Effect of Different Fertilization Practices on Soil Microbial Community in a Wheat–Maize Rotation System

Yunlong Zhang,Tengteng Li,Honghui Wu,Shuikuan Bei,Junling Zhang,Xiaolin Li

doi:10.3390/su11154088

Abstract

Little information is known about the effects of different fertilization practices on soil microbiome in intensively managed crop rotations. The objective of this research was to investigate the response of microbial community composition (phospholipid fatty acid, PLFA) and extracellular enzyme activity to fertilization treatments through a three-year experiment. Treatments were: Control (without fertilizer, CK), chemical fertilizer (NPK), NPK + pig manure (NPKM), NPK + straw (NPKS), and NPK + both manure and straw (NPKMS). We found that fertilization had no effect on the microbial abundance except arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) PLFA. Soil microbial community composition was significantly affected by crop species and to a lesser extent by fertilization, with a greater influence on the wheat harvest. In addition, soil enzyme activities were enhanced by fertilization, especially in wheat season. Over three years, compared with NPK treatment, addition of organic manure or straw (NPKS and NPKMS) significantly increased the activities of the enzymes except invertase and urease, and the effect was greater at wheat harvest than the maize harvest. Our results indicate that the response of soil microbial community structure and enzyme activities to fertilization takes precedence than microbial biomass in the short term. The temporal variation in soil microbial community structure and enzyme activities in the crop rotation indicate that crop species may be carefully considered for sustainable agricultural intensification management.

Highlights

To feed the increasing population, increased grain production is critically dependent on chemical fertilizer inputs which can overcome the nutrient deficiency
Understanding how the microbe response to chemical and manure fertilizers or straw return is important for manure and straw management, which are contributing to sustainable agricultural intensification
Our results indicate that manure application has the potential to increase SOM in a relatively short time frame

Summary

Introduction

To feed the increasing population, increased grain production is critically dependent on chemical fertilizer inputs which can overcome the nutrient deficiency. The excessive use of chemical fertilizers may decrease nutrient use efficiency and potentially result in soil acidification [1], eutrophication [2], and greenhouse gas emissions and N leaching [3]. In order to ensure food security, reducing the input amount of chemical nitrogen to agricultural systems is very important. The replacement of mineral fertilizer with organic materials including manure or straw is an option that may be useful to reduce the input of chemical fertilizers used while maintaining soil quality and sustainable agricultural production [4]. Understanding how the microbe response to chemical and manure fertilizers or straw return is important for manure and straw management, which are contributing to sustainable agricultural intensification

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Discussion

Conclusion