Abstract
Excessive use of chemical fertilizers in agricultural practices have demonstrated a significant impact on microbial diversity and community in soil by altering soil physical and chemical properties, thereby leading to a certain degree of soil salinization and nutritional imbalances. As an organic amendment, maize straw has been widely used to improve soil quality; however, its effect on the soil bacterial community remains limited in Calcarie-Fluvie Cambisols soil in semi-humid arid plateau of North China. In the present experiment, we investigated the effects of continuous straw utilization and fertilization on bacterial communities in Shouyang, Shanxi province, China. Soil samples were collected from 5 different straw utilization and fertilization modes in the following ways: straw mulching (SM), straw crushing (SC), cattle manure (CM), in which way straw is firstly used as silage and then organic fertilizer, control with no straw return (NSR), and control without fertilizers (CK), same amount of N+P fertilizer was applied to the regimes except CK. High-throughput sequencing approaches were applied to the V3-V4 regions of the 16S ribosomal RNA for analysis of the bacterial abundance and community structures. Different long-term straw returning regimes significantly altered the physicochemical properties and bacterial communities of soil, among which CM had the most significant effects on soil fertility and bacterial diversity. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, and Gemmatimonadetes were consistently dominant in all soil samples, and Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed significant association of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and available potassium (AK) with alternation of the bacterial community. Cattle manure had the most beneficial effects on soil fertility and bacterial diversity among different straw utilization and fertilization modes.
Highlights
As an integral part of the soil, microorganisms represent the major driving force of soil organic matter and nutrient cycling, playing a key role in soil nutrient conversion, energy transformation, and the formation of soil organic matter [1,2,3,4]
Compared with no straw return (NSR) and no fertilizer (CK), all nutrient indices including the contents of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total kalium (TK), available N (AN), available P (AP), available K (AK), and organic matter (OM) were significantly increased (p
Soil pH (H2O) values were significantly decreased by the addition of crushed straw (SC) and cattle manure (CM), as well as by no straw returning (NSR), compared with CK and mulching straw (SM)
Summary
As an integral part of the soil, microorganisms represent the major driving force of soil organic matter and nutrient cycling, playing a key role in soil nutrient conversion, energy transformation, and the formation of soil organic matter [1,2,3,4]. Crop straw has complex components, such as high contents of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, which is rich in organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, silicon, and other mineral nutrients [11,12,13], and has been widely utilized in the field to promote soil carbon sequestration and maintaining soil fertility. Previous studies have documented the positive and significant impact of straw utilization on soil microbial community structure, biomass, and activity [14,15,16,17,18], leading to increases in soil granular structure and the content of water-stable aggregates for better soil fertility and water conservation [19,20,21]. Chen et al documented a significant increase in total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA), bacterial biomass, and actinomycete biomass under short-term straw return in Jiangyan, China [5]. Zhao et al reported an abundant increase of Gram-negative (Gm-) bacteria, but only after long-term maize straw returned (30 years) in a summer maize-winter wheat cropping system, one located in north-central China [13]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
