Soil carbon pools and microbial response to lime and nitrogen application

• Grant number: 18/09649-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 10, 2018
• End date: August 23, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Ciro Antonio Rosolem
• Grantee: Jéssica Pigatto Barcelos Putti
• Supervisor: David Leonard Jones
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Bangor University, Wales
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/00398-5 - Nitrogen in soil, plant and atmosphere after limestone and gypsum application on no-tillage system, BP.DR

Abstract

High yielding crops are only possible in acidic tropical soils when soil pH and mineral deficiencies are corrected, and toxic aluminum is neutralized. Lime application ameliorate soil acidity by increasing in soil pH. However, the impact of liming is variable and strongly dependent upon the C:N ratio, SOM quantity and quality. The aim of this study is to investigate if and how lime and inorganic N application affect soil C pools by analyzing microbial growth response, microbial C use efficiency, microbial enzyme production, microbial community composition, microbial biomass turnover and substrate availability (C and N). Soil samples (0 to 10 cm depth) will be collected from the field experiment in Botucatu, Brazil, and taken to Bangor to investigate the impact of liming and N on the turnover of different organic C and N forms in soil. The experiments will use a range of 14C labelled substrates to assess soil changes and microbiota dynamics. We will be able to evaluate key changes in the microbial biomass, activity and physiology. (AU)