Coupling amendment of microbial and compound fertilizers increases fungal necromass carbon and soil organic carbon by regulating microbial activity in flue-cured tobacco-planted field

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Microbial necromass carbon (MNC) is an essential component of soil organic carbon (SOC). The contribution of MNC to SOC has been acknowledged in previous studies; however, there is a gap in understanding the effect of fertilization treatment on MNC, especially in rhizosphere soil. In the current study, four types of treatments were selected to examine the impact of fertilization on MNC and its contribution to SOC, particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC). These treatments included conventional compound fertilizer (Control), conventional compound fertilizer combined with microbial fertilizer (T1), a mixture of 75% conventional compound fertilizer with microbial fertilizer (T2), and microbial fertilizer (T3). The results indicated that the type of fertilization treatments and sampling time affected the MNC accumulation, especially fungal necromass carbon (FNC), and its contribution to SOC. Combined application of microbial and compound fertilizers increased the amino sugar (TAS) and MNC contents, especially during the harvest period (3.47–27.35%). The accumulation of MNC (5.13–9.42 g kg−1) and its contribution to SOC (38.03–50.49%) increased with the growth period, and the ratios of FNC to SOC, POC, and MAOC were about three times than that of the bacterial necromass carbon (BNC). Further, the regression analysis revealed a higher POC accumulation than MAOC. In addition, POC was positively correlated with MNC and FNC (p < 0.05). RDA analysis exhibited that microbial biomass phosphorus, phosphorus acquiring enzyme activity, POC, and the ratio of fungal to bacterial biomass had significant effects on amino sugar and MNC accumulation and contribution (p < 0.05). Further, T2 was found to be beneficial for FNC accumulation, promoting POC formation and increasing SOC content in tobacco planting soil. Taken together, our findings suggest that fertilization treatments affected microbial activity by regulating the N or P demand, leading to modulations in MNC accumulation and SOC storage.