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Carbon input and partitioning in subsoil by chicory and alfalfa

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Abstract

Background and Aims

Input of organic matter into soil creates microbial hotspots. Due to the low organic matter content in subsoil, microbial hotspots can improve nutrient availability to plants. Therefore, carbon (C) input of root biomass and rhizodeposition and the microbial utilization of root C by alfalfa and chicory, both deep-rooting taprooted preceding crops, was determined.

Methods

Three replicate plots of alfalfa and chicory grown on a Haplic Luvisol were 13CO2 pulse labeled after 110 days of growth. 13C was traced in plant biomass, rhizosphere, bulk soil and in microbial biomass after 1 and 40 days. C stocks and δ13C signature were quantified in 15 cm intervals down to 105 cm depth.

Results

Alfalfa plant biomass was higher and root biomass was more homogeneously distributed between top- (0–30 cm) and subsoil (30–105 cm) compared to chicory. C input into subsoil by alfalfa, including roots and rhizodeposited C, was 8 times higher (3820 kg C ha−1) into subsoil compared to chicory after 150 days of growth. Microbial biomass in subsoil increased with alfalfa but decreased with chicory.

Conclusions

Despite their general ability to build biopores, taprooted preceding crops differ in creating microbial hotspots in subsoil. Higher C input and microbial growth in subsoil under alfalfa cultivation can improve physico-chemical and biological properties, and so enhance root growth and consequently the water and nutrient uptake from subsoil compared to chicory.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support of this study by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the DFG Research group 1320 “Crop Sequences and the Nutrient Acquisition from the Subsoil”. Isotope measurements were conducted by the Centre for Stable Isotope Research and Analysis at the University of Göttingen. We thank two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments and suggestions on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science of Temperate Ecosystems, University of Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Silke Hafner & Yakov Kuzyakov

  2. Department of Agricultural Soil Science, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    Yakov Kuzyakov

  3. Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia

    Yakov Kuzyakov

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  1. Silke Hafner
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  2. Yakov Kuzyakov
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Correspondence to Silke Hafner.

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Hafner, S., Kuzyakov, Y. Carbon input and partitioning in subsoil by chicory and alfalfa. Plant Soil 406, 29–42 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2855-8

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