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Microbial C, N, and P relationships in moisture‐stressed soils of Potohar, Pakistan
Author(s) -
Khan Khalid Saifullah,
Joergensen Rainer Georg
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of plant nutrition and soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1522-2624
pISSN - 1436-8730
DOI - 10.1002/jpln.200521904
Subject(s) - soil water , biomass (ecology) , arable land , organic matter , agronomy , soil organic matter , chemistry , crop , environmental chemistry , environmental science , zoology , biology , soil science , ecology , agriculture , organic chemistry
In 11 rain‐fed arable soils of the Potohar plateau, Pakistan, the amounts of microbial‐biomass C (C mic ), biomass N (N mic ), and biomass P (P mic ) were analyzed in relation to the element‐specific total storage compartment, i.e. , soil C org , N t , and P t . The effects of climatic conditions and soil physico‐chemical properties on these relationships were highlighted with special respect to crop yield levels. Average contents of soil C org , N t , and P t were 3.9, 0.32, and 0.61 mg (g soil) –1 , respectively. Less than 1% of P t was extractable with 0.5 M NaHCO 3 . Mean contents of C mic , N mic , and P mic were 118.4, 12.0, and 3.9 µg (g soil) –1 . Values of C mic , N mic , P mic , soil C org , and N t were all highly significantly interrelated. The mean crop yield level was closely connected with all soil organic matter– and microbial biomass–related properties, but showed also some influence by the amount of precipitation from September to June. Also the fraction of NaHCO 3 ‐extractable P was closely related to soil organic matter, soil microbial biomass, and crop yield level. This reveals the overwhelming importance of biological processes for P turnover in alkaline soils.