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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #62405
Title: FIELD AND LABORATORY TESTS OF SOIL RESPIRATION

Author
item Parkin, Timothy
item Doran, John
item FRANCO-VIZCAINO, ERNESTO - MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Soil Science Society of America Special Publication Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/23/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The living organisms residing in the soil play a key role in defining and influencing soil function. By decomposing dead plant and animal material, soil microorganisms recycle essential nutrients, and soil microorganisms have been reported to enhance soil structure. Because of these characteristics, an active microbial population is an attribute that is often cited as a key component of good soil quality. However, there are many detrimental processes carried out by soil microorganisms. Bacteria and fungi residing in soil are causal agents of plant and animal diseases, and through the processes of microbial metabolism, loss of soil organic matter is accelerated. Respiration is a process that reflects biological activity, however, there are no existing guidelines to allow interpretation of soil respiration measurements with respect to discrimination of detrimental vs. beneficial impacts on soil quality. This chapter presents a brief description of measurement technology to measure soil and microbial respiration, and provides criteria for interpreting respiration measurements relative to soil quality.