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Degradation and humification of maize straw in soil microcosms inoculated with simple and complex microbial communities
Author(s) -
Liebich J.,
Schloter M.,
Schäffer A.,
Vereecken H.,
Burauel P.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
european journal of soil science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.244
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2389
pISSN - 1351-0754
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2389.2006.00816.x
Subject(s) - microcosm , humus , microbial population biology , chemistry , mineralization (soil science) , environmental chemistry , straw , soil water , soil organic matter , organic matter , microbial biodegradation , soil biology , soil carbon , agronomy , environmental science , biology , microorganism , soil science , bacteria , organic chemistry , genetics
Summary Microbial communities are responsible for soil organic matter cycling and thus for maintaining soil fertility. A typical Orthic Luvisol was freed from organic carbon by thermal destruction at 600°C. Then the degradation and humification of 14 C‐labelled maize straw by defined microbial communities was analysed. To study the role of microbial diversity on the humification of plant material, microcosms containing sterilized soil were inoculated with a natural microbial community or with microbial consortia consisting of bacterial and fungal soil isolates. Within 6 weeks, 41 ± 4% of applied 14 C‐labelled maize straw was mineralized in the soil microcosms containing complex communities derived from a soil suspension, whilst the most efficient communities composed of soil isolates mineralized less than 35%. The humification products were analysed by solution state 13 C‐NMR‐spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The analyses of humic acids extracts by solution state 13 C‐NMR‐spectroscopy revealed no difference in the development of typical chemical functional groups for humic substances during incubation. However, the increase in specific molecular size fractions of the extracted humic acids occurred only after inoculation with complex communities, but not with defined isolates. While it seems to be true that redundancy in soil microbial communities contributes to the resilience of soils, specific soil functions may no longer be performed if a microbial community is harshly affected in its diversity or growth conditions.