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Changes in microbial utilization and fate of soil carbon following the addition of different fractions of anaerobic digestate to soils

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Changes in microbial utilization and fate of soil carbon following the addition of different fractions of anaerobic digestate to soils. / Cattin, Marta; Semple, Kirk; Stutter, Marc et al.
In: European Journal of Soil Science, Vol. 72, No. 6, 30.11.2021, p. 2398-2413.

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@article{8b0dd535c0c74e3f9e767c70d8e992c2,
title = "Changes in microbial utilization and fate of soil carbon following the addition of different fractions of anaerobic digestate to soils",
abstract = "Applying digestate, the residue from anaerobic digestion, to soil as a replacement for inorganic fertiliser is of growing interest in agriculture. However, the impacts of different fractions of digestate on the soil carbon (C) cycle remain unclear and provide the focus for the research reported here. We examined the effects of applying whole digestate (WD) and solid digestate (SD) on carbon dioxide (CO2C) efflux, the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass C (Cmicro) and phospholipid fatty acids, alongside carbon use efficiency (CUE). A 21‐day laboratory microcosm incubation was used to investigate the impacts of digestate when applied to two grassland soils of high versus low initial nutrient content. Application rates for SD and WD were based on recommended nitrogen (N) inputs to grassland soils for these organic materials. Compared to control treatments, cumulative CO2C efflux and the concentration of DOC increased significantly after WD and SD application, although only within the low nutrient soil. Both Cmicro and the fungal‐to‐bacterial ratio increased significantly following SD application, regardless of the initial soil nutrient content. These observations are likely to reflect the larger input of C, alongside the dominance of more strongly lignified compounds, associated with SD compared to WD to achieve a constant N application rate. Our results also indicate that the two digestate fractions generated significantly different CUE. The application of SD led to increases in Cmicro and positive values of CUE, whereas decreases in Cmicro and negative values of CUE were observed following WD application. These findings emphasize the need to carefully plan the management of digestate in agricultural production systems, to minimize negative impacts on C storage within soils whilst maximizing the agronomic value derived from digestate.",
keywords = "Carbon cycle, Carbon dioxide flux, Carbon use efficiency, Digestate, Microbial community, Microbial respiration, Soil nutrient status",
author = "Marta Cattin and Kirk Semple and Marc Stutter and Gaetano Romano and {Lag Brotons}, Alfonso and Chris Parry and Ben Surridge",
year = "2021",
month = nov,
day = "30",
doi = "10.1111/ejss.13091",
language = "English",
volume = "72",
pages = "2398--2413",
journal = "European Journal of Soil Science",
issn = "1351-0754",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "6",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Changes in microbial utilization and fate of soil carbon following the addition of different fractions of anaerobic digestate to soils

AU - Cattin, Marta

AU - Semple, Kirk

AU - Stutter, Marc

AU - Romano, Gaetano

AU - Lag Brotons, Alfonso

AU - Parry, Chris

AU - Surridge, Ben

PY - 2021/11/30

Y1 - 2021/11/30

N2 - Applying digestate, the residue from anaerobic digestion, to soil as a replacement for inorganic fertiliser is of growing interest in agriculture. However, the impacts of different fractions of digestate on the soil carbon (C) cycle remain unclear and provide the focus for the research reported here. We examined the effects of applying whole digestate (WD) and solid digestate (SD) on carbon dioxide (CO2C) efflux, the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass C (Cmicro) and phospholipid fatty acids, alongside carbon use efficiency (CUE). A 21‐day laboratory microcosm incubation was used to investigate the impacts of digestate when applied to two grassland soils of high versus low initial nutrient content. Application rates for SD and WD were based on recommended nitrogen (N) inputs to grassland soils for these organic materials. Compared to control treatments, cumulative CO2C efflux and the concentration of DOC increased significantly after WD and SD application, although only within the low nutrient soil. Both Cmicro and the fungal‐to‐bacterial ratio increased significantly following SD application, regardless of the initial soil nutrient content. These observations are likely to reflect the larger input of C, alongside the dominance of more strongly lignified compounds, associated with SD compared to WD to achieve a constant N application rate. Our results also indicate that the two digestate fractions generated significantly different CUE. The application of SD led to increases in Cmicro and positive values of CUE, whereas decreases in Cmicro and negative values of CUE were observed following WD application. These findings emphasize the need to carefully plan the management of digestate in agricultural production systems, to minimize negative impacts on C storage within soils whilst maximizing the agronomic value derived from digestate.

AB - Applying digestate, the residue from anaerobic digestion, to soil as a replacement for inorganic fertiliser is of growing interest in agriculture. However, the impacts of different fractions of digestate on the soil carbon (C) cycle remain unclear and provide the focus for the research reported here. We examined the effects of applying whole digestate (WD) and solid digestate (SD) on carbon dioxide (CO2C) efflux, the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass C (Cmicro) and phospholipid fatty acids, alongside carbon use efficiency (CUE). A 21‐day laboratory microcosm incubation was used to investigate the impacts of digestate when applied to two grassland soils of high versus low initial nutrient content. Application rates for SD and WD were based on recommended nitrogen (N) inputs to grassland soils for these organic materials. Compared to control treatments, cumulative CO2C efflux and the concentration of DOC increased significantly after WD and SD application, although only within the low nutrient soil. Both Cmicro and the fungal‐to‐bacterial ratio increased significantly following SD application, regardless of the initial soil nutrient content. These observations are likely to reflect the larger input of C, alongside the dominance of more strongly lignified compounds, associated with SD compared to WD to achieve a constant N application rate. Our results also indicate that the two digestate fractions generated significantly different CUE. The application of SD led to increases in Cmicro and positive values of CUE, whereas decreases in Cmicro and negative values of CUE were observed following WD application. These findings emphasize the need to carefully plan the management of digestate in agricultural production systems, to minimize negative impacts on C storage within soils whilst maximizing the agronomic value derived from digestate.

KW - Carbon cycle

KW - Carbon dioxide flux

KW - Carbon use efficiency

KW - Digestate

KW - Microbial community

KW - Microbial respiration

KW - Soil nutrient status

U2 - 10.1111/ejss.13091

DO - 10.1111/ejss.13091

M3 - Journal article

VL - 72

SP - 2398

EP - 2413

JO - European Journal of Soil Science

JF - European Journal of Soil Science

SN - 1351-0754

IS - 6

ER -