Excessive manure application stimulates nitrogen cycling but only weakly promotes crop yields in an acidic Ultisol: Results from a 20-year field experiment

Abstract

Population growth and growing demand for livestock products produce large amounts of manure, which can be harnessed to maintain soil sustainability and crop productivity. However, the impacts of excessive manure application on crop yields, nitrogen (N)-cycling processes and microorganisms remain unknown. Here, we explored the effects of 20-years of excessive rates (18 and 27 Mg ha-1 yr-1) of pig manure application on peanut crop yields, soil nutrient contents, N-cycling processes and the abundance of N-cycling microorganisms in an acidic Ultisol in summer and winter, compared with none and a regular rate (9 Mg ha-1 yr-1) of pig manure application. Long-term excessive pig manure application, especially at the high-rate, significantly increased soil nutrient contents, the abundance of N-cycling functional genes, potential nitrification and denitrification activity, while it had a weaker effect on peanut yield and plant biomass. Compared with manure application, seasonality had a much weaker effect on N-cycling gene abundance. Random forest analysis showed that available phosphorus (AP) content was the primary predictor for N-cycling gene abundance, with significant and positive associations with all tested N-cycling genes. Our study clearly illustrated that excessive manure application would increase N-cycling gene abundance and potential N loss with relatively weak promotion of crop yields, providing significant implications for sustainable agriculture in the acidic Ultisols.