Effects of organic matter addition on the stoichiometric homeostasis of soil microbes in Pinus tabuliformis forest in Taiyue Mountain, China.

Abstract

In Taiyue Mountain of Shanxi Province, five types of organic matter, i.e., biochar, maize straw, leaves of Quercus mongolica and Pinus tabuliformis, and sawdust of wood stem, were separately added to the soils of a P. tabuliformis forest. Nutrient content, enzyme activity, and microbial biomass were analyzed to elucidate the characteristics of soil ecoenzymatic stoichiometry and the element homeostasis of soil microorganisms. The results showed that the addition of woody sawdust significantly increased soil nitrogen and phosphorus content by 17.1% and 37.6%, and enhanced carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents of soil microbial biomass by 118.0%, 41.0%, and 176.6%, respectively. The activities of carbon-, nitrogen- and phosphorus-targeting enzymes (i.e., β-1, 4-glucosaminosidase, β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminosidase, leucine aminopeptidase and acid phosphatase) generally increased with the C:N of the added organic matter (biochar<Q. mongolica leaf< P. tabuliformis leaf < maize straw < woody sawdust). This indicated that ecoenzymatic stoichiometry was controlled by soil nutrient content and micro-bial biomass. The limitation of soil microbial growth by phosphorus was not alleviated after the addition of different organic matters, as indicated by the results of enzymatic ratio and its vector value. Soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen contents and their stoichiometry (C:N, C:P, N:P) were homeostatic, whereas the microbial biomass phosphorus content fluctuated slightly. The stabilities of microbial element contents and their proportion were mainly ascribed to the allocation of extracellular enzyme production. The susceptibility of soil microbial biomass phosphorus to the addition of organic matter indicated phosphorus limitation of microbial growth.