The relationship between soil bacteria carbon utilization and soil physicochemical properties

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the relationship between carbon utilization pattern of soil bacterial communities and the soil physicochemical properties in temperate forest of Poland under two different climatic conditions. Ten different forest soils from three forest types (deciduous, mixed, and coniferous forest) were incubated in laboratory conditions in two temperatures: 10°C and 30 °C, through 8 months. The soil bacteria carbon utilization was investigated using Biolog® Eco plates. The number of carbon substrate decayed on Biolog® Eco plates declined after the incubation in all studied forest soils. The soil samples originating from deciduous forest which were highly distinct performance with others correlated to their soil properties which were also highly different. Several soil properties e.g. pH, C/N ratio, SOM and the relation with vegetation types were found affecting the carbon utilization by bacterial communities. However, in this study, the relation between soil bacterial communities carbon utilization with soil physicochemical properties is limited, as soil bacteria are characterized by the high ability to adapt.