The addition of organic residue byproducts in the soil may lead to changes in the dynamics of soil organic matter, influencing the activity and the use of C by microorganisms in the soil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the application of increasing rates of a byproduct from a coffee agroindustry on the biological properties of two soils with different clay contents as a function of incubation time. A randomized block experimental design was used in a 2 × 8 factorial arrangement of two solos and eight sources of coffee byproduct, with five replicates. Subsamples were collected from the soil at 30, 60, 90, and 125 days after incorporation of the byproduct in the soil. On these days, microbial biomass carbon (C-MBC), microbial basal respiration (MBR), and total organic carbon (TOC) were evaluated. Application of the coffee byproduct led to increases in the values of C-MBC, MBR and TOC in the two soils. The greatest microbial activity occurred at 30 days, with greater release of C-CO2, and the TOC was higher in the clayey soil because it provides greater protection of organic compounds from decomposition by microorganisms.
organic fertilization; microbial biomass; microbial activity
