Abstract
The effects of long-term fertilizer management on soil enzyme activities and soil microbe population under double-cropping paddy fields in southern China was studied. The purpose of this study was to explore the changes of soil enzyme activities and soil microbe population as related to mineral fertilizer and manure and rice residue based on a long-term field experiment. The experiment was initiated in 1986 and consisted of five treatments: without fertilizer (CK), mineral fertilizer (MF), rice residue plus mineral fertilizer (RF), low manure rate plus mineral fertilizer (LOM), and high manure rate plus mineral fertilizer (HOM). The cropping system consisted of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), early rice (Oryza sativa L.) and late rice. In 2013-2014, soil samples were collected from the 0-20 cm layers to determine soil enzyme activities and soil microbe abundance during barley growth phases. The results indicated that during the barley growing season, the enzyme activities were higher in the HOM, LOM and RF than in the CK. The treatments of HOM, LOM and RF also improved the numbers of aerobic bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi. During barley growth phases, combined application of manure, crop residue and chemical fertilizer improved soil enzyme activities and soil microbe population. Key words: Alkaline phosphatase, arylamidase, β-glucosidase, Hordeum vulgare L., manure, microbial abundance, mineral fertilizer, rice residue.
Highlights
Soil microbes play an important role in the ecosystem functioning and are important in maintaining the soil fertility, nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition (Pastor et al, 1984), which are dependent on the composition of soil microbial communities (Robertson et al, 2000; Singh et al, 2010), and relative to microbial diversity, community structure
In the barley growing season, the alkaline phosphatase activity under different N treatments was in the range of 93.07–221.79, 110.41–240.13, 115.60–246.85, 121.53–256.77 and 76.92–203.64 μg p-nitrophenol g-1 soil h-1, respectively
The activity of soil βglucosidase was significantly affected by manure, rice residue and mineral fertilizer additions
Summary
Soil microbes play an important role in the ecosystem functioning and are important in maintaining the soil fertility, nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition (Pastor et al, 1984), which are dependent on the composition of soil microbial communities (Robertson et al, 2000; Singh et al, 2010), and relative to microbial diversity, community structure. Soil enzymes play important role in energy transfer and they are very important for soil quality and crop growth, which are used as indices for soil microbial activity and fertility (Benitez et al, 2000; Dick, 1994; Tabatabai, 1994). Some studies have shown that the soil enzymes and microbial activities were affected by field management, such as soil tillage and crop residue management (Ekenler and Tabatabai, 2003; Wu et al, 2004), application of fertilizer and organic matter (Carmine et al, 2004; Tejada et al, 2006; García-Gil et al, 2000), crop rotations (Hamido and Kpomblekou, 2009; Bandick and Dick, 1999), pH, ionic strength and natural organic matter (Kyriakopoulos et al, 2006). The effects of long-term fertilizer management on soil enzyme activities and soil microbial abundance under double-cropping paddy fields in southern China should be studied
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