This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by McKinley, V L Articles by Vestal, J R Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by McKinley, V L Articles by Vestal, J R Agricola Articles by McKinley, V L Articles by Vestal, J R

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1992 May; 58(5): 1554-1563

Mineralization of glucose and lignocellulose by four arctic freshwater sediments in response to nutrient enrichment.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0006.

ABSTRACT

Microbial biomass and activity were examined in four different arctic sediments: littoral lake sediment and profundal lake sediment from Toolik Lake, Alaska, thaw pond sediment, and eroding river bank peat. The thaw pond sediment had the largest viable microbial biomass, while the profundal sediment had the smallest. Rates of glucose or acetate incorporation into lipids, glucose mineralization, and lignocellulose mineralization (all normalized per unit of biomass) were highest in the river peat sample, however. The kinetics of glucose mineralization in the profundal sediment were very different from those in the other three samples: although the initial rate of mineralization was five times lower than that in the peat and two times lower than that in the littoral and thaw pond sediments, the maximum amount of 14CO2 evolved from [14C]glucose eventually equaled that in the peat and exceeded that in the littoral and thaw pond sediments by 2.0 and 3.5 times, respectively. Carex aquatilis [14C-cellulose]- and [14C-lignin]lignocellulose mineralization rates in the profundal sediment equaled or exceeded those in the littoral sediment after 16 and 46 days, but the pattern of nutrient limitation differed: the profundal sediment was the only one sampled that exhibited nitrogen limitation, while the other three sediments appeared to be limited primarily by phosphorus. The addition of nitrogen and phosphorus together had no cumulative effects on lignocellulose mineralization. When the rates of mineralization or incorporation of glucose are compared with those of lignocellulose, the results of this study indicate that profundal sediment communities may be better able to utilize the more recalcitrant substrates relative to the labile substrates than microbial communities from sediments rich in detritus and standing macrophytes.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Wright, A. L., Reddy, K. R. (2001). Heterotrophic Microbial Activity in Northern Everglades Wetland Soils. Soil Sci. 65: 1856-1864 [Abstract] [Full Text]