Relationships between soil and microbial biomass properties and annual flux of nutrients in Central Himalaya forests, India

Abstract

AbstractThe interrelationship among soil attributes and microbial biomass carbon (MBC), nitrogen (MBN), and phosphorus (MBP) of Indian Central Himalaya forest soils were analyzed. The forest ecosystem studied composed of chir pine (CPF), banj oak (BOF), and mixed oak‐pine forest (MOPF). This study reported 429–739 mg kg−1 MBC, 67–121 mg kg−1 MBN, and 18–63 mg kg−1 MBP. The contribution of MBC, MBN, and MBP appears to be 1.47–4.11 (X = 2.66%), 2.65–11.17 (5.93%), and 5.61–19.0 (X = 10.47%) of the soil organic carbon, total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), respectively. Significant variations were observed in terms of C:N, C:P, and N:P ratios among various sites which ranged between 5.95 and 8.08, 11.73 and 26.42, and 1.92 and 3.72, respectively. The linear association between MBP with MBC and MBN was observed. Further, a positive correlation was recorded between MBC, MBN, and MBP with various soil characteristics. The annual flux of N and P estimated by microbial biomass using the turnover rates of 0.67 was approximately 100–181 kg N and 27–94 kg P ha−1 yr−l, respectively, which was twice the level for mixed oak‐pine forest (MOPF) than CPF soils. Our study reports a significant decrease in soil microbial biomass C, N, and P with change in forest type from BOF to CPF. So, MOPF can be an alternative for sustainable management of degraded forest ecosystems in the Central Himalaya belt.