Heterotrophic microbial activities and nutritional status of microbial communities in tropical marsh sediments of different salinities: the effects of phosphorus addition and plant species

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 336; no. 1-2; pp. 49 - 63
• Main Authors: Pivničková, Barbora, Rejmánková, Eliška, Snyder, Jenise M, Šantrůčková, Hana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands 01.11.2010; Springer; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acid soils; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Analysis; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Aquatic plants; Belize; Biochemistry and biology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Blood lipids; carbon; Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties; Ecology; Eleocharis; Fatty acids; Fertilizers; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Life Sciences; macrophytes; Marshes; methane production; Methanogenesis; Microbial activity; Microbial biomass; microbial communities; Microbiology; Mineralization; nitrogen; Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium fertilizations; nitrogenase; Nutritional status; phospholipids; Phosphorus; Phosphorus fertilization; Phosphorus loading; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant species; Plants; Regular Article; Runoff; Salinity; Sedimentary soils; Sediments; Sediments (Geology); Soil microorganisms; Soil nutrients; Soil salinity; Soil science; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Typha; Typha domingensis; Wetland soils; Wetlands; Belize; Nitrogen; Microbial biomass; Phosphorus loading; Salinity; Microbial activity; Monocotyledones; Heterotrophy; Tropical zone; Environmental factor; Phosphorus fertilization; Loading; Angiospermae; Eleocharis; Aquatic plant; Wetland; Microbial community; Nutritional status; Non metal; Phosphorus; Sediments; Biological activity; Group VA element; Typhaceae; Marsh; Spermatophyta; Soil plant relation; Typha
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-010-0439-6

Oligotrophic, phosphorus (P) limited herbaceous wetlands of northern Belize are being impacted by P loading from fertilizer runoff. P enrichment causes a shift in autotroph communities from a microphyte (cyanobacterial mats, CBM) to macrophyte (Eleocharis spp., Typha domingensis) dominated system. To document potential effects of P, salinity, and macrophyte species on the heterotrophic microbial community nutritional status (represented especially by specific phospholipids fatty acids and specific respiration rate), biomass and activities, we took soil samples from established P enrichment plots in replicated marshes of two salinity levels. P addition increased microbial biomass carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and P, as well as soil nutrient transformation rates (nitrogenase activity, N mineralization and immobilization, methanogenesis). The effect of plant species (Eleocharis vs Typha sites) was generally lower than the effect of P addition (CBM vs Eleocharis sites) and was most evident at the low salinity sites, where Eleocharis dominated plots had enhanced nitrogenase activity and P microbial immobilization. Salinity reduced the overall rates of microbial processes; it also weakened the positive effect of both P addition and plant species on microbial activities. Lastly, the amount of N stored in microbial cells, likely in form of osmoprotective compounds, was enhanced by salinity.