Microbial processing of soil organic matter is a significant driver of C cycling, yet we lack an understanding of what shapes the turnover of this large terrestrial pool. In part, this is due to limited options for accurately identifying the source of C assimilated by microbial communities. Laboratory incubations are the most common method for this; however, they can introduce artifacts due to sample disruption and processing and can take months to produce sufficient CO2 for analysis. We present a biomass extraction method which allows for the direct 14C analysis of microbial biomolecules and compare the results to laboratory incubations. In the upper 50 cm soil depths, the Δ14C from incubations was indistinguishable from that of extracted microbial biomass. Below 50 cm, the Δ14C of the biomass was more depleted than that of the incubations, either due to the stimulation of labile C decomposition in the incubations, the inclusion of biomolecules from non-living cells in the biomass extractions, or differences in C used for assimilation versus respiration. Our results suggest that measurement of Δ14C of microbial biomass extracts can be a useful alternative to soil incubations.

Introducing cover crops (CC) in annual cropping systems can promote nutrient cycling and improve soil health. However, impacts of CC on soil health indicators vary and depend on the duration of CC, cropping systems, and other environmental conditions. We performed an on-farm assessment of cover cropping impacts on soil health indicators including C and N pools, enzyme activities, and microbial community structure under different no-till maize-based cropping systems (maize (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max L.) [CS], CS-winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) [CSWw], and maize-oats (Avena sativa L.) [CO]). At five farms, fields with different durations of CC were compared to adjacent no CC (NCC) fields. In general, long-term CC enhanced the soil health parameters compared to NCC. Long-term (20-year) winter rye CC had higher water-extractable C and N content, enzyme activities (β-glucosidase (1.2 times greater), urease (5.5 times greater), acid (1.5 times greater) and alkaline (4 times greater) phosphatase, arylsulfatase (0.8 times greater) and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) (0.7 times greater)) and soil bacterial community abundance (1.2 times greater). Short-term (3–6 years) legume and grass CC mixtures increased β-glucosidase (0.9 times), acid (0.7 times) and alkaline (1.5 times) phosphatase, arylsulfatase (3 times), FDA (0.8 times) activities and total phospholipid fatty acid (1.6 times) concentration. However, short-term (3–6 years) winter rye, legume and brassica mixtures did not significantly alter soil microbial community structure. This study showed that implementation of CC for >6 years promoted C, N, S, and P cycling that are beneficial to soil health in maize-based cropping systems.

Herbicides applied to soils potentially affect soil microbial activity. Quantity and frequency of glyphosate application have escalated with the advent of glyphosate-tolerant crops. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of increasing glyphosate application rate on soil microbial biomass and activity. The soil used was Weswood silt loam. The isopropylamine salt of glyphosate was added at rates of 47, 94, 140, and 234 µg ai g−1 soil based on an assumed 2-mm glyphosate–soil interaction depth. Glyphosate significantly stimulated soil microbial activity as measured by C and N mineralization but did not affect soil microbial biomass. Cumulative C mineralization, as well as mineralization rate, increased with increasing glyphosate rate. Strong linear relationships between mineralized C and N and the amount of C and N added as glyphosate (r 2 = 0.995, 0.996) and slopes approximating one indicated that glyphosate was the direct cause of the enhanced microbial activity. An increase in C mineralization rate occurred the first day following glyphosate addition and continued for 14 d. Glyphosate appeared to be directly and rapidly degraded by microbes, even at high application rates, without adversely affecting microbial activity.