The kEC value (=extractable part of microbial biomass C) of the fumigation-extraction (FE) method was assessed on the basis of 153 soils (94 arable, 46 grassland and 13 forest soils) by indirect calibration using the fumigation-incubation (FI) method. Sixty-six soils were investigated for the first time and the data on a further 87 soils were obtained from the literature. The single kEC values ranged from 0.23 to 0.84. A split according to the form of land use resulted in a significantly (Scheffe, P = 0.05) lower kEC value for the arable soils (0.42; n = 94) in comparison to those for the grassland (0.49; n = 46) and the forest soils (0.51; n = 13). This difference is mainly due to the significant effects of the respiration rate measured in non-fumigated control samples of the FI method which was used for calibration of the kEC value. For that reason, I investigated the effects of incubation temperature (22°, 25° and 28°C) on biomass C data obtained by the FI method, and thus on the kEC value of the FE method, and discuss further problems of direct and indirect calibration. Based on experimental and literature data, I conclude that the kEC values of Vance et al. (Soil Biology & Biochemistry19, 703–707, 1987) and Wu et al. (Soil Biology & Biochemistry22, 1167–1169, 1990) remain valid. A kEC value of 0.38 can be recommended for C analysis by dichromate consumption and a kEC value of 0.45 for that by UV-persulfate or oven oxidation.

The fumigation-extraction method to estimate soil microbial biomass: Calibration of the kEC value

CONTENTS I . Introduction . 11. Factors which influence microbial biomass . . . ( I ) Soil chemical factors . . . . . . . ( a ) Carbon and nitrogen limitation . . . . ( b ) Residue and nutrient amendment . . . (c) Influence of plants . . . . . . ( d ) Soil pH . . . . . . . . (e) Heavy metals and pesticides . . . . (2) Soil physical factors . . . . . . . ( a ) Soil texture and structure ( b ) Soil moisture and temperature (c) Seasonal fluctuations . . . . . . 111. Global distribution of microbial biomass . . . ( I ) Relationship with soil chemical factors and macroclimate

A comparative assessment of factors which influence microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen levels in soil

The straw and stubble of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare; 5t dry matter ha−1) were either burned or incorporated into soil annually for 18 yr in two field experiments in Denmark. Both experiments were on light soils situated at Studsgaard (loamy sand) and Ronhave (sandy loam).

At both sites 18 yr of annual straw incorporation increased total soil organic C by only 5% and total N by about 10% but produced large increases in microbial biomass measured by the CHCl3-fumigation method. The increases in biomass C were 45 and 37% at Studsgaard and Ronhave, respectively: the corresponding increases in biomass N were 50 and 46%. Biomass measurements thus gave an early indication of slow changes in organic matter content long before these could be measured accurately against the background of organic matter already present in the soils. Increases in biomass P due to straw incorporation appeared to be even greater. However, the amounts of P released by CHC13 were small so the measurements of biomass P were less accurate than those of biomass C or N.

During a 60-day laboratory incubation at 25°C, evolution of CO2-C was 55–79% greater in soil from straw incorporated plots than in soil from burned plots. Mineralization of N was 40–50% greater where straw had been incorporated, indicating thaf the long-term incorporation of straw had increased the quantity of mineralizable N in soil.

Measurement of soil microbial biomass provides an early indication of changes in total soil organic matter due to straw incorporation.

Soil carbon is a large component of the global carbon cycle and its management can significantly affect the atmospheric CO2 concentration. An important management issue is the extent of soil carbon (C) release when forest is converted to agricultural land. We reviewed the literature to assess changes in soil C upon conversion of forests to agricultural land. Analyses are confounded by changes in soil bulk density upon land-use change, with agricultural soils on average having 13% higher bulk density. Consistent with earlier reviews, we found that conversion of forest to cultivated land led to an average loss of approximately 30% of soil C. When we restricted our analysis to studies that had used appropriate corrections for changes in bulk density, soil C loss was 22%. When, from all the studies compiled, we considered only studies reporting both soil C and nitrogen (N), average losses of C and N were 24% and 15%, respectively, hence showing a decrease in the average C : N ratio. The magnitude of these changes in the C : N ratio did not correlate with either C or N changes. When considering the transition from forest to pasture, there was no significant change in either soil C or N, even though reported changes in soil C ranged from −50% to +160%. Among studies that reported changes in soil N as well as soil C, C : N ratios both increased and decreased, with trends depending on changes in system N. Systems with increasing soil N generally had decreased C : N ratios, whereas systems with decreasing soil N had increased C : N ratios. Our survey confirmed earlier findings that conversion of forest to cropland generally leads to a loss of soil carbon, although the magnitude of change might have been inflated in many studies by the confounding influence of bulk-density changes. In contrast, conversion of forest to uncultivated grazing land did not, on average, lead to loss of soil carbon, although individual sites may lose or gain soil C, depending on specific circumstances, such as application of fertiliser or retention or removal of plant residues.

Does conversion of forest to agricultural land change soil carbon and nitrogen? a review of the literature

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the various aspects of cereal-legume intercropping systems Intercropping is the growing of two or more crop species simultaneously in the same field during a growing season The intercropping of legumes with cereals offers scope for developing energy-efficient and sustainable agriculture The main types of intercropping include mixed intercropping, row intercropping, and strip intercropping Crop combinations differ with geographical location and there may be intercropping of tree crops, intercropping of tree and field crops, or intercropping of field crops Combinations of crops are determined primarily by the length of the growing season and the adaptation of crops to particular environments Different indices have been suggested for evaluating productivity and efficiency per unit area of land of cereal-legume intercrop systems These include comparisons of absolute yields, protein yields, caloric equivalent, and in economic terms, gross returns from intercrops and sole crops Differences in competitive ability affect the relative performance of component crops and thus the land equivalent ratio values of different cereal-legume intercrop systems It is found that phosphorus is a major nutrient that determines the production potential of most grain legumes usually intercropped with cereals

Cereal–Legume Intercropping Systems

Twenty Nigerian soil samples, mainly from field experiments at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), were used in a study of the effects of clearing and cropping on the C, N and S reserves of soils under secondary lowland rain forest. Soils that had been cropped for 2yr usually contained less total C and N than the corresponding forest soils. This decline was less rapid when crop residues (maize) were returned to the soil as a mulch than when they were removed. The soils were incubated in the laboratory either fresh, or after exposure to stress treatments (air-drying or fumigation). The amounts of N mineralised by the fresh untreated soils were small and not clearly related to the cropping history. Both air-drying and fumigation caused a marked increase in the mineralisation of N and the amount released was related to the cropping history. Cropping caused an even greater decrease in these ‘stress-labile’ N reserves than in total soil N, so that cropping causes a decline in both the quantity and “quality’ of soil organic matter. Again, the decline was less where crops were grown under mulches. A term “Per cent Stress-labile N” (PSN), defined as the percentage of the total N mineralised when fumigated soil is incubated under defined conditions, is proposed as a measure of the ‘quality’ of soil organic nitrogen. Under secondary forest the PSN ranged from 3.4–4.2%; on cultivation it declined, in one case to less than 1%. The amount of C in the soil biomass was calculated from the size of the flush of decomposition caused by fumigation. Biomass C usually decreased on cultivation, the decrease being less under mulches. There was a close linear relationship ( r = 0.94) between the flush of N caused by fumigation and the amount of biomass C in a soil and a rough measure of biomass C can be obtained by multiplying the N flush by 8.

The effects of clearing and cropping on the organic reserves and biomass of tropical forest soils

Improving the nitrogen nutrition of maize by intercropping with cowpea

The effects of five environmental factors on variation in the rate of C 2 H 2 reduction in two cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) and two soybean ( Glycine max L. Merrill) cultivars were examined at two stages of growth in the field. Diurnal changes in C 2 H 2 reduction, estimated as μmoles C 2 H 4 produced·g −1 nodules·h −1 , over a 30 h period were compared with changes in soil, canopy and air temperatures, global radiation, and vapour pressure deficit. Although the environmental factors showed one maximum and one minimum during a diurnal cycle, the C 2 H 2 reduction rate in nodulated cowpea roots showed two peaks: one between 0600–1200 and another between 1800–2400 and two minima: one between 1200–1600 and another between 2400–0600. Variation in C 2 H 2 reduction in soybean nodules did not show any definite pattern. Vapour pressure deficit appeared the most likely factor influencing the decline in C 2 H 2 reduction between 1200–1600. The rate of C 2 H 2 reduction in cowpeas was greater at the pre-flower than at the early pod-fill period; the rate in soybeans was not greatly different at early flower or early pod-fill.

Diurnal changes in acetylene reduction in field-grown cowpeas and soybeans

The effects of incubation at 20°, 30° and 40°C and urea concentrations of 0, 50, 100 and 200 μg N/g soil on urea hydrolysis and nitrification were investigated in three Nigerian soils. At constant temperature urea hydrolysis and rate of NO3− accumulation increased with increasing rate of urea addition. Urea was rapidly hydrolyzed within 1 week of incubation. Nitrification in Apomu soil increased with increasing incubation temperature. Nitrification was slow in acid Nkpologu soil (pH 4.7). Texture, cation exchange capacity and C:N ratios of the soils were not related to urea hydrolysis or nitrification. Nitrite accumulation in these soils was insignificant. Soil pH was decreased by nitrification of hydrolyzed urea-N.

Urea transformation in some tropical soils

Two hypotheses that antibiotic-resistant nodule isolates from uninoculated soybeans grown in a strongly acidic soil were naturally occurring rhizobia which had acquired resistance to spectinomycin and streptomycin or were contaminants from adjacent, inoculated treatments, were tested in laboratory experiments. Soybean nodule isolates (166) as well as 48 cowpea and 89 Rhizobium japonicum strains were used in tests of resistance to six concentrations (0–500 μg ml −1 ) of kanamycin, spectinomycin and streptomycin, tolerance of stresses of pH 4.6, with or without 50 μ m Al, and serological cross-reactivity. More strains from the strongly acidic soil were resistant to the antibiotics than from slightly acidic soils, but resistance to antibiotics did not necessarily entail resistance to pH 4.6 or to 50 μ m Al. Twenty-three nodule isolates which were resistant to spectinomycin or streptomycin cross-reacted with antisera of the inoculum strains, indicating that they were contaminants. None of 59 antibiotic-sensitive nodule isolates from uninoculated plants and none of 31 from inoculated plants cross-reacted with the antisera. All 53 antibiotic-resistant isolates from nodules of plants in inoculated plots cross-reacted with test antisera, indicating stability of the antibiotic markers. Cowpea rhizobia were generally more resistant to the antibiotics and more tolerant of pH 4.6 and 50 μ m Al than were R. japonicum . Among strains of R. japonicum , slow growers were more resistant to antibiotics than moderately fast growers.

A. Ayanaba

Papers

The effects of clearing and cropping on the organic reserves and biomass of tropical forest soils

Improving the nitrogen nutrition of maize by intercropping with cowpea

Diurnal changes in acetylene reduction in field-grown cowpeas and soybeans

Urea transformation in some tropical soils

Antibiotic-resistant mutants identified from nodules of uninoculated soybeans grown in a strongly acidic soil