Bacterial immobilization and remineralization of N at different growth rates and N concentrations

An experiment was designed to resolve two largely unaddressed questions about the turnover of N in soils. One is the influence of microbial growth rate on mobilization and remineralization of cellular N. The other is to what extent heterotrophic immobilization of is controlled by the soil concentration of . Bacteria were extracted from a deciduous forest soil and inoculated into an aqueous medium. Various N pool dilution/enrichment experiments were carried out to: (1) calculate the gross N immobilization and remineralization rates; (2) investigate their dependence on concentrations; (3) establish the microbial preference for depending on the concentration ratio. Remineralization of microbial N occurred mainly at high growth rates and concentrations. There was a positive correlation between immobilization and remineralization rates, and intracellular recycling of N seemed to be an efficient way for bacteria to withstand low inorganic N concentrations. Thus, extensive remineralization of microbial N is likely to occur only when environmental conditions promote high growth rates. The results support previous observations of high immobilization rates, especially at low concentrations, but was also immobilized at high NH₄ concentrations. The latter can be understood if part of the microbial community has a preference for . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]