Effect of the Nematodes Acrobeloides Sp. and Mesodiplogaster Lheritieri on Substrate Utilization and Nitrogen and Phosphorous Mineralization in Soil

Release of nutrients by bacterial—feeding nematodes may result in increased nutrient availability for plants. Effects of two species of bacterial—feeding nematodes on N and P mineralization and C—substrate utilization were examined in soil microcosms. Both nematodes increased the rate of 14C—labelled glucose—C utilization and N and P mineralization after 10d. However, after 65 d incubation, soluble C, Pi and NH4+—N were similar in grazed and ungrazed systems. The bacterial grazers, although not directly affecting total decomposition, act to maintain the dynamic nature of the nutrient cycles.