Soil Organic Carbon, Black Carbon, and Enzyme Activity Under Long-Term Fertilization

Abstract

The present study aims to understand the effects of long-term fertilization on soil organic carbon (SOC), black carbon (BC), enzyme activity, and the relationships among these parameters. Paddy field was continuously fertilized over 30 yr with nine different fertilizer treatments including N, P, K, NP, NK, NPK, 2NPK (two-fold NPK), NPK+manure (NPKM), and CK (no fertilization), N, 90 kg urea-N ha−1 yr−1; P, 45 kg triple superphosphate-P2O5 ha−1 yr−1; K, 75 kg potassium chloride-K2O ha−1 yr−1; and pig manure, 22 500 kg ha−1 yr−1. Soil samples were collected and determined for SOC, BC content, and enzyme activity. The results showed that the SOC in the NPKM treatment was significantly higher than those in the K, P, and CK treatments. The lowest SOC content was found in the CK treatment. SOC content was similar in the N, NP, NK, NPK, 2NPK, and NPKM treatments. There was no significant difference in BC content among different treatments. The BC-to-SOC ratios (BC/SOC) ranged from 0.50 to 0.63, suggesting that BC might originate from the same source. Regarding enzyme activity, NPK treatment had higher urease activity than NPKM treatment. The urease activity of NPKM treatment was significantly higher than that of 2NPK, NP, N, P, K, CK, and NPKM treatment which produced higher activities of acid phosphatase, catalase, and invertase than all other treatments. Our results indicated that long-term fertilization did not significantly affect BC content. Concurrent application of manure and mineral fertilizers increased SOC content and significantly enhanced soil enzyme activities. Correlation analysis showed that catalase activity was significantly associated with invertase activity, but SOC, BC, and enzyme activity levels were not significantly correlated with one another. No significant correlations were observed between BC and soil enzymes. It is unknown whether soil enzymes play a role in the decomposition of BC.