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Growth and turnover of microbial biomass during the decomposition of organic matter (Polygonum cuspidatum) in vitro
Author(s) -
Tateno Masaki
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
ecological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1440-1703
pISSN - 0912-3814
DOI - 10.1007/bf02348585
Subject(s) - incubation , organic matter , biomass (ecology) , incubation period , botany , nitrogen fixation , biology , nitrogen , zoology , chemistry , agronomy , ecology , biochemistry , organic chemistry
Air‐dried fresh and dead specimens of Polygonum cuspidatum were incubated for 250 days in the laboratory, and the growth and turnover of microbial biomass‐C in the organic matter were studied. The biomass‐C in the fresh leaf and fresh stem attained maximum levels on day 14 and day 7, respectively, and then settled down to stable levels. In the dead leaf and dead stem, increase in biomass‐C ceased by day 4 and the biomass‐C levels did not change thereafter. The turnover time of the biomass‐C was estimated from the amount of biomass‐C and the release rate of CO 2 ‐C. The turnover was rapid in the early period of incubation. Then the turnover time became longer and after incubation for 70 days the values approached those in natural soils (longer than 16 days). During the incubation period, nitrogen was not mineralized in any organic matter. In the dead leaf and dead stem, asymbiotic nitrogen fixation activity increased after incubation for about 40 days and disappeared by the end of the incubation period, whereas nitrogen fixation was hardly detected in the fresh leaf and fresh stem.