Rhizosphere influence on soil microbial biomass and enzyme activity in banj oak, chir pine and banj oak regeneration forests in the central Himalaya

• Published in: Geoderma 2022-03, Vol.409, p.115626, Article 115626
• Main Authors: Kumar, Shailendra, Garkoti, Satish Chandra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Enzyme activity; Rhizosphere effect; Rhizosphere Soil Microbial Index (RSMI); Soil microbial biomass; Temperate forest
• ISSN: 0016-7061; 1872-6259
• DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.115626

•Forest-regeneration augments rhizosphere soil (RS) quality and microbial biomass.•Banj oak shows high RS effect than the chir pine and banj oak regeneration forest.•Banj oak RS has high soil microbial biomass than bulk soil up to the middle layer.•Nutrient-rich forests’ soil experiences high RS effect than nutrient-poor soil.•Variation in forest type, soil depth and seasons influence the rhizosphere soil. The present study aims to investigate the rhizosphere effect on soil organic carbon, nutrients and soil microbial biomass in three forests viz, banj oak (Quercus leucotrichophora), chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) and banj oak regeneration forest (banj oak regeneration in chir pine) in the central Himalaya. Soil samples were collected seasonally from three depths (0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm) at two soil positions (i.e., rhizosphere and bulk soil). The soil physicochemical and biological properties were compared between rhizosphere soil (RS) and bulk soil (BS), among forest types using two-way ANOVA and comparison of means was assessed by Tukey’s HSD post-hoc test. Correlation analysis was performed to observe the association among physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. Additionally, a Linear Mixed Effect Model (LMM) was applied to investigate the effect of forest types, soil positions, seasons, depths and their interactions on soil biological properties. In the rainy season, soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in RS of banj oak were significantly higher (p