The impact of different preceding crops on soil nitrogen structure and nitrogen cycling in tobacco-planting soil

Abstract

Soil nitrogen content, structure, and nitrogen cycling play a crucial role in tobacco growth quality, with different preceding crops having varying impacts on tobacco cultivation soil. This study conducted using field experiments, employed three treatments with different preceding crops, namely tobacco, barley, and rapeseed, to investigate the effects of different preceding crops on soil nitrogen structure and the expression levels of soil nitrogen cycling-related functional genes in tobacco cultivation soil. The results indicated that different preceding crops had varying effects on the content of different nitrogen forms in tobacco cultivation soil. Ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen were the two nitrogen forms which were most influenced by preceding crops, with the ammonium nitrogen content in soils following barley and rapeseed preceding crops increasing by 82.88% and 63.56%, respectively, compared to sole tobacco cultivation. The nitrate nitrogen content in tobacco cultivation soil was 26.97% higher following barley preceding crops and 24.39% higher following rapeseed preceding crops compared to sole tobacco cultivation. Simultaneously, different preceding crops also affected the expression levels of nitrogen cycling-related genes in tobacco cultivation soil. In the nitrification process, amoA was significantly impacted, with its expression reduced by 64.39% and 72.24% following barley and rapeseed preceding crops, respectively, compared to sole tobacco cultivation. In the denitrification process, except for the narG gene, all other genes were subjected to varying degrees of inhibition when preceded by barley and rapeseed crops. Correlation analysis between soil nitrogen structure and the expression levels of nitrogen cycling-related genes revealed that increased nitrogen levels suppressed the expression of Arch-amoA. Additionally, ammonium nitrogen strongly influenced the expression levels of most soil nitrogen cycling functional genes. In conclusion, preceding crops alter soil nitrogen structure, possibly due to changes in soil microorganisms, and different preceding crops modified the expression levels of nitrogen cycling-related genes in tobacco cultivation soil, consequently affecting the proportions of various nitrogen forms in the soil.