Ash application enhances decomposition of recalcitrant organic matter

Louise Hindborg Mortensen; Carla Cruz-Paredes; Olaf Schmidt; Regin Rønn; Mette Vestergård

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.05.021

Ash application enhances decomposition of recalcitrant organic matter

Louise Hindborg Mortensen^*, Carla Cruz-Paredes, Olaf Schmidt, Regin Rønn, Mette Vestergård

^*Corresponding author for this work

Terrestrial Ecology

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Harvesting whole-tree biomass for biofuel combustion intensifies removal of nutrients from the ecosystem. This can be partly abated by applying ash from the combustion back to the system, as the ash is rich in nutrients. Ash is very alkaline and ash application raises soil pH, which in turn can stimulate microbial activity and thus decomposition and mineralization. Our aim was to test if ash induced decomposition activity was associated with enhanced turnover of recalcitrant, i.e. relatively old, organic pools. Two experiments were conducted in the same coniferous plantation after the application of 0, 3, 4.5 and 6 t ash ha⁻¹, and 0, 3, 9, 15 and 30 t ash ha⁻¹, respectively. We used natural abundance of ¹⁵N in mosses, mites and ectomycorrhizal fungi 26 months after ash application, as well as temporal variation in δ¹⁵N values of ectomycorrhizal fungi, as an indicator of decomposition of recalcitrant organic matter in the first experiment. Furthermore, in the second experiment we used measurements of extracellular manganese peroxidase activity almost 4 years after ash application as an indication of potential decomposition of lignin, an important component of recalcitrant organic matter. The δ¹⁵N signature increased significantly for ectomycorrhizal fungi, dead moss, Nothroid and Gamasida mites, and manganese peroxidase activity tended to increase, with increasing ash doses. This suggests that ash application stimulates turnover of recalcitrant organic matter, which can increase the available pool of nitrogen in the system. This will potentially enhance the fertilizer value of ash. However, the δ¹⁵N in ectomycorrhizal fungi tended to peak at 18 months after ash application, before decreasing, suggesting that the turnover of recalcitrant organic matter is reduced again with time.

Original language	English
Journal	Soil Biology and Biochemistry
Volume	135
Pages (from-to)	316-322
Number of pages	7
ISSN	0038-0717
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.05.021
Publication status	Published - 2019

Keywords

Manganese peroxidase
Soil food web
Stable isotopes
Wood ash recycling
δ15N

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.05.021

Cite this

@article{ea220bd5e4c54b8bae05181401be15ed,

title = "Ash application enhances decomposition of recalcitrant organic matter",

abstract = "Harvesting whole-tree biomass for biofuel combustion intensifies removal of nutrients from the ecosystem. This can be partly abated by applying ash from the combustion back to the system, as the ash is rich in nutrients. Ash is very alkaline and ash application raises soil pH, which in turn can stimulate microbial activity and thus decomposition and mineralization. Our aim was to test if ash induced decomposition activity was associated with enhanced turnover of recalcitrant, i.e. relatively old, organic pools. Two experiments were conducted in the same coniferous plantation after the application of 0, 3, 4.5 and 6 t ash ha−1, and 0, 3, 9, 15 and 30 t ash ha−1, respectively. We used natural abundance of 15N in mosses, mites and ectomycorrhizal fungi 26 months after ash application, as well as temporal variation in δ15N values of ectomycorrhizal fungi, as an indicator of decomposition of recalcitrant organic matter in the first experiment. Furthermore, in the second experiment we used measurements of extracellular manganese peroxidase activity almost 4 years after ash application as an indication of potential decomposition of lignin, an important component of recalcitrant organic matter. The δ15N signature increased significantly for ectomycorrhizal fungi, dead moss, Nothroid and Gamasida mites, and manganese peroxidase activity tended to increase, with increasing ash doses. This suggests that ash application stimulates turnover of recalcitrant organic matter, which can increase the available pool of nitrogen in the system. This will potentially enhance the fertilizer value of ash. However, the δ15N in ectomycorrhizal fungi tended to peak at 18 months after ash application, before decreasing, suggesting that the turnover of recalcitrant organic matter is reduced again with time.",

keywords = "Manganese peroxidase, Soil food web, Stable isotopes, Wood ash recycling, δ15N",

author = "Mortensen, {Louise Hindborg} and Carla Cruz-Paredes and Olaf Schmidt and Regin R{\o}nn and Mette Vesterg{\aa}rd",

year = "2019",

doi = "10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.05.021",

language = "English",

volume = "135",

pages = "316--322",

journal = "Soil Biology & Biochemistry",

issn = "0038-0717",

publisher = "Pergamon Press",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ash application enhances decomposition of recalcitrant organic matter

AU - Mortensen, Louise Hindborg

AU - Cruz-Paredes, Carla

AU - Schmidt, Olaf

AU - Rønn, Regin

AU - Vestergård, Mette

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Harvesting whole-tree biomass for biofuel combustion intensifies removal of nutrients from the ecosystem. This can be partly abated by applying ash from the combustion back to the system, as the ash is rich in nutrients. Ash is very alkaline and ash application raises soil pH, which in turn can stimulate microbial activity and thus decomposition and mineralization. Our aim was to test if ash induced decomposition activity was associated with enhanced turnover of recalcitrant, i.e. relatively old, organic pools. Two experiments were conducted in the same coniferous plantation after the application of 0, 3, 4.5 and 6 t ash ha−1, and 0, 3, 9, 15 and 30 t ash ha−1, respectively. We used natural abundance of 15N in mosses, mites and ectomycorrhizal fungi 26 months after ash application, as well as temporal variation in δ15N values of ectomycorrhizal fungi, as an indicator of decomposition of recalcitrant organic matter in the first experiment. Furthermore, in the second experiment we used measurements of extracellular manganese peroxidase activity almost 4 years after ash application as an indication of potential decomposition of lignin, an important component of recalcitrant organic matter. The δ15N signature increased significantly for ectomycorrhizal fungi, dead moss, Nothroid and Gamasida mites, and manganese peroxidase activity tended to increase, with increasing ash doses. This suggests that ash application stimulates turnover of recalcitrant organic matter, which can increase the available pool of nitrogen in the system. This will potentially enhance the fertilizer value of ash. However, the δ15N in ectomycorrhizal fungi tended to peak at 18 months after ash application, before decreasing, suggesting that the turnover of recalcitrant organic matter is reduced again with time.

AB - Harvesting whole-tree biomass for biofuel combustion intensifies removal of nutrients from the ecosystem. This can be partly abated by applying ash from the combustion back to the system, as the ash is rich in nutrients. Ash is very alkaline and ash application raises soil pH, which in turn can stimulate microbial activity and thus decomposition and mineralization. Our aim was to test if ash induced decomposition activity was associated with enhanced turnover of recalcitrant, i.e. relatively old, organic pools. Two experiments were conducted in the same coniferous plantation after the application of 0, 3, 4.5 and 6 t ash ha−1, and 0, 3, 9, 15 and 30 t ash ha−1, respectively. We used natural abundance of 15N in mosses, mites and ectomycorrhizal fungi 26 months after ash application, as well as temporal variation in δ15N values of ectomycorrhizal fungi, as an indicator of decomposition of recalcitrant organic matter in the first experiment. Furthermore, in the second experiment we used measurements of extracellular manganese peroxidase activity almost 4 years after ash application as an indication of potential decomposition of lignin, an important component of recalcitrant organic matter. The δ15N signature increased significantly for ectomycorrhizal fungi, dead moss, Nothroid and Gamasida mites, and manganese peroxidase activity tended to increase, with increasing ash doses. This suggests that ash application stimulates turnover of recalcitrant organic matter, which can increase the available pool of nitrogen in the system. This will potentially enhance the fertilizer value of ash. However, the δ15N in ectomycorrhizal fungi tended to peak at 18 months after ash application, before decreasing, suggesting that the turnover of recalcitrant organic matter is reduced again with time.

KW - Manganese peroxidase

KW - Soil food web

KW - Stable isotopes

KW - Wood ash recycling

KW - δ15N

U2 - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.05.021

DO - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.05.021

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85066442299

SN - 0038-0717

VL - 135

SP - 316

EP - 322

JO - Soil Biology & Biochemistry

JF - Soil Biology & Biochemistry

ER -

Ash application enhances decomposition of recalcitrant organic matter

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this