[Effects of nitrogen fertilization on seasonal dynamics of soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in Larix gmelinii and Fraxinus mandshurica plantations].

This paper studied the seasonal dynamics of soil microbial biomass C (Cmic) and N (Nmic), and of bacteria (cfu(b)), fungi (cfu(f)), and actinomyces (cfu(a)) in Larix gmelinii and Fraxinus mandshurica plantations in 2007-2008 under N fertilization. The two-year averaged soil Cmic and Nmic in L. gmelinii plantation were 13.8% and 18.3% lower than those in F. mandshurica plantation, respectively, but the soil Cmic and Nmic in the two plantations had similar seasonal patterns, being the lowest in May and the highest in September. The Cmic and Nmic, and the cfu(b), cfu(r), and cfu(a), were all greater in topsoil (0-10 cm) than in subsoil (10-20 cm), but the seasonal patterns of cfu(b), cfu(f), and cfu(a), were different from those of Cmic and Nmic. N fertilization decreased the Cmic and Nmic, and the cfu(b), cfu(f), and cfu(a), significantly, with the decrements of Cmic and Nmic being 24% and 63% in L. gmelinii plantation, and 51% and 68% in F. mandshurica, respectively, which suggested that N fertilization limited soil microbial biomass and altered soil microbial communities in the two plantations.