Contribution of microbial necromass to soil organic carbon formation during litter decomposition under incubation conditions.

We conducted a 512-day incubation experiment to study the dynamics of microbial necromass and soil carbon fraction in the 'litter-soil' transformation interface soil layer (TIS) during litter decomposition, using a perennial C3 herb, , in the loess hills. The results showed that soil microbial necromass was dominated by fungi in the early and middle stages, and by bacteria in the late stage. The contribution of fungal necromass C to mineral-associated organic C (MAOC) was significantly higher (38.

[Effects of vegetation restoration on nutrient and microbial properties of soil aggregates with different particle sizes in the loess hilly regions of Ningxia, Northwest China].

We explored the effects of vegetation restoration on the soil nutrients and microbial pro-perties of soil aggregates with different particle size by comparing soils in a natural grassland which had been restored for nearly 30 years and in cropland in the loess hilly regions of Ningxia. We analyzed the soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), soil basal respiration (CO-C) and respiratory quotient (qCO) of different particle size soil aggregates collected from cropland and natural grassland. The results showed that soil aggregates of natural grassland had more micro-aggregates (particle size <0.