Effect of composite organic amendment on Cd(II) ions stabilization and microbial activity under various ammonium sulfate levels

Abstract

To attenuate the risk of Cadmium(Cd) contamination and the deterioration of soil quality caused by excessive nitrogen fertilizer application in greenhouse, a composite organic amendment (spend mushroom substrate and its biochar) was prepared to remedy Cd(II) ions contaminated soil (0.6 mg/kg) under different N fertilizer levels. The results showed that in the absence of a composite organic amendment, the soil pH decreased by 0.15 when the N level increased from 0.1 to 0.8 g N⋅kg−1. However, the pH increased by 0.86–0.91, the exchangeable Cd(II) ions content decreased by 26.0%–26.7%, the microbial biomass increased by 34.34%–164.46%, and the number of copies of the AOB gene increased by 13–20 times with the application of composite organic amendment and the increase of N level. Both Pearson correlation analysis and Mantel test demonstrated the reduction in Cd(II) ions availability, the restoration of soil properties and the increase in microbial biomass all contributed to the composite organic amendment, which is of importance for soil remediation under excessive N fertilizer.