Abstract
Soil microbial communities and enzyme activities together affect various ecosystem functions of soils. Fertilization, an important agricultural management practice, is known to modify soil microbial characteristics; however, inconsistent results have been reported. The aim of this research was to make a comparative study of the effects of different nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates and types (organic and inorganic) on soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities and microbial attributes in a greenhouse vegetable production (GVP) system of Tianjin, China. Results showed that manure substitution of chemical fertilizer, especially at a higher substitution rate, improved soil physicochemical properties (higher soil organic C (SOC) and nutrient (available N and P) contents; lower bulk densities), promoted microbial growth (higher total phospholipid fatty acids and microbial biomass C contents) and activity (higher soil hydrolase activities). Manure application induced a higher fungi/bacteria ratio due to a lower response in bacterial than fungal growth. Also, manure application greatly increased bacterial stress indices, as well as microbial communities and functional diversity. The principal component analysis showed that the impact of manure on microbial communities and enzyme activities were more significant than those of chemical fertilizer. Furthermore, redundancy analysis indicated that SOC and total N strongly influenced the microbial composition, while SOC and ammonium-N strongly influenced the microbial activity. In conclusion, manure substitution of inorganic fertilizer, especially at a higher substitution rate, was more efficient for improving soil quality and biological functions.
Highlights
Soil, a dynamic living system, provides various ecosystem services including nutrient cycling, carbon (C) sequestration, and water regulation [1]
The soil organic C (SOC), NO3−-N and NH4+-N contents were lowest in the 0N treatment, while these parameters slightly increased under 75IN/25ON treatment, significantly increased under 50IN/50ON and 25IN/75ON treatments by 32.9%−50.8%, 29.9%−40.7%, and 16.0%−16.8%, respectively, compared to 100% inorganic N (IN) inputs (100IN) treatment
The 8-year field experiment revealed the responses of soil physicochemical properties, soil enzyme activities, and microbial community structure to different fertilization treatments in a greenhouse vegetable production (GVP) of Tianjin, China
Summary
A dynamic living system, provides various ecosystem services including nutrient cycling, carbon (C) sequestration, and water regulation [1]. Soil extracellular enzymes, produced and secreted by soil microorganisms, provide a functional fingerprint of microbial communities because they are often involved in SOC formation and nutrient cycling [5]. Several studies reported that organic fertilization (e.g., manure and straw) had positive effects on soil microbial biomass and activity [8, 9]; chemical fertilization was not beneficial for these microbial variables [8]. All those studies were mostly used to investigate the effects of different fertilization treatments (chemical vs organic fertilization) on soil microbial characteristics in openair agricultural fields. Little information is available on the response of soil microbial characteristics to the application of different fertilization treatments in vegetable fields
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