Trophic interactions and microbial-derived carbon in porosphere of arable fields

Summary

Soil physical properties, such as porosity, are recognized to play an important role in the formation of soil organism communities and may regulate carbon sequestration in the soil ecosystem. However, despite their eminent importance, the relation between the abundance of soil animals, microbial necromass and pore space has been rarely demonstrated empirically. In this study, soil visible macroporosity (measured using X-ray computed tomography), microbial necromass (a pool of soil organic carbon), and densities of nematode groups were measured in the topsoil layer at a depth of 10 cm in four arable fields in southern Finland (clay and loam soils). Bacterial necromass was positively correlated with visible macroporosity smaller than 428 μm in size. Fungal necromass was marginally correlated