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Soil microbial biomass activation by trace amounts of readily available substrate

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Abstract

The soil microbial biomass survives as a largely dormant population for long periods without fresh substrates, depending for growth upon a rapid uptake of substrates when they become available. Currently, little investigation has been made into the mechanisms involved in the transition from dormancy to activity. We found that additions of trace amounts of different simple and complex substrates (glutamic acid, amino acids mixture, glucose, protein hydrolysates, carbohydrates, compost extract), even at very low application rates (5-μg C g−1 soil), caused an immediate and significant activation (measured as increased CO2-C evolved) of the soil microbial biomass. The different substrates caused different intensities of respiration response, which were related to the substrates’ composition, complexity, and degradability. The difference between the CO2-C evolved from the amended soil minus that evolved from a similarly incubated but non-amended soil ranged from 80 to 160% of the humified carbon C added as substrate, with most of the substrates causing a positive priming effect, in agreement with previous findings. The activation ended after 5–70 h, depending on the substrate, but the microbial biomass could be reactivated with further additions. It seems that the microbial biomass first responds to traces of substrate by increasing its metabolic activity in anticipation of a larger ‘food event’. Overall, these results indicate that soil micro-organisms have evolved metabolic and physiological strategies that allow them to survive and growth in the generally poor-substrate soil environment.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Alessandro Peressotti (University of Udine) for theoretical background and Mr. Riul Ennio and Riul Luca for technical assistance in the operation of the automated system for continuous gas sampling and analysis. We also thank ILSA for providing protein hydrolysates and carbohydrates samples. This research was supported by a grant from the Italian Ministry for Agricultural and Forestry Policies (MiPAF), Project PARSIFAL, General Series, Paper No. 16. Rothamsted Research receives grant-aided support from the Biological and Biotechnological Sciences Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CRA-Istituto Sperimentale per la Nutrizione delle Piante, sezione di Gorizia, via Trieste 23, 34170, Gorizia, Italy

    C. Mondini

  2. CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, Apartado de Correos 164, 30100, Espinardo, Murcia, Spain

    M. L. Cayuela, M. A. Sanchez-Monedero & A. Roig

  3. Rothamsted Research, Agriculture and the Environment Division, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ, England

    P. C. Brookes

Authors
  1. C. Mondini
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  2. M. L. Cayuela
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  3. M. A. Sanchez-Monedero
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  4. A. Roig
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  5. P. C. Brookes
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Mondini.

Additional information

Contribution presented at the Exploratory Workshop: ‘Non-molecular manipulation of soil microbial communities’, held at the University of Udine, Udine, Italy from 17 to 20 October, 2004. The workshop was funded by the European Science Foundation and the University of Udine.

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Mondini, C., Cayuela, M.L., Sanchez-Monedero, M.A. et al. Soil microbial biomass activation by trace amounts of readily available substrate. Biol Fertil Soils 42, 542–549 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0049-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-005-0049-2

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