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Evaluation of the use of a model rhizodeposition technique to separate root and microbial respiration in soil

  • Soil Biota
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Abstract

A model rhizodeposition technique to estimate the root and microbial components of 14C soil/root respiration in pulse-labelling experiments is described. The method involves the injection of model rhizodeposits, consisting of 14C-labelled glucose, root extract or root cell wall material, into the rooted soil of an unlabelled plant, simultaneously with the pulse-labelling of a separate but similar plant with 14CO2. In a growth chamber experiment with 30 day old wheat and barley the contribution of direct root respiration to 14C soil/root respiration over a 26 day period after labelling was estimated 89–95%. Estimates of direct root respiration in field-grown wheat and barley at different development stages in most cases accounted for at least 75% of 14C soil/root respiration over a 21 day period after labelling. The mineralization rate of injected 14C-glucose was positively correlated with the concentration of glucose-C established in soil. The use of the method in rhizosphere carbon budget estimations is evaluated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DLO-Research Institute for Agrobiology and Soil Fertility (AB-DLO), P.O. Box 14, NL-6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    J. Swinnen

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Communication No. 73 of the Dutch Programme on Soil Ecology of Arable Farming Systems.

Communication No. 73 of the Dutch Programme on Soil Ecology of Arable Farming Systems.

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Swinnen, J. Evaluation of the use of a model rhizodeposition technique to separate root and microbial respiration in soil. Plant Soil 165, 89–101 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00009966

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