Intercropping Effects of Sophora davidii and Silage Maize on Soil Physicochemical Properties, Enzyme Activities and Yield

ABSTRACTSoil microbial community and enzyme activities together affect various ecosystem functions of soils. Fertilization, as important agricultural management practices, are known to modify soil microbial characteristics; however, inconsistent results have been reported. The aim of this research therefore was to make a comparative study of the effects of different fertilization patterns (No N inputs (No N), 100% chemical fertilizer-N (CN) inputs (4/4CN) and different substitution rates of CN by organic manure-N (MN) (3/4CN+1/4MN, 2/4CN+2/4MN and 1/4CN+3/4MN)) on soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities and microbial attributes in a GVP of Tianjin, China. Manure substitution of chemical fertilizer, especially at higher substitution rate (2/4CN+2/4MN and 1/4CN+3/4MN), improved soil physicochemical properties (higher soil organic C (SOC) and nutrient contents; lower bulk densities), promoted microbial growth (higher total phospholipid fatty acids and microbial biomass C contents) and activity (higher soil hydrolase activities). Manure addition caused a remarkable increase of the fungi/bacteria ratio and a distinct shift in the fungal (bacterial) community to greater abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (G+ bacteria) compared with saprotrophic fungi (G− bacteria). These changes drove shifts toward fungal-dominated soil microbial communities and then optimized microbial community structure. Also, manure application increased soil biodiversity (microbial community and enzyme function), indicated by increased Shannon–Wiener diversity. Redundancy analysis indicated that the most possible mechanism of the impacts of different fertilization patterns on soil microbial characteristics may be the mediation of SOC and nutrient (N) availability (especially SOC) in this GVP of China. In conclusion, manure substitution of chemical fertilizer, especially at higher substitution rate, was more efficient for improving soil quality and biological functions.

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Response of soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities to long-term reclamation of coastal saline soil, Eastern China

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.185 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 607-608 ◽

pp. 1419-1427 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Xuefeng Xie ◽

Lijie Pu ◽

Qiqi Wang ◽

Ming Zhu ◽

Yan Xu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Enzyme Activities ◽

Saline Soil ◽

Eastern China ◽

Soil Physicochemical Properties ◽

Coastal Saline Soil

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Effects of Allelochemicals, Soil Enzyme Activities, and Environmental Factors on Rhizosphere Soil Microbial Community of Stellera chamaejasme L. along a Growth-Coverage Gradient

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms10010158 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 158

Author(s):

Jinan Cheng ◽

Hui Jin ◽

Jinlin Zhang ◽

Zhongxiang Xu ◽

Xiaoyan Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Soil Microbial Community ◽

Enzyme Activities ◽

Rhizosphere Soil ◽

Soil Enzyme ◽

Soil Physicochemical Properties ◽

Soil Enzyme Activities ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Stellera Chamaejasme

Allelochemicals released from the root of Stellera chamaejasme L. into rhizosphere soil are an important factor for its invasion of natural grasslands. The aim of this study is to explore the interactions among allelochemicals, soil physicochemical properties, soil enzyme activities, and the rhizosphere soil microbial communities of S. chamaejasme along a growth-coverage gradient. High-throughput sequencing was used to determine the microbial composition of the rhizosphere soil sample, and high-performance liquid chromatography was used to detect allelopathic substances. The main fungal phyla in the rhizosphere soil with a growth coverage of 0% was Basidiomycetes, and the other sample plots were Ascomycetes. Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria were the dominant bacterial phyla in all sites. RDA analysis showed that neochamaejasmin B, chamaechromone, and dihydrodaphnetin B were positively correlated with Ascomycota and Glomeromycota and negatively correlated with Basidiomycota. Neochamaejasmin B and chamaechromone were positively correlated with Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria and negatively correlated with Acidobacteria and Planctomycetes. Allelochemicals, soil physicochemical properties, and enzyme activity affected the composition and diversity of the rhizosphere soil microbial community to some extent. When the growth coverage of S. chamaejasme reached the primary stage, it had the greatest impact on soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities.

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Dynamics of Soil Nutrients, Microbial Community Structure, Enzymatic Activity, and Their Relationships along a Chronosequence of Pinus massoniana Plantations

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12030376 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 376

Author(s):

Jinwen Pan ◽

Qiqiang Guo ◽

Huie Li ◽

Siqiong Luo ◽

Yaqin Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Microbial Diversity ◽

Enzyme Activities ◽

Southern China ◽

Pinus Massoniana ◽

Shannon Index ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Soil Physicochemical Properties ◽

P Limitation

Pinus massoniana is the major afforestation and vegetation restoration tree in southern China, and it plays an important role in the sustainable development of plantations. However, long-term single planting of P. massoniana has resulted in the decline of soil quality and forest productivity, and a soil fertility assessment is urgently needed. We selected P. massoniana plantations of four age stages for plot investigation and sampling to determine the soil physicochemical properties, microbial diversity and composition, and enzyme activities at different soil depths. The results showed that soil total phosphorus (TP) and available phosphorus (AP) decreased with the increase of age, especially low C/N ratio and high C/P and N/P ratio in the 30-year and 36-year stands, leading to P limitation. Meanwhile, the bacterial Shannon index also decreased with the increase of age and was positively correlated with AP, NO3−-N, and pH. However, the fungal Shannon index decreased first and then increased with the increase of age; soil acid phosphatase (S-ACP) and urease activities showed a similar trend. Correlation analysis demonstrated that the increase of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) promoted the increase of fungal Shannon index, which was beneficial to the secretion of more enzymes. We found that soil physicochemical properties, microbial diversity, and enzyme activity decreased simultaneously when soil depths increased. Moreover, Acidobacteria and Basidiomycota were the most abundant bacterial and fungal communities, respectively, followed by Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria for bacteria and Ascomycota for fungi, and these microbial taxa were significantly affected by soil water content (SWC), TOC, AP, and C/P. In conclusion, this work reveals the potential correlation among soil physicochemical properties, microbial diversity and composition, and enzyme activities, and revealed potential correlations among them which will help to improve understanding of soil conditions and provide a reference for rational management of soil resources.

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Effect of Low Zeolite Doses on Plants and Soil Physicochemical Properties

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14102617 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (10) ◽

pp. 2617

Author(s):

Alicja Szatanik-Kloc ◽

Justyna Szerement ◽

Agnieszka Adamczuk ◽

Grzegorz Józefaciuk

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Cation Exchange ◽

Surface Area ◽

Cation Exchange Capacity ◽

N Fertilization ◽

Exchange Capacity ◽

First Year ◽

Soil Physicochemical Properties ◽

Water Holding

Thousands of tons of zeolitic materials are used yearly as soil conditioners and components of slow-release fertilizers. A positive influence of application of zeolites on plant growth has been frequently observed. Because zeolites have extremely large cation exchange capacity, surface area, porosity and water holding capacity, a paradigm has aroused that increasing plant growth is caused by a long-lasting improvement of soil physicochemical properties by zeolites. In the first year of our field experiment performed on a poor soil with zeolite rates from 1 to 8 t/ha and N fertilization, an increase in spring wheat yield was observed. Any effect on soil cation exchange capacity (CEC), surface area (S), pH-dependent surface charge (Qv), mesoporosity, water holding capacity and plant available water (PAW) was noted. This positive effect of zeolite on plants could be due to extra nutrients supplied by the mineral (primarily potassium—1 ton of the studied zeolite contained around 15 kg of exchangeable potassium). In the second year of the experiment (NPK treatment on previously zeolitized soil), the zeolite presence did not impact plant yield. No long-term effect of the zeolite on plants was observed in the third year after soil zeolitization, when, as in the first year, only N fertilization was applied. That there were no significant changes in the above-mentioned physicochemical properties of the field soil after the addition of zeolite was most likely due to high dilution of the mineral in the soil (8 t/ha zeolite is only ~0.35% of the soil mass in the root zone). To determine how much zeolite is needed to improve soil physicochemical properties, much higher zeolite rates than those applied in the field were studied in the laboratory. The latter studies showed that CEC and S increased proportionally to the zeolite percentage in the soil. The Qv of the zeolite was lower than that of the soil, so a decrease in soil variable charge was observed due to zeolite addition. Surprisingly, a slight increase in PAW, even at the largest zeolite dose (from 9.5% for the control soil to 13% for a mixture of 40 g zeolite and 100 g soil), was observed. It resulted from small alterations of the soil macrostructure: although the input of small zeolite pores was seen in pore size distributions, the larger pores responsible for the storage of PAW were almost not affected by the zeolite addition.

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