Changes in soil microbial community and organic carbon fractions under short-term straw return in a rice–wheat cropping system

Rice straw is a byproduct of agricultural production and an important agricultural resource. However, rice straw has not yet been effectively used, and incorrect treatment methods (such as burning in the field) can cause serious damage to the environment. Studies have shown that straw returning is beneficial to soil, but there have been few studies focused on the effect of the amount of short-term straw returned on the soil microbial community. This study evaluates 0%, 50%, 75%, and 100% rice straw returned to the field on whether returning different amounts of straw in the short term would affect the diversity and composition of the soil microbial community and the correlation between bacteria and fungi. The results show that the amount of straw returned to the field is the main factor that triggers the changes in the abundance and composition of the microbial community in the paddy soil. A small amount of added straw (≤ 50% straw added) mainly affects the composition of the bacterial community, while a larger amount of added straw (> 50% straw added) mainly affects the composition of the fungal community. Returning a large amount of straw increases the microbial abundance related to carbon and iron cycles in the paddy soil, thus promoting the carbon and iron cycle processes to a certain extent. In addition, network analysis shows that returning a large amount of straw also increases the complexity of the microbial network, which may encourage more microbes to be niche-sharing and comprehensively improve the ecological environment of paddy soil. This study may provide some useful guidance for rice straw returning in northeast China.

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Changes in soil microbial community composition and organic carbon fractions in an integrated rice–crayfish farming system in subtropical China

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-017-02984-7 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Guohan Si ◽

Chenglin Peng ◽

Jiafu Yuan ◽

Xiangyu Xu ◽

Shujun Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Community Composition ◽

Soil Microbial Community ◽

Microbial Community Composition ◽

Farming System ◽

Subtropical China ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Organic Carbon Fractions ◽

Soil Microbial Community Composition

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Effects of Straw-Return Method for the Maize–Rice Rotation System on Soil Properties and Crop Yields

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy10040461 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 461

Author(s):

Yuling Han ◽

Wei Ma ◽

Baoyuan Zhou ◽

Xiaolong Yang ◽

Akram Salah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Rice Straw ◽

Soil Microbial Community ◽

Crop Yields ◽

Microbial Community Composition ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Maize Straw ◽

Straw Return

Exploring suitable maize straw-return measures is essential for the new double-cropping system of maize (Zea mays L.)–rice (Oryza sativa L.) rotation in the middle reaches of Yangtze River in China, which can increase crop yield by improving soil quality. In this study, four straw-return measures were evaluated by investigating the soil bulk density (BD), organic matter (OM), microbial community, and nutrients from 2016 to 2018. The four straw-return treatments were as follows: (1) no straw-return (CK), (2) only rice straw incorporated into the field (M0Ri), (3) both maize and rice straw incorporated to field (MiRi), and (4) maize straw mulched and rice straw incorporated into the field (MmRi). Compared to CK, two-season crop straw-return treatments changed soil microbial community composition, and increased soil total organic carbon (TOC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), mineralized nitrogen (Nmin), available phosphorus (P) and exchangeable potassium (K) in the 0–20 cm soil layer by 3.6%, 63.4%, 38.8%, 12.4%, 39.7%, and 21.6%, respectively, averaged across MmRi and MiRi treatments. In addition, MmRi and MiRi increased annual yield by 9.1% and 15.2% in 2017 and 11.7% and 12.9% compared to CK in 2018, respectively. MmRi exhibited superiority in the soil microbial community, enzyme activities, DOC, MBC, Nmin, available P, and exchangeable K in contrast to MiRi. We concluded that MmRi is the best measure to implement for straw-return in maize–rice rotation systems.

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