Background and aims
The total concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) has often been observed to correlate positively with soil microbial respiration. The aim was to explain the correlation with the properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM).
Methods
A dataset from previously published papers was gathered together and subjected to multivariate analyses. Samples were collected from five tree species experiments in Finland. The degradability of DOM was assessed by measuring bacterial and fungal growth in DOM. The chemical properties of DOM were assessed by XAD resin fractionation and molecular weight. Soil microbial activity was assessed as C and N mineralization and microbial biomass.
Results
Both low and high molecular weight compounds, as well as hydrophilic neutral compounds, seemed to be relatively easily degradable. In contrast to our presupposition, easily degradable DOM seemed to be less abundant in soil where variables describing microbial activity were higher. Birch soil with higher microbial biomass N seemed to contain less easily degradable DOM than spruce soil.
Conclusion
We suggest that DOM collected and characterized at a certain point reflects more the accumulation of refractory compounds following high microbial activity than the easily degradable compounds that microbes would be using when measured.