Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community
Factors governing the turnover of organic matter (OM) added to soils, including substrate quality, climate, environment and biology, are well known, but their relative importance has been difficult to ascertain due to the interconnected nature of the soil system. This has made their inclusion in mec...
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| Format: | Article |
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Elsevier
2016
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38483/ |
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| author | Fraser, F.C. Todman, L.C. Corstanje, R. Deeks, L.K. Harris, J.A. Pawlett, M. Whitmore, A.P. Ritz, Karl |
| author_facet | Fraser, F.C. Todman, L.C. Corstanje, R. Deeks, L.K. Harris, J.A. Pawlett, M. Whitmore, A.P. Ritz, Karl |
| author_sort | Fraser, F.C. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Factors governing the turnover of organic matter (OM) added to soils, including substrate quality, climate, environment and biology, are well known, but their relative importance has been difficult to ascertain due to the interconnected nature of the soil system. This has made their inclusion in mechanistic models of OM turnover or nutrient cycling difficult despite the potential power of these models to unravel complex interactions. Using high temporal-resolution respirometery (6 min measurement intervals), we monitored the respiratory response of 67 soils sampled from across England and Wales over a 5 day period following the addition of a complex organic substrate (green barley powder). Four respiratory response archetypes were observed, characterised by different rates of respiration as well as different time-dependent patterns. We also found that it was possible to predict, with 95% accuracy, which type of respiratory behaviour a soil would exhibit based on certain physical and chemical soil properties combined with the size and phenotypic structure of the microbial community. Bulk density, microbial biomass carbon, water holding capacity and microbial community phenotype were identified as the four most important factors in predicting the soils’ respiratory responses using a Bayesian belief network. These results show that the size and constitution of the microbial community are as important as physico-chemical properties of a soil in governing the respiratory response to OM addition. Such a combination suggests that the 'architecture' of the soil, i.e. the integration of the spatial organisation of the environment and the interactions between the communities living and functioning within the pore networks, is fundamentally important in regulating such processes. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:35:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-38483 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:35:00Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-384832020-05-04T18:17:11Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38483/ Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community Fraser, F.C. Todman, L.C. Corstanje, R. Deeks, L.K. Harris, J.A. Pawlett, M. Whitmore, A.P. Ritz, Karl Factors governing the turnover of organic matter (OM) added to soils, including substrate quality, climate, environment and biology, are well known, but their relative importance has been difficult to ascertain due to the interconnected nature of the soil system. This has made their inclusion in mechanistic models of OM turnover or nutrient cycling difficult despite the potential power of these models to unravel complex interactions. Using high temporal-resolution respirometery (6 min measurement intervals), we monitored the respiratory response of 67 soils sampled from across England and Wales over a 5 day period following the addition of a complex organic substrate (green barley powder). Four respiratory response archetypes were observed, characterised by different rates of respiration as well as different time-dependent patterns. We also found that it was possible to predict, with 95% accuracy, which type of respiratory behaviour a soil would exhibit based on certain physical and chemical soil properties combined with the size and phenotypic structure of the microbial community. Bulk density, microbial biomass carbon, water holding capacity and microbial community phenotype were identified as the four most important factors in predicting the soils’ respiratory responses using a Bayesian belief network. These results show that the size and constitution of the microbial community are as important as physico-chemical properties of a soil in governing the respiratory response to OM addition. Such a combination suggests that the 'architecture' of the soil, i.e. the integration of the spatial organisation of the environment and the interactions between the communities living and functioning within the pore networks, is fundamentally important in regulating such processes. Elsevier 2016-10-13 Article PeerReviewed Fraser, F.C., Todman, L.C., Corstanje, R., Deeks, L.K., Harris, J.A., Pawlett, M., Whitmore, A.P. and Ritz, Karl (2016) Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 103 . pp. 493-501. ISSN 0038-0717 Soil respiration; Microbial community; Soil architecture; Complex substrate; Bayesian belief network http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038071716302383 doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.09.015 doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2016.09.015 |
| spellingShingle | Soil respiration; Microbial community; Soil architecture; Complex substrate; Bayesian belief network Fraser, F.C. Todman, L.C. Corstanje, R. Deeks, L.K. Harris, J.A. Pawlett, M. Whitmore, A.P. Ritz, Karl Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community |
| title | Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community |
| title_full | Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community |
| title_fullStr | Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community |
| title_full_unstemmed | Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community |
| title_short | Distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community |
| title_sort | distinct respiratory responses of soils to complex organic substrate are governed predominantly by soil architecture and its microbial community |
| topic | Soil respiration; Microbial community; Soil architecture; Complex substrate; Bayesian belief network |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38483/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38483/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38483/ |