The microbial biomass and activity in soil with shrub (Caragana korshinskii K.) plantation in the semi-arid loess plateau in China

Caragana korshinskii K. is a shrub species which is adapted to arid and semi-arid environments and plays an important role in soil protection. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of this shrub plantation on the soil ecosystem functions driven by microorganisms in the long-term. The changes in the size and activity of soil microbial biomass and the relationship between soil microbial biomass and chemical properties were investigated under shrub plantations aged 6, 18 and 26 years. The results showed that the pH value in the soil decreased gradually, while soil organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) significantly increased with the age of C. korshinskii. Although microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and MBC/OC ratio gradually increased, the ratio of basal respiration to MBC (qCO2) decreased with the age of C. korshinskii. The microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) and MBC had a positive relationship with soil TN and OC, respectively. The flux of CO2 decreased with the age of C. korshinskii which had a significant negative relationship with soil OC, TN, MBN and MBC. The results indicate that C. korshinskii plantations may help to improve microbially driven ecosystem functioning through long-term creation of resource-island.