ISSN:
1432-0789
Keywords:
Soil texture
;
Spatial distribution
;
Microbial biomass
;
Metabolic quotient
;
Hops
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Geosciences
,
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
Abstract The effects of soil texture (silt loam or sandy loam) and cultivation practice (green manure) on the size and spatial distribution of the microbial biomass and its metabolic quotient were investigated in soils planted with a permanent row crop of hops (Humulus lupulus). The soil both between and in the plant rows was sampled at three different depths (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm). The silt loam had a higher overall microbial biomass C concentration (260 μg g-1) than the sandy loam (185 μg g-1), whereas the sandy loam had a higher (3.1 μg CO2-C mg-1 microbial Ch-1) metabolic quotient than the silt loam (2.6 μg CO2-C mg-1 microbial C h-1), on average over depth (0–30 cm) and over all treatments. There was a sharp decrease in the microbial biomass with increasing depth for all plots. However, this was more pronounced in the silt loam than in the sandy loam. There was no distinct influence of sampling depth on the metabolic quotient. The microbial biomass was considerably higher in the rows than between the rows, especially in the silt loam plots. There was no significant difference between plots without green manure and plots with green manure for either the microbial biomass or the metabolic quotient.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00336102
Permalink
