Abstract
Artemisia sacrorum communities with different growth years were selected to analyse soil nutrient characteristics, the variation in soil microbial properties, and their relationships in the loess hilly region. The results showed that with an increase in the number of growth years, soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen contents as well as soil phosphatase and urease activities initially decreased and then increased in the A. sacrorum communities. The soil organic carbon, organic nitrogen, and total nitrogen contents as well as soil respiration rate showed an increasing trend and reached a maximum at age (a) 37. The soil available phosphorus content first decreased and then increased, with the lowest level observed at 18 a. By contrast, soil available potassium initially increased and then decreased. Soil microbial biomass carbon had a significant positive correlation with soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and organic nitrogen, while soil respiration had a significant positive correlation with organic nitrogen, soil phosphatase and organic carbon. Soil respiration had a highly significant positive correlation with organic carbon and total nitrogen, while soil phosphatase had a highly significant positive correlation with total nitrogen and organic nitrogen. In the A. sacrorum communities, the soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents were mainly affected by soil respiration, soil available potassium content was mainly affected by soil urease activity, and soil organic nitrogen content was mainly affected by soil phosphatase activity. These findings indicate that soil basal respiration, urease activity and phosphatase activity were the major microbial factors affecting the characteristics of the soil nutrients in the A. sacrorum communities. In conclusion, the natural restoration process of A. sacrorum communities can enhance soil microbial activity and improve soil quality. Keywords: loess hilly, soil nutrients, soil microbial biomass, soil enzyme activities, soil basal respiration rate DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20181104.3942 Citation: Song L J, Liu W Y, Wu H F, Gao T, Hao W F. Characteristics of soil nutrients and their relationship with soil microbial properties in Artemisia sacrorum communities in the loess hilly region. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2018; 11(4): 127-134.
Highlights
Soil is the basis of vegetation survival
Soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities initially decreased and increased in the A. sacrorum communities; soil basal respiration (SBR) increased gradually, indicating that the total activity of soil microorganisms tended to increase during the natural restoration of the A. sacrorum communities
Except for soil Available phosphorus (AP) and AK, the soil nutrient contents in the A. sacrorum communities increased as the growth year increased and reached a maximum at 37 a, with significantly improved soil quality
Summary
Soil is the basis of vegetation survival. It provides water and various nutrients for the growth and reproduction of vegetation, affecting the rate and process of vegetation restoration. Being an important component of the soil ecosystem, microbes participate in the transformation and cycling of soil nutrients, influence vegetation nutrition and soil fertility, and have become an important indicator for evaluating soil quality[1]. Soil microbial properties are important indicators used in the evaluation of soil fertility and are sensitivity parameters for soil health status. The intensity of soil basal respiration (SBR), an important activity indicator of soil microbes, can be used to evaluate soil fertility[5]. The SBR intensity represents the amount and activity of microbial biomass, indicating the trends in soil quality and the maturity of soil ecosystems. In the process of vegetation restoration, soil microbial biomass and soil nutrient status had more consistent improvement; soil microbe metabolic activity significantly effects soil chemistry; and soil microbes became more sensitive to the evolution of soil fertility. Little research investigated the variation in the relationship between community microbial properties and soil nutrients with growth years
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