Change of Soil Protozoa Community Structure under Different Farming Practices

Abstract

A study was conducted in 13 years of Organic Fertilizer (OF) and nofertilizer (U) field experiment in a winter wheat-summer maize rotation agroecosystem in the North China plain. The study was also included an Greenhouse (GH) experiment in cucumbers and kidney bean rotation in the North China Plain. Researchers aimed to evaluate the changes in soil physico-chemical parameters and the abundance and community structure of soil protozoan, under Greenhouse (GH), Organic Fertilizer (OF) and nofertilizer (U) different treatments, compared to difference management measure soil as the control (U). Soil organic matter content, available potassium (K) and hydrolyzable N were significantly higher in the plots under the GH treatment than under the other treatments. Available Phosphorus (P) content of OF was significantly higher than control treatment. After continuous many years organic application treatment and GH treatment which both increased the abundance soil protozoa. Both types of organic fertilizer and GH reduced the relative abundance of amoeba whereas increased relative abundance of flagellate in experiment. However, relative abundance of amoeba in the three treatments have occupied the overall majority. This result was positively related to the high level of phosphorus in this experiments which probably suppressed fungi thus increasing the food resources for bacterivorous protozoa, especially in flagellate. The GH and organic fertilizer treatments remarkably increased the overall abundance of protozoa. While the GH and organic fertilizer application treatments did not increase the relative abundance difference groups of soil protozoa, respectively especially amoeba increasing the relative abundance of flagellate, the increase in flagellate reflected enhanced biological activity and functioning of the bacterial decomposition pathway especially in the food web of this treatment.