Appendix E (TABLE E1). Composition and isotopic signatures of microbial phospholipid fatty acids.
Group | Lipid Composition (molar %) | Lipid δ13C | ||||||
Lower Cont. | Lower Fert. | Upper Cont. | Upper Fert. | Lower Cont. | Lower Fert. | Upper Cont. | Upper Fert. | |
Fungal AMF | 12.2 ± 2.1 | 7.4 ± 1.9 | 10.7 ± 0.3 | 13.3 ± 5.9 | -24.5 ± 4.7 | -21.6 ± 1.9 | -11.9 ± 7.2 | -26.3 ± 5.7 |
Fungal Saprotrophic | 8.9 ± 0.2 bc | 7.8 ± 0.9 c | 9.9 ± 0.8 b | 12.1 ± 0.3 a | -28.6 ± 4.9 | -20.0 ± 7.7 | -14.5 ± 6.0 | -29.6 ± 6.1 |
Iso-branched G+ | 25.1 ± 1.3 | 27.6 ± 1.5 | 23.5 ± 1.4 | 21.8 ± 2.8 | -28.0 ± 2.5 | -17.1 ± 5.6 | -12.4 ± 5.5 | -21.7 ± 7.4 |
Methyl branched | 13.7 ± 1.2 | 10.5 ± 1.4 | 9.1 ± 1.2 | 13.5 ± 4.7 | -26.4 ± 3.7 | -15.8 ± 8.6 | -8.7 ± 9.2 | -22.2 ± 12.3 |
Mono-unsat. and cyclopropyl G- | 12.5 ± 1.7 | 16.4 ± 1.8 | 15.1 ± 0.6 | 7.6 ± 5.1 | -28.4 ± 5.0 | -21.0 ± 5.9 | -18.4 ± 4.8 | -19.8 ± 15.4 |
General marker 16:0 | 11.3 ± 2.2 | 14.9 ± 1.9 | 13.5 ± 0.4 | 13.2 ± 6.9 | -39.1 ± 1.1 | -36.3 ± 0.7 | -34.5 ± 1.6 | -36.8 ± 2.9 |
Average molar percent and lipid δ13C are shown for major groups of indicator lipids and the 16:0 marker (mean ± one standard error, n = 3). Letters indicate significant differences using Fisher’s LSD means separation test (P < 0.05) for fungal saprotrophic molar %. For all other groups, there were no general differences across means, though there were trends in the fertilization effect when comparing paired plots at each site (see Results text).