AIMS The objectives of this work were to determine the extracellular enzyme profiles during composting, relate the activities of these enzymes to the changes in microbial population and compare the enzyme profiles between two manures. METHODS AND RESULTS API ZYM assay was used to monitor the activities of 19 extracellular enzymes during poultry and pig manure composting. Results showed an ove...

An enrichment culture procedure for isolating members of the genus Acinetobacter from soil and water is described. It involves the use of vigorously aerated mineral media at relative low pH, supplemented with acetate or other suitable carbon source and nitrate as nitrogen source. With this method, virtually all samples of soil and water yielded representatives of this genus. Semiquantitative co...

Different forest types exert essential impacts on soil physical-chemical characteristics by dominant tree species producing diverse litters and root exudates, thereby further regulating size and activity of soil microbial communities. However, the study accuracy is usually restricted by differences in climate, soil type and forest age. Our objective is to precisely quantify soil microbial bioma...

Anthropogenic changes in biodiversity and atmospheric temperature significantly influence ecosystem processes. However, little is known about potential interactive effects of plant diversity and warming on essential ecosystem properties, such as soil microbial functions and element cycling. We studied the effects of orthogonal manipulations of plant diversity (one, four, and 16 species) and war...

Bio-organic fertilizers (BOFs) combine functional microbes with a suitable substrate and have been shown to effectively suppress soil-borne diseases and promote plant growth. Here, we developed a novel bio-organic fertilizer (BOF) by fermentation of a cow plus chicken manure (M) compost using Fen-liquor Daqu (FLD) as a fermentation starter and compared the compositions of bacterial and fungal c...

Microbial enzymes play a fundamental role in ecosystem processes and nutrient mineralization. Therefore understanding enzyme responses to anthropogenic environmental change is important for predicting ecosystem function in the future. In a previous study, we used a reciprocal transplant design to examine the direct and indirect effects of drought and nitrogen (N) fertilization on litter decompo...

The in-situ microbial reduction and immobilization of uranium was assessed as a means of preventing the migration of this element in the terrestrial subsurface. Uranium immobilization (putatively identified as reduction) and microbial respiratory activities were evaluated in the presence of exogenous electron donors and acceptors with field push-pull tests using wells installed in an anoxic aqu...