Aerobic and Anaerobic Microbial Populations in No-till and Plowed Soils1

D. M. LINN AND J. W. DoRAN2

ABSTRACT of no-till soils. In surface no-till soils, increased numbers of anaer-
obic microorganisms and a substantially greater denitrification po-
Surface soils from long-term tillage comparison experiments at tential, following irrigation, indicate the presence of less-aerobic
six U.S. locations were characterized for aerobic and anaerobic mi- conditions in comparison to conventionally tilled soils. This condi-
crobial populations and denitrification potential using an in situ tion appears to result from greater soil bulk densities and/or water
acetylene blockage technique. Measurements of soil water content, contents of no-till soils, which act to increase water-filled porosity
bulk density, and relative differences in pH, NQr-N, water-soluble and the potential for water to act as a barrier to the diffusion of
C, and total C and N contents between tillage treatments were also oxygen through the soil profile.
determined at the time of sampling. Numbers of aerobic and anaer-
obic microorganisms in surface (0-75 mm) no-till soils averaged 1.35 Additional Index Words: Soil aeration, denitrification, conserva-
to 1.41 and 1.27 to 1.31 times greater, respectively, than in surface- tion tillage, microbial ecology.
plowed soils. Bulk density, volumetric water content, water-filled
pore space, and water-soluble C and organic C and N value's were Linn, D. M., and J. W. Doran. 1984. Aerobic and anaerobic mi-
crobial populations in no-till and plowed soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am.
similarly greater for surface no-till soils compared to conventionally J. 48:794-799.
tilled soils. Deeper in the soil (75-300 mm), however, aerobic mi-
crobial populations were significantly greater in conventionally tilled
soils. In contrast, below 150 mm, the numbers of anaerobic micro-
organisms differed little between tillage treatments. In no-till soils,
however, these organisms were found to comprise a greater propor- 'T'HE NUMBERS, types, and activities of soil micro-
tion of the total bacterial population than in conventionally tilled .L organisms are important to the productivity of
soils. Measurements of the denitrification potential from soils at soil through their regulatory effect on soil carbon (C)
three locations generally followed the observed differences in an- and nitrogen (N) levels. Several early studies com-
aerobic microbial populations. Denitrifying activity, after irrigation paring the microbial populations of reduced-tillage and
with 15 mm of water, was substantially greater in surface 0- to 75- plowed soils demonstrated that greater numbers of
mm no-till soils than in conventionally tilled soils at all locations. aerobic microorganisms were often associated with the
At the 75- to 150-mm soil depth, however, the denitrification poten-
tial in conventionally tilled soils was the same or higher than that
surface 0 to 150 mm of reduced-tillage soils (Dawson
et al., 1948; Gamble et al., 1952; Schaller and Evans,
1
Contribution from the USDA-ARS, in cooperation with the Nebr. 1954). More recently, Barber and Standell (1977) and
Agric. Exp. Stn., Lincoln, NE. Published with the approval of the Doran (1980b) found that microbial numbers, dehy-
Director as Paper no. 7160, Journal Series. Received 21 Nov. 1983. drogenase activities, and respiration rates in surface
Approved
2
20 Jan, 1984. no-till soils were significantly greater than those in
Research Associate, Univ. of Minn., St. Paul (formerly Research
Technologist, Univ. Nebraska-Lincoln), and Soil Scientist, USDA- plowed soils. However, at a soil depth below 50 to 75
ARS, Lincoln, NE. mm, these indexes of microbial activity were often
 LINN & DORAN: AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC MICROBIAL POPULATIONS IN NO-TILL AND PLOWED SOILS 795

greater in plowed soils, reversing the trend noted in populations were used as a general index of soil phys-
the surface 0 to 75 mm. Most researchers have con- ical/chemical environments characteristic of no-til-
cluded that the increased microbial activity observed lage and plow-management practices.
in the surface 0- to 75-mm layer of reduced- or no-
tillage soils is related to their greater organic C and MATERIALS AND METHODS
water contents resulting from the maintenance of crop The surface 300 mm of soil from long-term tillage com-
residues on the soil surface. Similarly, lower microbial parison experiments at several locations across the U.S. (five
numbers and activities at 75 to 150 mm in reduced- in 1980 and six in 1981) was sampled for microbiological
tillage soils have been considered a reflection of the characteristics and differences in % WFP. At all locations,
lower levels of organic C and N at this depth. soils managed by the no-tillage system were compared to
Differences in soil aeration between tillage-manage- those tilled with a moldboard plow (conventional tillage).
ment systems may also influence microbial numbers The tillage treatments at all locations were arranged in a
and activity. Doran (1980b) observed that numbers of randomized, complete block design and replicated four times
anaerobic microorganisms (facultative anaerobes and (three replications at the Nebraska Duroc loam site). Tillage
denitrifiers) decreased little with depth in no-till soils comparisons at four locations in continuous corn (Zea mays
and generally were greater at a depth of 75 to 150 mm L.) had been maintained 4 to 11 yr, and two locations in
wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow rotation from 10 to 12
in comparison to plowed soils. This led Doran and yr. The soil and crop management characteristics, and year(s)
Power (1983) to conclude that the greater soil water sampled for each location are given in Table 1.
contents and bulk densities often associated with no- Soils were sampled at depths of 0 to 75, 75 to 150, and
tillage limit the diffusion of oxygen into these soils, 150 to 300 mm one to two times during the growing season
thus establishing a less-aerobic environment in com- (April through September) in 1980 and/or 1981. Soil sam-
parison to plowed soils. Little information was avail- pled from each replicate tillage treatment represented a com-
able to test this observation because, in most earlier posite of 15 randomly selected 25-mm diam cores—12 cores
research, soil bulk density was not measured, total an- between the crop row and 3 in the row. During 1980, soil
aerobes were not counted, sampling was confined to samples were collected as described above and shipped to
the surface 150 mm of soil, and/or microbiological the laboratory at Lincoln, NE, for analysis. This was a time-
consuming process and caused some concern with regard to
assays were conducted on samples stored for several potential changes in microbial populations during transpor-
days. tation. Therefore, in 1981, all samples were analyzed for
In this study, the influence of tillage on aerobic and microbiological characteristics on site within 24 h after col-
anaerobic microbial numbers and denitrifying poten- lection.
tial was evaluated with respect to the physical and Prior to the determinations of microbial populations, the
chemical properties of soils from long-term tillage soils were thoroughly mixed and a subsample removed for
comparison experiments at six U.S. locations. Sam- gravimetric determination of water content. The soil was
ples were taken to a depth of 300 mm, and micro- then passed through a 4.8-mm stainless steel sieve. Soils
biological assays were initiated on site shortly after containing substantial amounts of sand or pebbles < 4.8
sampling. This information was then compared with mm diam were passed through a 2.0-mm stainless steel sieve.
Platings for microbial counts were started immediately
the percentage of soil pore space filled with water (% after sieving, using either the pour-plate technique (1980) or
WFP) as calculated using soil water content and bulk the spread-plate technique (1981) to enumerate fungal, ac-
density measurements made at the time of sampling tinomycete, facultative anaerobe, aerobic bacterial, and total
for microbiological analyses. In this sense, microbial aerobic microbial numbers. Total aerobic microorganisms
Table 1—Soil and crop management characteristics of the field sites comparing no-till and conventional tillage practices.
N fertilizer
Location Soil series Conventional tillage methodt Crop rate Dates sampled
classification depth of tillage, mm kgN/ha
Elwood, IL Blount silt loam Fall disk (150) Continuous 179 6 June/3 Uuly,
(Aerie Ochraqualf s) Spring plow (200) corn 1980
Spring disk (75-100) 7 July 1981
Lexington, KY Maury silt loam Spring plow (200) Continuous 168 5 June 1980
(Typic Paleudalfs) Disked twice prior to planting corn 21 July 1981
Waseca, MN Nicollet clay loam Fall plow (200-250) Continuous 196 2 July 1980
(Aquic Hapludolls) Spring cultivation with mulch harrow corn

Waseca, MN Webster clay loam Fall plow (200-250) Continuous 190 16 June/16 Aug.,
(Typic Haplaquolls) Spring cultivation with mulch harrow corn 1981
Lincoln, NE Crete Butler silty clay loam Spring plow (200) Continuous 140 2 June/9 Sept.,
(Pachic Argiustolls- Disked twice prior to planting corn 1981
Abruptic Argiaquolls)
Sidney, NE Alliance silt loam Spring plow (100-150) Wheat 45 17 Apr./14 May,
(Aridic Argiustolls) Fallow cultivation— 2-3 times (fallow 1980
Rotary rod weeder— 1-2 times rotation) 12 May 1981
during fallow
Sidney, NE Duroc loam Spring plow (100-150) Wheat 0 11 June 1980
(Pachic Haplustolls) Fallow cultivation— 2-3 times (fallow 15 Apr./22 Sept.
Rotry rod weeder— 1-2 times rotation) 1981
during fallow
t Plow = moldboard plow.
796 SOIL SCI. SOC. AM. J., VOL. 48, 1984

and aerobic bacteria were determined on nutrient agar (Bal- gauge by 12.7-mm syringe needle and left undisturbed for
timore Biological Laboratories, Baltimore, Md.)3 supple- 24 h, after which a 1-mL gas sample from the headspace
mented with 0.1 g/L glucose. Additional details on the es- atmosphere was collected and analyzed for nitrous oxide
timation of microbial populations are given by Doran (N2O) by gas chromatography (MT-220 Tracer GC equipped
(1980a). Facultative anaerobes were enumerated on a mod- with a 63Ni electron capture detector). Two sampling depths
ified peptone-yeast-extract-glucose (PYG) agar containing (in were evaluated for denitrification potential, 0 to 75 mm and
units of g/L): peptone, 5.0; yeast extract, 5.0; glucose, 5.0; 75 to 150 mm. At least three cans for C2H2 blockage mea-
NaCl, 2.5; sodium thioglycollate, 2.0; sodium formaldehyde surements were placed at the 0- to 75-mm sampling depth
sulfoxylate, 1.0; L-cystine, 0.4; methylene blue, 0.002; and and one at the 75- to 150-mm sampling depth for each rep-
agar, 18.0. The pH of this medium was adjusted to 7.2 with licate.
8M NaOH or 5M HC1, and the medium was autoclaved for Soil bulk densities were determined using gas sampling
15 min at 121°C. After inoculation, plates were incubated cans (Linn and Doran, 1984) and a multidepth sampler
anaerobically using anaerobe jars and "gas-pacs" (BBL). Roll- (twelve 22.4-mm cores per plot) as described by Doran and
tube anaerobes, which comprise both facultative and obli- Mielke (1984). Percent water-filled pore space values from
gate anaerobes and will hereafter be referred to as total an- the gas sampling cans were determined. Values for % WI^P
aerobes, were enumerated on prereduced PYG agar incu- to which the microbial counts were compared were deter-
bated anaerobically as described by Holdeman et al. (1975), mined using the bulk density and presieved soil water con-
except that 5.0 g/L of peptone, yeast extract, and glucose tent values from the individual treatment replicates. Deter-
were used instead of the recommended 10.0 g/L to eliminate mination of KCl-extractable NOf-N levels in the soils at all
problems of excessive gas production, which otherwise re- locations was initiated on site by extracting 10-g samples of
duced counting efficiencies. Soil dilutions for total anaerobes these soils with 100 mL of IM KC1 and freezing the extract
were similarly carried out under anaerobic conditions using for later analysis. The same extraction procedure was used
prereduced dilution buffer and anaerobic culture techniques for soluble carbon, except distilled water was used in place
as described by Holdeman et al. (1975). Because of the re- of KC1. In the laboratory, frozen extracts were thawed at
quirements for anaerobic gases and the time factor involved room temperature and centrifuged twice for 30 min at 20 000
in inoculating roll tubes, anaerobic microbial populations g. Total C in the resultant supernatant was determined by
were not determined by this method in the field. Rather, 25- a closed, wet-digestion technique followed by CO2 measure-
g samples of freshly sieved soils were added to sterile glass ment with a Lira Model 303 infrared analyzer. After initial
tubes, flushed with O2-free N2 gas, the tubes then sealed with microbiological and chemical analyses were completed in
rubber stoppers, and the soil frozen. Total anaerobes were the field, the remaining soil was frozen and transported to
then enumerated in the laboratory at Lincoln. After inocu- Lincoln for further chemical analyses. Total Kjeldahl N,
lation, all media were incubated at 28°C and counts deter- NO^~-N, organic C, and soil pH were determined as previ-
mined after the following incubation periods: total anaer- ously described (Doran, 1980b).
obes—3 d; fungi—6 d; actinomycetes, facultative anaerobes,
aerobic bacteria, and total aerobic microorganisms—7 d. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The denitrification potential of the soils examined was
measured in situ during the 1981 season only at the three The average differences among aerobic and anaer-
sites shown in Table 5. Gas sampling cans were placed within obic microbial populations between tillage treatments
the plots as described by Linn and Doran (1984). A total of across locations are shown in Tables 2 and 3. The
20 mL of acetylene (C2H2) gas and 50 mL of C2H2-saturated values presented in these tables are ratios of a given
distilled water was added to each can in the following man- parameter for no-till soils divided by the respective
ner: After the cans were placed in the soil, 8 mL of C2H2 value for conventionally tilled soils and represent av-
gas was injected into the soil followed by the addition of the erage values across replicates and locations. As pre-
C2H2-saturated H2O. The cans were then sealed with a serum viously described by Doran (1980b), the use of ratios
stopper and the remaining 12 mL of C2H2 injected into the
headspace atmosphere. The cans were vented with a 26- in this manner reduces the effects of various environ-
mental factors unique to individual locations (soil, cli-
3
Mention of a trademark, proprietary product, or vendor does mate, etc.) and enables comparison across locations
not constitute a guarantee or warranty or the product by the USDA of the relative differences in microbial populations as
and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products specifically influenced by tillage.
or vendors that may be suitable.
Populations of aerobic and anaerobic microorga-
nisms in the surface 0 to 75 mm of no-till soils were
Table 2—Influence of tillage on microbial numbers and percent generally greater than those from conventionally tilled
water-filled pore space (% WFP) at two sampling depths.
____________ 1980 survey.__ soil. At the 75- to 150-mm and 150- to 300-mm sam-
Ratio NT/CTt at two soil depths
Table 3—Influence of tillage on microbial populations at
Soil parameter 0-75 mm 75-150 mm
three sampling depths. 1981 survey.
Total aerobes 1.03 0.77***
Fungi 1.18 Ratio NT/CTt at three soil depths
0.61***
Actinomycetes 1.03 0.91* Microbial group 0-75 mm 75-150 mm- 150-300 mm
Bacteria 1.05 0.75***
Facultative anaerobes 1.40*** 1.01 Total aerobes 1.35** 0.66*** 0.82*
Total anaerobes 1.48 1.11 Fungi 1.35*** 0.55*** 0.69***
Water-filled pores (%)t 1.30*** 1.03 Bacteria 1.41** 0.68** 0.76*
Facultative anaerobes 1.31* 0.96 0.94*
*,*** Levels of significance: *p < 0.05; ***p < 0.001. Total anaerobes 1.27*** 1.05 1.01
t Ratios of microbial populations and % WFP for no tillage/conven-
tional tillage (NT/CT) were averaged across replicates and five loca- *,**,*** Levels of significance: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001.
tions. Statistical significance between tillage means was determined t Ratios of microbial populations for no tillage/conventional tillage
by the F-test using [replicate (location) X tillage] as the error term. (NT/CT) were averaged across replicates and six locations. Statis-
t Percent water-filled pore space (% WFP) = (volumetric water con- tical significance between tillage means was determined by the
tent/total soil porosity) X 100. F-test using [replicate (location) x tillage] as the error term.
 LINN & DORAN: AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC MICROBIAL POPULATIONS IN NO-TILL AND PLOWED SOILS 797

0 Aerobic Fungi Faculrotive Total

Bacteria Anaerobes Anaerobes

75

150 150
Q

6
•—• no-ti
> no-till
A—A plow
t plow

E 300
£.300 2 4 6 0 2 4 6 8
PERCENT OF TOTAL BACTERIAL POPULATIONS

Fig. 2—The percentage of the total bacterial populations in no-till

Facultative Total and conventionally tilled soil comprised of anaerobic organisms
Anaerobes Anaerobes for three soil depths.

75
Table 4—Physical and chemical differences between no-till and
plowed soils sampled in 1981.
150 Ratio NT/CTf at three soil depths
Soil parameter 0-75 mm 75-150 mm 150-300 mm
Bulk density 1.04**(1.10)t 1.05*** 1.00
Volumetric water content 1.24*** 1.05 1.07**
Water-filled pore space (%) 1.28***(1.34)J 1.11** 1.07**
pH 1.02 1.01 0.99
300, Water-soluble carbon 1.20* 0.86 1.14
50 100 150 0 50 100 150 Total organic carbon 1.41*** 0.99 0.94*
PERCENT OF 0-75 mm NO-TILL POPULATIONS Kjeldahl nitrogen 1.29*** 1.01 0.96
Fig. 1—Microbial populations in no-till and conventionally tilled soil NO;-N 1.17(0.82)* 0.97 0.98
profile expressed as a percentage of the populations in the 0- to *,**,*** Levels of significance: *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.
75-mm no-till soil. t Ratios of the soil parameters for no tillage/conventional tillage
(NT/CT) were averaged across replicates and six locations. Statis-
tical significance between tillage means was determined by the
pling depths, this trend was reversed, with aerobic mi- F-test using [replicate (location) x tillage] as the error term.
crobial populations being substantially greater among $ Value in parentheses is the mean ratio of all locations except
conventionally tilled soils. Numbers of total anaer- Sidney, NE, Duroc loam, for which bulk density values for no
tillage were significantly lower than plowing.
obes, however, did not follow this trend at either of
these sampling depths. As shown in Tables 2 and 3,
numbers of total and facultative anaerobes were not populations. In contrast, anaerobic bacteria in plowed
significantly different between tillage treatments at the soils at the 75- to 150-mm depth represented only 3.2
75- to 150-mm sampling depth. Furthermore, the and 3.4% of the total bacterial population. In conven-
numbers of total anaerobes, which were considered to tionally tilled soils, little difference in the composition
reflect the populations of both obligate and facultative of the microbial community with respect to aerobic
anaerobes, tended to be greater in no-till soils at all and anaerobic microorganisms was noted until the
three sampling depths. third sampling depth (150-300 mm), where the per-
The changes with soil depth among aerobic bacteria, centage of the total bacterial community comprised of
fungi, facultative and total anaerobes, averaged across facultative and total anaerobes increased to about 5%.
locations, are shown in Fig. 1 for 1981. To show these The relative differences in the physical and chemi-
changes, the populations of the microbial groups have cal parameters measured, with soil depth, are given in
been represented as a percentage of the surface 0- to Table 4. The values for bulk density, volumetric water
75-mm populations with no tillage. For plowed soils, content, % WFP, water-soluble C, total C, and total
populations of both aerobic and anaerobic microor- Kjeldahl N were significantly greater in the surface 0
ganisms at the second sampling depth (75-150 mm) to 75 mm of no-till soils. The increased levels of or-
were greater than those in the surface 0 to 75 mm. In ganic substrates and water in the surface 0 to 75 mm
no-till soils populations of aerobes and anaerobes de- of no-till soils are apparently related to greater micro-
clined consistently with soil depth. The numbers of bial populations present at this sampling depth; how-
facultative and total anaerobes in no-till soils, how- ever, soil water content, in terms of % WFP, appears
ever, decreased much less with depth than did the to be of particular importance to microbial activity.
populations of aerobic bacteria and fungi. Further- The average value for both years, across locations, of
more, at the 75- to 150-mm and 150- to 300-mm sam- WFP in the surface 0 to 75 mm of soil was 55.4% with
pling depths, facultative and total anaerobes repre- no tillage compared to 43.8% for conventional tillage.
sented a greater percentage of the total bacterial In another study (Linn and Doran, 1984), we found
community in no-till compared to plowed soils (Fig. aerobic microbial respiration increased with soil water
2). At the 75- to 150-mm sampling depth, facultative content and reached a maximum at 60% WFP. Aero-
anaerobes and total anaerobes in no-till soils com- bic microbial activity declined above 60% as addi-
prised 5.2 and 6.4%, respectively, of the total bacterial tional water apparently limited diffusion of O2 through
798 SOIL SCI. SOC. AM. J., VOL. 48, 1984

Table 5—Relative denitrification and median water-filled pore the initial WFP value or that present at the end of the
space of intact field cores in no-till and plowed soils incubation period. As noted in Table 5, median WFP
________receiving 15 mm of irrigation water.
values across locations ranged from 72 to 91% for no-
Soil properties till soils, whereas for plowed soils they ranged from
59 to 93%. As noted earlier, these differences result
depth, Median Total Soluble from the greater bulk densities, hence lower total soil
location! Tillage produced^ WFP organic C C NO;-N porosity, and/or greater initial water contents in sur-
M5/L 7o ———— face no-till soils compared to plowed soils. When equal
0-75 mm amounts of water are applied, a greater percentage of
Illinois No tillage 837§ 84* 1.8* 104§ 81 the soil pore space was filled with water in the no-till
Plow 147 60 1.2 76 82 soils.
Minnesota No tillage 293§ 87* 3.9 167 72 At the 75- to 150-mm sampling depth, N2O pro-
Plow 90 67 3.5 154 71
Nebraska No tillage 100§ 72* 2.5* 244 27 duction decreased substantially from the surface val-
Plow 6 59 1.7 152 33 ues for no-tillage, but generally increased in plowed
75-150 mm soils. For plowed soils, this increase appeared to par-
Illinois No tillage 86 87 2.3 121 23 allel the increase in the numbers of organisms capable
Plow 96 81 2.0 113 22 of anaerobic growth and median WFP values. The
Minnesota No tillage 26 91 3.6 175 54 lower values for N2O production from the no-till soils
Plow 138 93 4.0 195 52
Nebraska No tillage 8 80 2.3 143 48 at this sampling depth also reflect the decline in num-
Plow 31 69 2.0 213 62 bers of anaerobes observed between the first and sec-
* p < 0.05; § p < 0.10: Levels of significance pertain to comparisons of ond sampling depth. The magnitude of the decline in
tillage practices within locations and sampling depths. N2O values, however, is much greater than the decline
t Experimental sites at Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska were in con-
tinuous corn and were assayed for denitrification on 9 July, 17 June, and
in numbers of anaerobes. While we were unable to
15 Sept. 1981, respectively. account directly for this difference, a possible expla-
t Potential denitrification as estimated from NjO concentrations in reser- nation is that the diffusion of N2O into the headspace
voir headspace 24 h after irrigation and addition of acetylene. atmosphere of the sampling cans was limited by the
wetter soil conditions at this sampling depth (Table
soil. Using this criterion, the water status of no-till 5). Letey et al. (1980) found that reduced diffusion
surface soils at sampling was more optimal to micro- from soil cores could result in significant underesti-
bial activity than that of plowed soils. The aerobic mation of N2O production from denitrification as soil
status of no-till soils, however, would decline more water contents near saturation.
rapidly than that of plowed soils with addition of water Among the soil parameters listed in Table 5, only
through rainfall or irrigation. At the 75- to 150-mm % WFP was significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with
sampling depth, the decline in aerobic microbial num- N2O production. Burford and Bremner (1975) re-
bers for no tillage compared to plowing was appar- ported that, under anaerobic incubation conditions,
the denitrification capacity of 17 nitrate-amended sur-
ently not related to substrate availability because there face soils was positively correlated with total and water-
were no significant differences in soluble or total C soluble C levels. The results of the present study sug-
and N levels between tillage practices. The average % gest the importance of soil water and, in particular, %
WFP value for no-till soils at this depth (62%), how- WFP in regulating the aeration capacity and denitri-
ever, exceeded the 60% optimum for aerobic micro- fication potential of tilled and nontilled soils. Higher
bial activity, whereas that of plowed soils was below initial soil water contents and/or reduced air-filled po-
the optimum (55%). The differences in microbial ac- rosity have been cited as primary factors responsible
tivity observed at the time of sampling may have re- for higher denitrification rates in no-till compared to
flected changes stimulated by wetter soil conditions, plowed soils shortly after rainfall or irrigation (Aulakh
which occurred 1 to 2 d before sampling at several et al., 1982; Rice and Smith, 1982).
locations.
To examine further the possibility that no-till soils SUMMARY
are potentially less aerobic than conventionally tilled
soils, measurements of the denitrification potential in Increased numbers of organisms capable of anaer-
soil, using an acetylene blockage technique, were made obic growth and a substantially greater denitrification
after soils at three locations were irrigated with 15 mm potential after irrigation in the surface 0- to 75-mm
of water. Nitrous oxide levels were determined in the layer of no-till soils indicate the presence of less-aero-
headspace atmosphere of gas sampling cans after 24 bic conditions in comparison to plowed soils. Greater
h for two sampling depths (0-75 and 75-150 mm) in soil bulk densities (lower total soil porosity) and/or
both no-till and conventionally tilled soils. Nitrous greater soil water contents act to increase the WFP in
oxide levels were significantly greater from surface (0- no-till soils and increase the potential for water as a
75 mm) no-till soils than those from plowed soils (Ta- barrier to the diffusion of O2 through the soil profile.
ble 5). Similarly, median values for % WFP among In the surface 0 to 75 mm of no-till soils, however,
no-till and conventionally tilled soils indicated that a higher water-soluble C, total C and N, and water con-
much larger proportion of the soil porosity was water- tents were associated with increased numbers of both
filled during the incubation period in no-till soils than aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. A greater con-
in plowed soils. A median value for WFP was used in sumption of available O2, combined with lower dif-
this case because it reflected the water status of these fusion of O2 into the soil, may account for the lower
soils over the 24-h incubation period better than either number of aerobic microorganisms below 75 mm and
 LINN & DORAN: AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC MICROBIAL POPULATIONS IN NO-TILL AND PLOWED SOILS 799

the greater proportion of the organisms present being

capable of anaerobic growth. With conventionally tilled
soils, the greater total soil porosity throughout the sur-
face 0 to 150 mm and the lower WFP of the surface
0 to 75 mm present less of a barrier to the diffusion
of oxygen into the soil, thus allowing aerobic micro-
organisms to predominate to a greater depth than in
no-till soils.
Further research is needed to evaluate the potential
influence of differences in water movement and pore-
size distribution on the aerobic status and associated
N cycle for tillage-management systems.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to acknowledge the cooperation and
helpfulness of the many staff members at the research fa-
cilities where much of this work was conducted. We would
particularly like to thank Mr. Dale Harshbarger and Dr. R.
A. Pope, Univ. of Illinois; Drs. R. L. Blevins, W. W. Frye,
and M. S. Smith, Univ. of Kentucky; Drs. Gyles Randall
and W. E. Lueschen, Univ. of Minnesota; and Mr. Charles
Fenster and Dr. Gary Peterson, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Thanks are also extended to Brian Bahler and Clinton Gray
for their technical assistance.