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| Titel |
Rapid determination of soil quality and earthworm impacts on soil microbial communities using fluorescence-based respirometry |
| VerfasserIn |
Miranda T. Prendergast-Miller, Josh Thurston, Joe Taylor, Thorunn Helgason, Roman Ashauer, Mark E. Hodson |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2017
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
en
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 19 (2017) |
| Datensatznummer |
250142082
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2017-5657.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| We applied a fluorescence-based respirometry method currently devised for aquatic
ecotoxicology studies to rapidly measure soil microbial oxygen consumption as a
function of soil quality. In this study, soil was collected from an arable wheat field and
the field margin. These two soil habitats are known to differ in their soil quality
due to differences in their use and management as well as plant, microbial and
earthworm community. The earthworm Lumbricus terrestris was incubated in arable or
margin soil for three weeks. After this initial phase, a transfer experiment was then
conducted to test the hypothesis that earthworm ‘migration’ alters soil microbial
community function and diversity. In this transfer experiment, earthworms incubated in
margin soil were transferred to arable soil. The converse transfer (i.e. earthworms
incubated in arable soil) was also conducted. Soils of each type with no earthworms
were also incubated as controls. After a further four week incubation, the impact of
earthworm migration on the soil microbial community was tested by measuring oxygen
consumption.
Replicated soil slurry subsamples were aliquoted into individual respirometer wells (600
μl volume) on a glass 24-well microplate (Loligo Systems, Denmark) fitted with
non-invasive, reusable oxygen sensor spots. The sealed microplate was then attached to an
oxygen fluorescence sensor (SDR SensorDish Reader, PreSens, Germany). Oxygen
consumption was measured in real-time over a 2 hr period following standard operating
procedures. Soil microbial activity was measured with and without an added carbon
source (glucose or cellulose, 50 mg C L−1). Using this system, we were able to
differentiate between soil type, earthworm treatment and C source. Earthworm-driven
impacts on soil microbial oxygen consumption were also supported by changes in soil
microbial community structure and diversity revealed using DNA-based sequencing
techniques.
This method provides a simple and rapid system for measuring soil quality and has the
potential for use in a variety of scenarios investigating impacts on soil microbial function. |
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