Logo image
The effects of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. leaf letter on C and N mineralization in soils from pasture and native forest
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The effects of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. leaf letter on C and N mineralization in soils from pasture and native forest

R.T. Aggangan, A.M. O’Connell, J.F. McGrath and B. Dell
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol.31(11), pp.1481-1487
1999
url
Link to Published Version *Subscription may be requiredView

Abstract

The effects of addition of Eucalyptus globulus leaf litter on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in soils from a pasture and a native forest were evaluated using a long-term laboratory aerobic incubation assay (29 weeks at 20°C) in leaching microlysimeters. The amount of added leaf litter significantly influenced microbial respiration, microbial biomass and N turnover in both the native forest and pasture soils. Cumulative CO2-C respired increased with increasing rate of leaf litter addition when leaf litter was mixed through the soil or placed on the soil surface. These increases were associated with increases in microbial biomass C content. Cumulative net N mineralization declined in all treatments when litter was added and was lowest when leaf litter was mixed with soil. When leaf litter was added in increasing amounts to the soil surface, there was a concomitant increase in microbial biomass N content (r2=0.79, n = 8), indicating that the reduction in net N mineralization was primarily due to immobilization of N in microbial tissues. In contrast, when litter was mixed with soil in increasing amounts, there was a decrease in microbial biomass N in forest soil and an increase in pasture soil. Consequently, changes in the rate of net N mineralization were not well related to changes in microbial biomass N content. It is suggested that this may be due to the greater activity and more rapid turnover of microorganisms where litter was incorporated resulting in more of the immobilized N being partitioned into metabolic products or dead microbial cells. Incorporation of litter may also have enhanced loss N through denitrification.

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#2 Zero Hunger
#13 Climate Action
#14 Life Below Water
#15 Life on Land

Source: InCites

Metrics

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Citation topics
3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
3.45 Soil Science
3.45.112 Soil Carbon Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas
Soil Science
ESI research areas
Agricultural Sciences
Logo image