Microbial use of organic amendments in saline soils monitored by changes in the 13C/12C ratio

An incubation experiment was carried out to investigate whether salinity at high pH has negative effects on microbial substrate use, i.e. the mineralization of the amendment to CO2 and inorganic N and the incorporation of amendment C into microbial biomass C. In order to exploit natural differences in the 13C/12C ratio, substrate from two C4 plants, i.e. highly decomposed and N-rich sugarcane filter cake and less decomposed N-poor maize leaf straw, were added to two alkaline Pakistani soils differing in salinity, which had previously been cultivated with C3 plants. In soil 1, the additional CO2 evolution was equivalent to 65% of the added amount in the maize straw treatment and to 35% in the filter cake treatment. In the more saline soil 2, the respective figures were 56% and 32%. The maize straw amendment led to an identical immobilization of approximately 48 μg N g−1 soil over the 56-day incubation in both soils compared with the control soils. In the filter cake treatment, the amount of inorganic N immobilized was 8.5 μg N g−1 higher in soil 1 than in soil 2 compared with the control soils. In the control treatment, the content of microbial biomass C3-C in soil 1 was twice that in soil 2 throughout the incubation. This fraction declined by about 30% during the incubation in both soils. The two amendments replaced initially similar absolute amounts of the autochthonous microbial biomass C, i.e. 50% of the original microbial biomass C in soil 1 and almost 90% in soil 2. The highest contents of microbial biomass C4-C were equivalent to 7% (filter cake) and 11% (maize straw) of the added C. In soil 2, the corresponding values were 14% lower. Increasing salinity had no direct negative effects on microbial substrate use in the present two soils. Consequently, the differences in soil microbial biomass contents are most likely caused indirectly by salinity-induced reduction in plant growth rather than directly by negative effects of salinity on soil microorganisms.