Growth and death of bacteria and fungi underlie rainfall-induced carbon dioxide pulses from seasonally dry soil
Authors:
Egbert Schwartz, Mary Firestone, Steven Blazewicz
Tags:
bacteria, Birch effect, California, fungi, grassland, growth, heavy water, mortality, population ecology, soil wet-up, stable isotope probing, turnover
Journal:
Ecology
Year Published:
2013
Policy Summary
Soil rainfall interactions are complex and dynamic. Specifically, when unseasonally dry soil is re-wetted that soil experiences extreme microbial activity intially (first 3 hours), followed by expansive microbial growth. While there is big swings in growth, death, and haulted microbial activity (during a re-wetting event), this study concludes that overall net quantity of microorganisms in the soil remained balanced after a soil re-wetting event.
