Effects of organic fertilizer on soil nutrient status, enzyme activity, and bacterial community diversity in Leymus chinensis steppe in Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

The long-term impact of human exploitation and environmental changes has led to a decline in grassland productivity and soil fertility, which eventually results in grassland degradation. The application of organic fertilizer is an effective improvement measure; however, it is still not fully understood how the addition of organic fertilizer influences grassland soil fertility and plant composition. A set of experiments were conducted in Inner Mongolia in China to reveal the tradeoff between steppe plants and soil microorganisms and the eco-physiological mechanisms involved, and how the addition of vermicompost and mushroom residues affect microbial diversity, enzyme activities, and the chemical properties of soil in degraded Leymus chinensis grassland. Organic fertilizer improved the soil nutrient status and shaped distinct bacterial communities. Compared with the control the available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) contents were highest under treatments a3 and b3, and the aboveground biomass was highest under the b3 treatment. Soil sucrase activities increased by 7.88% under the b3 treatment. Moreover, the richness index significantly increased by 7.07% and 7.23% under the a1 and b2 treatments, respectively. The most abundant Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were detected in the organic fertilizer treatment. A linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) indicated that the bacterial community was significantly increased under the b3 treatment. A canonical correspondence analysis (RDA) and spearman correlation heatmap confirmed that total P (TP) and urease were the key driving factors for shaping bacterial communities in the soil. Our results indicated that the application of large amounts of vermicompost and mushroom residues increased the availability of nutrients and also enhanced the biodiversity of soil bacterial communities in L . chinensis grasslands, which will contribute to the sustainable development of agro-ecosystems.

Effect of Two Kinds of Fertilizers on Growth and Rhizosphere Soil Properties of Bayberry with Decline Disease

“…Dongkui) from the orchard located in Qianjiang Village (30 • 32 N; 120 • 42 E) of Huangwan Town, Haining City, Zhejiang Province, which was a typical gentle slope mountain area, approximately 50 m above sea level. The soil was acidic yellow in the orchard with the row spacing of 4 m × 5 m, while 65% of the bayberry plants were infected by decline disease with varied grades (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9). The field was managed conventionally.…”

“…However, excessive use of chemical fertilizer will lead to serious soil hardening and acidification, resulting in poor plant growth [5]. Bio-organic fertilizer is composed of specific functional microorganisms, decomposed organic fertilizer or animal residues, which can improve soil physical and chemical properties [6], enrich organic matter and balance nutrient levels [7], regulate the structure and function of the microbial community [8][9][10], promote plant growth, increase crop yield [11] and improve fruit quality [12]. The role of bio-organic fertilizer in disease prevention and control may be mainly attributed to its effect in the optimization of the physical and chemical properties and the microbial community of the rhizosphere soil [13][14][15][16].…”

Organic cultivation practices enhanced antioxidant activities and secondary metabolites in giant granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis L.)

“…Conversely, organic fertilizer has been reported to enhance the soil biological activities, chemical, and physical properties, thus increase plant growth and yield [4,5]. The application of organic fertilizers sustains the cropping system through better nutrient recycling and has a significant beneficial effect on food production worldwide [6].…”

Potential of goat manure as organic fertilizer in North Sumatera

“…Therefore, to support farming, the use of organic fertilizers is very important in an effort to conserve soil and plant health. Organic fertilizers improve soil fertility, quality, enhances soil available nutrient as well as bacterial community diversity [6]. Organic farming is an eco-friendly technique, adopted due to the adverse effect of chemical farming.…”