Effect of inorganic fertilizer application on soil microbial diversity in an oil palm plantation

Abstract

Excessive fertilizer applications in oil palm plantations are conventionally done to increase the oil yield, but they result in high production cost and environmental pollution. There have been only separate reports on the effects of fertilizer application on soil physical, chemical characteristics, and microbial biodiversity. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the correlation between soil characteristics and soil microbial biodiversity in oil palm plantation after long-term frequent chemical fertilizer application compared with secondary soil, using molecular methods of polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and MiSeq. Secondary forest soil was chosen as the control. The results showed that after 25 years of fertilizer application, the total nitrogen and organic carbon contents decreased from low to very low scale, indicating soil infertility condition. Reduction of Firmicutes was related to suppression of soil borne diseases, and Bacteroidetes which is an indicator of soil health were both almost eliminated after 25 years of fertilizer application. In conclusion, long-term inorganic fertilizer application reduced the soil nitrogen, and organic carbon, altered beneficial microbes in the soil.

Distribution of soil microorganisms in different complex soil layers in Mu Us sandy land

“…Fluorescent quantitative PCR was carried out with the same primers as the above-mentioned high throughput sequencing [23]. Amplification was performed with a fluorescent PCR apparatus (Applied Biosystems, USA).…”

Soil physicochemical properties change by age of the oil palm crop

“…Some reports suggest that the oil palm does not allow intercropping of crops because the canopy cover transmits little light to the soil surface, which is not enough for the growth and development of commercial plants (Lamanda et al, 2008). In addition, oil palm roots intertwine, causing soil compaction, competition between nutrients, and strangulation of the crop roots (Salamat et al, 2021). However, it has been reported that oil palm included in an agroforestry system improves the physicochemical and biological properties of the soil, reduces carbon loss, and increases family income, among others (Gomes et al, 2021).…”

“…Reports have shown that the diameter of primary roots was related to soil compaction caused by the constant weight of tractors moving through plots (Zuraidah et al, 2010;Zuraidah et al, 2019). However, by nature, the roots become intertwined and generate soil compaction that hence forth in increasing the bulk density of the soil (Salamat et al, 2021). Instead, studies have shown that differences in the ages of oil palm plots cause changes in soil properties and marked differences in the soil degradation (Prawito et al, 2022).…”

¿La palma aceitera (Elaeis guineensis) genera un impacto negativo sobre el suelo? Una revisión

“…Aunque como monocultivo, las raíces de las plantas de palma se entrelazan, lo que provoca compactación del suelo, competencia de nutrimentos y estrangulamiento de las raíces en los cultivos comestibles. En este mismo sentido, se reporta que las plantaciones de palma contaminan ríos y costas por el arrastre de productos químicos (Lahmar & Ruellan, 2007;Salamat et al, 2021), contribuyen a la pérdida de la biodiversidad, perdida del hábitat, alteran la cadena alimenticia, entre otros (Khatun et al, 2017).…”

“…Los investigadores reportaron que posterior a veinticinco años de aplicación de fertilizantes en palma de aceite, se redujo el contenido de N total y C orgánico , aunado, se alteró la abundancia de las bacterias Firmicutes y Bacteroidetes, microbios benéficos que suprimen enfermedades en el suelo. En suelos de bosques secundarios, los análisis de suelo indicaron todo lo contrario(Salamat et al, 2021).…”