Soil temperature and matric potential influence the physiological activity of soil microorganisms. Changes in precipitation and temperature can alter microbial activity in soil, rates of organic matter decomposition, and ecosystem C storage. Our objective was to determine the combined influence of soil temperature and matric potential on the kinetics of microbial respiration and net N mineralization. To accomplish this, we collected surface soil (0–10 cm) from two northern hardwood forests in Michigan and incubated samples at a range of temperatures (5, 10, and 25°C) and matric potentials (−0.01, −0.15, −0.30, −0.90 and −1.85 MPa) that encompass field conditions. Soils were maintained at each temperature-matric potential combination over a 16-wk laboratory incubation, during which we periodically measured the production of CO2 and inorganic N. First-order kinetic models described the accumulation of CO2 and inorganic N and accounted for 96 to 99% of the variation in these processes. First-order rate constants (k) for net N mineralization significantly increased with temperature, but the k for microbial respiration did not increase in a consistent manner; it was 0.107 wk-1 at 5°C, 0.123 wk-1 at 10°C, and 0.101 wk-1 at 25°C. Matric potential did not significantly influence k for either process. Substrate pools for microbial respiration and net N mineralization declined between −0.01 and −0.30 MPa, and the decline was greatest at the highest soil temperature; this response produced a significant temperature-matric potential interaction. We conclude that high rates of microbial activity at warm soil temperatures (e.g., 25°C) are limited by the diffusion of substrate to metabolically active cells. This limitation apparently lessens as physiological activity and substrate demand decline at relatively cooler soil temperature (e.g., 5°C).
Please view the pdf by using the Full Text (PDF) link under 'View' to the left.
Copyright © . Soil Science Society of America.