MICROBIAL ACTIVITY IN A PINUS BANKSIANA LAMB. FOREST FLOOR AMENDED WITH NITROGEN AND CARBON

Abstract

Organic matter with high C:N ratios accumulated on mineral soil retards cycling of nutrients in semi-mature jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) ecosystems. To test whether N as ammonium sulfate or as urea stimulates organic matter decomposition, 200 kg N∙ha−1 were applied to mixed L and F horizon material in Warburg respirometer flasks. Soils were incubated at 13 °C and constant 0.3 bar (340%) moisture; O2 consumption was measured as an index of microbial activity. In urea-treated soil, O2 uptake was much higher than with unamended soil over a 7-wk incubation period, and this indicated a marked effect of urea on microbial activity. The fact that ammonium sulfate depressed respiration rates was evidence that stimulation of microbial respiration by urea was not initially related to added N, but rather to an increase in soil-soluble C resulting from soil pH changes during hydrolysis. In the presence of a C source (ethanol), a 5-fold increase in respiration was noted, whereas C and urea together produced a 15-fold increase in activity. These results suggest that readily available energy for microbial growth, rather than N, limits the initial decomposition of L and F materials in this pine stand. Once microbial demand for C is satisfied, a further increase in microbial activity is produced by N addition.