odriozola I et al., 2015. Impact of grazing abandonment on plant and soil microbial communities in an Atlantic mountain grassland. Applied Soil Ecology, 96: 251–260. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2015.08.013
Anderson J M, 1992. Responses of soils to climate change. Advances in Ecological Research, 22: 163–210. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2504(08)60136-1
Blagodatskaya E, Yuyukina T, Blagodatsky S et al., 2011. Turnover of soil organic matter and of microbial biomass under C3–C4 vegetation change: consideration of 13C fractionation and preferential substrate utilization. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43(1): 159–166. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.09.028
Bogorodskaya A V, Baranchikov Y N, Ivanova G A, 2009. The state of microbial complexes in soils of forest ecosystems after fires and defoliation of stands by gypsy moths. Eurasian Soil Science, 42(3): 310–317. doi: 1134/S1064229309030089
Canarini A, Kiær L P, Dijkstra F A, 2017. Soil carbon loss regulated by drought intensity and available substrate: a meta-analysis. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 112(1): 90–99. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.04.020
Chen C.R, Condron L M, Davis M R et al., 2004. Effects of plant species on microbial biomass phosphorus and phosphatase activity in a range of grassland soils. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 40(5): 313–322. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-004-0781-z
Chen D M, Mi J, Chu P F et al., 2015. Patterns and drivers of soil microbial communities along a precipitation gradient on the Mongolian Plateau. Landscape Ecology, 30(9): 1669–1682. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-014-9996-z
Chen G C, Gan L, Wang S L et al., 2001. A comparative study on the microbiological, characteristics of soils under different, land-use conditions from Karst Areas of Southwest China. Chinese Journal of Geochemistry, 20(1): 52–58. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03166849
Donat M G, Alexander L V, Herold N et al., 2016. Temperature and precipitation extremes in century-long gridded observations, reanalyses, and atmospheric model simulations. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, 121(19): 11174–11189. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025480
Dijkstra P, Thomas S C, Heinrich P L et al., 2011. Effect of temperature on metabolic activity of intact microbial communities: evidence for altered metabolic pathway activity but not for increased maintenance respiration and reduced carbon use efficiency. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 43(10): 2023–2031. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.05.018
Fierer N, Schimel J P, 2002. Effects of drying-rewetting frequency on soil carbon and nitrogen transformations. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 34(6): 777–787. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00007-X
Francaviglia R, Renzi G, Ledda L et al., 2017. Organic carbon pools and soil biological fertility are affected by land use intensity in Mediterranean ecosystems of Sardinia, Italy. Science of the Total Environment, 599–600: 789–796. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.021
Frostegård Å, Bååth E, Tunlio A, 1993. Shifts in the structure of soil microbial communities in limed forests as revealed by phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 25(6): 723–730. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(93)90113-P
He N P, Wang R M, Gao Y et al., 2013. Changes in the temperature sensitivity of SOM decomposition with grassland succession: implications for soil C sequestration. Ecology and Evolution, 3(15): 5045–5054. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.881
He Wenbin, 2012. The Impacts of Moving on Compensatoty Growth for Ceratoides Arborescens. Huhhot: Inner Mongolia University. (in Chinese)
Hu Q, Pan F F, Pan X B et al., 2015. Spatial analysis of climate change in Inner Mongolia during 1961–2012, China. Applied Geography, 60: 254–260. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.10.009
Insam H, 1990. Are the soil microbial biomass and basal respiration governed by the climatic regime? Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 22(4): 525–532. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(90)90189-7
Jiang Y J, Sun B, Jin C et al., 2013. Soil aggregate stratification of nematodes and microbial communities affects the metabolic quotient in an acid soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 60(60): 1–9. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2013.01.006
Li Y, Liu Y H, Wang Y L et al., 2014. Interactive effects of soil temperature and moisture on soil N mineralization in a Stipa krylovii grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. Journal of Arid Land, 6(5): 571–580. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-014-0025-5
Liu Tao, Zhang Yongxian, Xu Zhenzhu et al., 2012. Effects of short-term warming and increasing precipitation on soil respiration of desert steppe of Inner Mongolia. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 36(10): 1043–1053. (in Chinese)
Liu X R, Ren J Q, Li S G et al., 2015. Effects of simulated nitrogen deposition on soil net nitrogen mineralization in the meadow steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. Plos One, 10(7): e0134039. doi: 10. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134039
Liu Y, He N P, Zhu J X et al., 2017. Regional variation in the temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition in China’s forests and grasslands. Global Change Biology, 23(8): 3393–3402. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13613
Liu Y, He N P, Wen X F et al., 2018. The optimum temperature of soil microbial respiration: Patterns and controls. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 121(1): 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.02.019Get rights and content
Li X Z, Chen Z Z, 2004. Soil microbial biomass C and N along a climatic transect in the Mongolian steppe. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 39(5): 344–351. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-004-0720-z
Nelson D W, Sommers L E, Sparks D L et al., 1996. Total carbon, organic carbon, and organic matter. In: Sparks D L (ed). Methods of Soil Analysis. Madison: Soil Science Society of America, 9: 961–1010.
Powlson D S, Jenkinson D S, 1976. The effects of biocidal treatments on metabolism in soil-II. Gamma irradiation, autoclaving, air-drying and fumigation. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 8(3): 179–188. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(76)90002-X
Raiesi F, Beheshti A, 2014. Soil C turnover, microbial biomass and respiration, and enzymatic activities following rangeland conversion to wheat-alfalfa cropping in a semi-arid climate. Environmental Earth Sciences, 72(12): 5073–5088. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3376-5
Saggar S, Mcintosh P D, Hedley C B et al., 1999. Changes in soil microbial biomass, metabolic quotient, and organic matter turnover under Hieracium (H. pilosella L.). Biology and Fertility of Soils, 30(3): 232–238. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003740050613
Schimel J P, Bennett J, 2004. Nitrogen mineralization: challenges of a changing paradigm. Ecology, 85(3): 591–602. doi: https://doi.org/10.1890/03-8002
Steinweg J M, Dukes J S, Paul E A et al., 2013. Microbial responses to multi-factor climate change: effects on soil enzymes. Frontiers in Microbiology, 4: 146. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2013.00146
Suseela V, Tharayil N, Xing B S et al., 2014. Warming alters potential enzyme activity but precipitation regulates chemical transformations in grass litter exposed to simulated climatic changes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 75(1): 102–112. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2014.03.022
Wang G C, Du R, Kong Q X et al., 2004. Experimental study on soil respiration of temperate grassland in China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 49(6): 642–646. doi: https://doi.org/10.1360/03wd0241
Wang Q, Wang D, Wen X F et al., 2015. Differences in SOM decomposition and temperature sensitivity among soil aggregate size classes in a temperate grasslands. Plos One, 10(2): e0117033. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0117033.
Wang Z L, Li J, Lai C G et al., 2017. Does drought in China show a significant decreasing trend from 1961 to 2009. Science of the Total Environment, 579: 314–324. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.098
Wu H, Dannenmann M, Wolf B et al., 2012. Seasonality of soil microbial nitrogen turnover in continental steppe soils of Inner Mongolia. Ecosphere, 3(4): 1–18. doi: 0.1890/ES11-00188.1
Xu X F, Schimel J P, Janssens I A et al., 2017. Global pattern and controls of soil microbial metabolic quotient. Ecological Monographs, 87(3): 429–441. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1258
Xu Z W, Yu G R, Zhang X Y et al., 2015. The variations in soil microbial communities, enzyme activities and their relationships with soil organic matter decomposition along the northern slope of Changbai Mountain. Applied Soil Ecology, 86: 19–29. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2014.09.015
Yan Hui, Cai Zucong, Zhong Wenhui, 2006. PLFA analysis and its applications in the study of soil microbial diversity. Acta Pedologica Sinica, 43(5):851–859. (in Chinese)
Zhao C C, Miao Y, Yu C D et al., 2016. Soil microbial community composition and respiration along an experimental precipitation gradient in a semiarid steppe. Scientific Reports, 6: 24317. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep24317
Zhao J, Yang J, Shao Y Q, 2007. Microbiological quantitive assessment on soil health in a degraded grassland. Journal of Agro-Environment Science, 26(6): 2090–2094.
Zhao L L, Xu J J, Powell Jr A M et al., 2015. Uncertainties of the global-to-regional temperature and precipitation simulations in CMIP5 models for past and future 100 years. Theoretical & Applied Climatology, 122(1): 259–270. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1293-x
Zheng J F, Chen J H, Pan G X et al., 2016. Biochar decreased microbial metabolic quotient and shifted community composition four years after a single incorporation in a slightly acid rice paddy from southwest China. Science of the Total Environment, 571: 206–217. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.07.135
Zhou D N, Zhang F P, Duan Z Y et al., 2013. Effects of heavy metal pollution on microbial communities and activities of mining soils in Central Tibet, China. Journal of Food Agriculture & Environment, 11(1): 676–681.
Zhou X Q, Chen C R, Wang Y F et al., 2013. Warming and increased precipitation have differential effects on soil extracellular enzyme activities in a temperate grassland. Science of the Total Environment, 444: 552–558. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.12.023
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2016YFA0600104, 2016YFC0500102, 2017YFD0200604), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31770655, 41671045, 31772235)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cao, Y., Xu, L., Zhang, Z. et al. Soil Microbial Metabolic Quotient in Inner Mongolian Grasslands: Patterns and Influence Factors. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 29, 1001–1010 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-019-1084-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-019-1084-5