Summary
Dynamics of C, N, S, and to some extent P are expressed by a knowledge of the size and turnover rates of plant constituents such as soluble C and N components, cellulose and hemicellulose, and lignin. Soil organic matter constituents include: the microbial biomass as determined chemically or microscopically, non-biomass active components determined by isotopic dilution, stabilized N constituents for which good techniques are not yet available, and resistant or old C and associated N determined by carbon dating. The processes involved in the nutrient transformations and transfers are reasonably well understood. The control mechanisms require further elucidation to be able to extrapolate from the laboratory to the field, and between field sites. Major control mechanisms requiring further insight include the effects of C availability on transformations of C and N. The other control for which every little is known is that of spatial compartmentalization. Compartmentalization ranges from landscape or management sequences to pedogenic layers, rhizosphere-mycorrhizal effects, clay-sesquioxide surfaces, aggregation, localized enzymes, and microbial effects such as membrane boundaries. Control mechanisms for concurrent mineralization-immobilization, the stabilization of microbial products, and the relative role of the biomass as a catalyst rather than as a source-sink for nutrients, must be understood. There is potential for combining a knowledge of microbial production and turnover with that of the roles of the soil organic active fraction as a temporary storehouse for nutrients. This, in conjunction with management techniques such as zero tillage and crop rotation, should make it possible to better utilize soil and fertilizer N, especially in areas of the world where the cost of nutrients is high relative to the value of the crop grown.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams McM T and Laughlin R J 1981 The effects of agronomy on the carbon and nitrogen contained in the soil biomass. J. Agric. Sci. Camb. 97, 319–327.
Anderson D W 1979 Processes of humus formation and transformation in soils of the Canadian plains. J. Soil Sci. 30, 77–84.
Anderson D W, Saggar S, Bettany J R and Stewart J W B 1981 Particle size fractions and their use in studies of soil organic matter: I. The nature and distribution of forms of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45, 767–772.
Anderson D W and Paul E A 1983 Organo-mineral complexes and their study by radiocarbon dating. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. (submitted).
Benzing-Purdie L and Ripmeester J A 1983 Melanoidins and soil organic matter: evidence of strong similarities revealed by’3C CP-MAS NMR. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 47, 56–61.
Carter M R and Rennie D A 1982 Changes in soil quality under zero tillage farming systems: Distribution of microbial biomass and mineralizable C and N potentials. Can. J. Soil Sci. 62, 587–597.
Doran J W 1980 Social microbial and biochemical changes associated with reduced tillage. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 44, 765–771.
Elliott E T, Cole C V, Fairbanks B C, Woods L E, Bryant R J and Coleman D C 1983 Short-term bacterial growth, nutrient uptake, and ATP turnover in sterilized, inoculated and C-amended soil: The influence of N availability. Soil Biol. Biochem. 15, 85–91.
Gainey P L 1936 Total nitrogen as a factor influencing nitrate accumulation in solids. Science 42, 157–163.
Greenland D J and Ford G W 1964 Separation of partially humified organic materials from soils by ultrasonic vibration. 8th International Congress of Soil .Science Transactions 3, 137–148.
Greenland D J and Watanabe I 1982 The continuing nitrogen enigma. In Whither Soil Research, Panel Discussion Papers, 12th International Congress of Soil Science, New Delhi.
Hatcher P G, Schnitzer M, Dennis L W and Maciel G E 1981 Aromaticity of humic substances in soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 45, 1089–1094.
Hedley M J, Stewart J W B and Chauhan B S 1982 Changes in inorganic and organic soil phosphorus fractions induced by cultivation practices and by laboratory incubations. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46, 970–976.
Jansson S L 1958 Tracer studies on nitrogen transformation in soil with special attention to mineralization-immobilization relationships. Annals Royal Agr. Coll., Sweden 24, 101–361
Jansson S L and Persson J 1982 Mineralization and immobilization of soil nitrogen. In Nitrogen in Agricultural Soils. Ed. F J Stevenson. Agronomy No. 22, Amer. Soc. Agron. Inc., Madison, Wisconsin.
Jenkinson D C and Ladd J N 1981 Microbial biomass in soil. In Soil Biochemistry, Vol. 5, pp. 415–472. Eds. E A Paul and J N Ladd. Marcel Dekker, New York.
Juma N G and Paul E A 1983 Effect of a nitrification inhibitor on N immobilization and release of 15N from nonexchangeable ammonium and microbial biomass. Can. J. Soil Sci. 62 (in press).
Kassim G, Stott D E, Martin J P and Haider K 1982 Stabilization and incorporation into biomass of phenolic and benzenoid carbons during biodegradation in soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 46,305–309.
Kucey R L and Paul E A 1982 Carbon flow, photosynthesis and NZ fixation in mycorrhizal and nodulated faba beans Vicia faba. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 407–412.
Ladd J N, Oades J M and Amato M 1981 Microbial biomass formed from ’4C, 15N-labelled plant material decomposing in soils in the field. Soil Biol. Biochem. 13, 119–126.
Lal R and Kang B T 1982 Management of organic matter in soils of the tropics and subtropics. In Non-Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation and Organic Matter in the Tropics. Symposia Papers 1. Transactions of the 12th International Congress of Soil Science, New Delhi, India, 1982.
Lathwell D J and Bouldin D R 1981 Soil organic matter and soil nitrogen behaviours in cropped soils. Trop. Agric. (Trinidad) 58, 341–348.
Lynch J M and Panting L M 1980 Cultivation and the soil biomass. Soil Biol. Biochem. 12,29–33.
Malik K A and Haider K 1982 Decomposition of 14C-labelled melanoid fungal residues in a marginally sodic soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14,457–460.
Marshman N A and Marshall K C 1981 Bacterial growth on proteins in the presence of clay minerals. Soil Biol. Biochem. 13, 127–134.
Martin J P, Zunino H, Peirano P, Caiozzi M and Haider K 1982 Decomposition of 14C-labelled lignins, model humic acid polymers, and fungal melanins in allophanic soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 289–293.
Marumoto T, Anderson J P E and Domsch K H 1982a Decomposition of 14C- and 15N-labelled microbial cells in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 461–467.
Marumoto T, Anderson J P E and Domsch K H 1982b Mineralization of nutrients from soil microbial biomass. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 469–475.
McGill W B, Hunt H W, Woodmansee R G and Reuss J O 1981 Phoenix — A model of the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen in grassland soils. In Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycles. Processes, Ecosystem Strategies and Management Impacts. Eds. F E Clark and T Rosswall. Ecol. Bull. (Stockholm) 33, 237–247.
McGill W B and Paul E A 1976 Fractionation of soil and 15N turnover to separate the organic and clay interactions of immobilized N. Can. J. Soil Sci. 56, 203–212.
Melillo J M 1981 Nitrogen cycling in terrestrial forests. In Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycles. Processes, Ecosystem Strategies and Management Impacts. Eds. F E Clark and T Rosswall. Ecol. Bull. (Stockholm) 33, 427–442.
Molina JAW, Clapp C E, Shaffer M J, Chichester F W and Larson W E 1983 NCSOIL, a model of nitrogen and carbon transformations in soil: description, calibration, and behavior. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 47, 85–91.
Myers R J K, Campbell C A and Weier K L 1982 Quantitative relationship between net nitrogen mineralization and moisture content of soils. Can. J. Soil Sci. 62, 111–124.
Parton W J, Persson J and Anderson D W 1982 Simulation of soil organic matter changes in Swedish soils. In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Ecological Modeling (in press).
Paul E A and Juma N G 1981 Mineralization and immobilization of soil nitrogen by microorganisms. In Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycles. Processes, Ecosystems Strategies and Management Impacts. Eds. F E Clark and T Rosswall. Ecol. Bull. (Stockholm) 33, 179–204.
Payne W J and Wiebe W J 1978 Growth yield and efficiency in chemosynthetic microorganisms. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 32, 155–184.
Powers R 1982 Soil nitrogen mineralization under field conditions. Agron. Abstr. 1982, 270.
Powlson D S and Jenkinson D S 1981 A comparison of the organic matter, biomass, adenosine triphosphate and mineralizable nitrogen contents of ploughed and direct-drilled soils. J. Agric. Sci. Camb. 97, 713–721.
Reinertsen S A, Elliott L F, Cochran V L and Campbell G S 1983 The role of available carbon and nitrogen in determining the rate of wheat straw decomposition. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J (submitted).
Richter J, Nuske A, Habenicht W and Bauer J 1982 Optimized N-mineralization parameters of loess soils from incubation experiments. Plant and Soil 68, 379–388.
Rosswall T 1982 Microbiological regulation of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle. Plant and Soil 67, 15–34.
Ruggiero P, Interesse F S, Cassidei L and Sciacovelli O 1981 ‘H NMR and i.e. spectroscopic investigations on soil organic fractions obtained by gel chromatography. Soil Biol. Biochem. 13,361–366.
Sanchez P A 1982 Nitrogen in shifting cultivation systems in Latin America. Plant and Soil 67, 91–104.
Shields J A and Paul E A 1973 Decomposition of 14C-labelled plant material in soil under field conditions. Can. J. Soil Sci. 53, 279–306.
Sollins P, Spycher G and Glassman C 1983 Nitrogen dynamics of light-and heavy-fraction forest soil organic matter. Soil Biol. Biochem. (submitted).
Sorensen L H 1981 Carbon—nitrogen relationships during the humification of cellulose in soils containing different amounts of clay. Soil Biol. Biochem. 13, 313–321.
Sparling G P, Cheshire M V and Mundie C M 1982 Effect of barley plants on the decomposition of 14C-labelled soil organic matter. J. Soil Sci. 33, 89–100.
Spycher G and Young J L 1979 Water dispersable soil organic-mineral particles: 2. Inorganic amorphous and crystalline phases in density fractions of clay-sized particles. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 43, 328–332.
Stanford G and Smith S J 1972 Nitrogen mineralization potentials of soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 36, 465–472.
Stevenson F J 1982 Nitrogen in agricultural soils. Agronomy 22, Amer. Soc. Agron. Inc., Madison, Wisconsin.
Stewart J W B and McKercher R B 1981 Phosphorus cycle. In Experimental Microbial Ecology, Chapter 14. Eds. R G Burns and J H Slater. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Tisdall J M and Oades J M 1982 Organic matter and water-stable aggregates in soils. J. Soil Sci. 33, 141–163.
Van Veen J A and Paul E A 1981 Organic carbon dynamics in grassland soils. 1. Background information and computer simulation. Can. J. Soil Sci. 61, 185–201.
Vogt K A, Grier C C, Meier C E and Edmonds R L 1982 Mycorrhizal role in net primary production and nutrient cycling in Abies amabilis ecosystems in western Washington U.S.A. Ecology 63, 370–380.
Voroney R P 1983 The dynamics of soil organic matter in field soils. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Saskatchewan.
Voroney R P and Paul E A 1983 Determination of Kc and Kn in situ for calibration of the chloroform fumigation incubation method. Soil Biol. Biochem. (in press).
Williams M R and Goh K M 1982 Changes in the molecular weight distribution of soil organic matter during humification. N.Z. J. Sci. 25, 335–340.
Zunino H, Borie F, Aguilera S, Martin J P and Haider K 1982 Decomposition of 14C-labelled glucose, plant and microbial products and phenols in volcanic ash-derived soils of Chile. Soil Biol. Biochem. 14, 37–43.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1984 Martinus Nijhoff/Dr W. Junk Publishers, The Hague
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Paul, E.A. (1984). Dynamics of organic matter in soils. In: Tinsley, J., Darbyshire, J.F. (eds) Biological Processes and Soil Fertility. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6101-2_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6101-2_24
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-009-6103-6
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-6101-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive