Abstract
Microbial biomass, dehydrogenase activity, carbon metabolism, and aerobic bacterial populations were examined in cropped and fallow Pahokee muck (a lithic medisaprist) of the Florida Everglades. Dehydrogenase activity was two- to sevenfold greater in soil cropped to St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt) Kuntz) compared with uncropped soil, whereas biomass ranged from equivalence in the two soils to a threefold stimulation in the cropped soil. Biomass in soil cropped to sugarcane (Saccharum spp. L) approximated that from the grass field, whereas dehydrogenase activities of the cane soil were nearly equivalent to those of the fallow soil. Microbial biomass, dehydrogenase activity, aerobic bacterial populations, and salicylate oxidation rates all correlated with soil moisture levels. These data indicate that within the moisture ranges detected in the surface soils, increased moisture stimulated microbial activity, whereas within the soil profile where moisture ranges reached saturation, increased moisture inhibited aerobic activities and stimulated anaerobic processes.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Casida L. E., Jr Microbial metabolic activity in soil as measured by dehydrogenase determinations. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1977 Dec;34(6):630–636. doi: 10.1128/aem.34.6.630-636.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Skujiņs J. Extracellular enzymes in soil. CRC Crit Rev Microbiol. 1976 May;4(4):383–421. doi: 10.3109/10408417609102304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tate R. L., 3rd Nitrification in histosols: a potential role for the heterotrophic nitrifier. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1977 Apr;33(4):911–914. doi: 10.1128/aem.33.4.911-914.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Tate R. L. Microbial activity in organic soils as affected by soil depth and crop. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1979 Jun;37(6):1085–1090. doi: 10.1128/aem.37.6.1085-1090.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]