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Biogeochemical responses to nutrient, moisture and temperature manipulations of soil from Signy Island, South Orkney Islands in the Maritime Antarctic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2014

Sun Benhua ,
P.G. Dennis ,
V.A. Laudicina ,
V.J. Ord ,
S.P. Rushton ,
A.G. O’Donnell ,
K.K. Newsham  and
D.W. Hopkins
Sun Benhua
Affiliation:
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi Province, 712100, People’s Republic of China
P.G. Dennis
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Ecogenomics and the Advanced Water Management Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
V.A. Laudicina
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 4 – 90128 Palermo, Italy
V.J. Ord
Affiliation:
School of Biology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
S.P. Rushton
Affiliation:
School of Biology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
A.G. O’Donnell
Affiliation:
Institute of Agriculture, Faculty of Science, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
K.K. Newsham
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
D.W. Hopkins*
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
*
*david.hopkins@hw.ac.uk
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Abstract

We have investigated how the microbially-driven processes of carbon (C) mineralization (respiration) and nitrogen (N) mineralization/immobilization in a soil from the northern Maritime Antarctic respond to differences in water availability (20% and 80% water-holding capacity) and temperature (5°C and 15°C) in the presence and absence of different organic substrates (2 mg C as either glucose, glycine or tryptone soy broth (TSB) powder (a complex microbial growth medium)) in a controlled laboratory experiment over 175 days. Soil respiration and N mineralization/immobilization in the presence of a C-rich substrate (glucose) increased with increases in water and temperature. These factors were influential individually and had an additive effect when applied together. For the N-rich substrates (glycine and TSB), microbial responses to increased water or temperature alone were weak or not significant, but these factors interacted to give significantly positive increases when applied together. These data indicate that under the expected changes in environmental conditions in the Maritime Antarctic, where temperature and the availability of water and organic substrates will probably increase, soil microbial activity will lead to more rapid C and N cycling and have a positive feedback on these biogeochemical processes, particularly where or when these factors increase concurrently.

Keywords

carbon mineralizationnitrogen mineralizationorganic substratessoil respirationwarmingwater addition
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 26 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 513 - 520
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2014 

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