Microbial transformations of organic carbon (OC) generate a large flux of CO2 into the atmosphere and influence the C balance of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Yet, inherent heterogeneity in natural environments precludes direct quantification of multiple microbial C fluxes that underlie CO2 production. Here we used a continuous flow bioreactor coupled with a stable C isotope analyzer to d...

It is well known that soil microbial communities reestablish following disturbance, but limited research has been done on how long this takes in eastern reclaimed coal mine soils. The objective of this study was to track the development of total microbial biomass in reclaimed mine soils following coal mining in southwestern Virginia. A chronosequence of sites was established based on locally do...

Agricultural practices have proven to be unsuitable in many cases, causing considerable reductions in soil quality. Land management practices can provide solutions to this problem and contribute to get a sustainable agriculture model. The main objective of this work was to assess the effect of different agricultural management practices on soil microbial community structure (evaluated as abunda...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Forest soil microorganisms and fauna decompose the organic materials, and thus strongly influence the nutrient cycling of the ecosystem. Soil microorganisms also contribute to soil structure and soil fertility. In Taiwan, the microbial distributions of soils have only been determined in acidic soil, inorganic acidic soil, upland soil, alkaline soil and power plant areas. ...

BACKGROUND To efficiently deconstruct recalcitrant plant biomass to fermentable sugars in industrial processes, biocatalysts of higher performance and lower cost are required. The genetic diversity found in the metagenomes of natural microbial biomass decay communities may harbor such enzymes. Our goal was to discover and characterize new glycoside hydrolases (GHases) from microbial biomass dec...

An investigation on soil organic carbon,total N and NO3--N,available microbial biomass C,N and basal respiration and metabolic quotients(qCO2)was conducted to compare diferences in soil microbial properties and nutrients between 1 5-year-old pure Chi— nese fir(Cunninghamia lanceolata)and two mixed Chinese fir plantations(mixed plantations with A/nus cremastogyne,mixed plantations with Kalopanax...

Urban sewage sludge is a potential source of phosphorus (P) for agriculture and represents an alternative way to recycle P as fertilizer. However, the use of thermally conditioned sewage sludge (TCSS) required an accurate assessment of its value as P-fertilizer. This work aimed at assessing the plant-availability of P from TCSS. Uptake of P by a mixture of ryegrass and fescue from TCSS and trip...

Several recent studies have indicated that an enriched atmosphere of carbon dioxide (CO2) could exacerbate the intensity of plant invasions within natural ecosystems, but little is known of how rising CO2 impacts the belowground characteristics of these invaded systems. In this study, we examined the effects of elevated CO2 and nitrogen (N) inputs on plant and soil microbial community character...

The role of exotic plants in regulating soil microbial community structure and activity following invasion chronosequence remains unclear. We investigated soil microbial community structure and microbial respiration following Spartina alterniflora invasion in a chronosequence of 6-, 10-, 17-, and 20-year-old by comparing with bare flat in a coastal wetland of China. S. alterniflora invasion sig...

Coastal lagoons are highly variable and dynamic systems that have been rarely investigated in terms of benthic microbial loop. We present here the results of a comparative study aimed at investigating factors and benthic processes potentially affecting microbial loop functioning in three lagoon systems (Goro, Lesina and Marsala lagoons). The three lagoons were characterised by different geo-mor...