Long-term effects of combination of organic and inorganic fertilizer on soil properties and microorganisms in a Quaternary Red Clay

Abstract

Quaternary Red Clay (QRC) is the most common planting soil with low soil fertility and low crop yields in Southeast China, with low soil fertility and low crop yields. Many factors can impact the fertility and utilization efficiency of QRC. Here, we conducted a long-term fertilization experiment from 1984 to 2013. Five fertilization measures were carried out, including non-fertilization group; chemical Fertilizer group; 70% chemical and 30% organic fertilizer group; 50% chemical and 50% organic fertilizer group; 30% chemical and 70% organic fertilizer group. Soil organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and nitrogen (SMBN), and soil enzymes activity were measured to evaluate the changes of soil. In addition, soil microorganisms were determined by high-throughput sequencing technology, and the dominant microbes were screened. The higher the proportion of organic fertilizer was, the higher the soil OM content was. The OM content of the non-fertilization group was the lowest. Similarly, SMBC and SMBN showed a consistent trend with OM content. Illumina sequence results showed that the application of organic fertilizer reduced the relative abundance of Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria and Nitrospirae, but increased Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The relative abundance of Acremonium and Mortierella were also greatly increased by different fertilization strategies. However, when high proportion of organic fertilizer was applied, the abundance of Acremonium and Mortierella decreased. Long-term balanced inorganic fertilization (NPK, 60%N:20%P:20%K) can effectively improve the quality and fertility of QRC. The effect of different fertilization strategies on fungi was greater than that on bacteria. The change of soil microorganism also proved the validity of inorganic fertilizer application.

Perspectives on Converting Keratin-Containing Wastes Into Biofertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture

“…The quality of soil needs to be sustained when the quality and quantity of food production are enhanced in modern agriculture. To maintain sustainable agriculture, it is essential to reduce the usage of inorganic fertilizers and balance the ecosystem in soil by application of new fertilizers (Young and Ritz, 2000 ; Orr et al, 2011 ; Liu et al, 2021 ). Organic fertilizers and biofertilizers are indispensable for sustainable agriculture (Hernández-Fernández et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ; Kumar et al, 2022a ).…”

“…Fertilizers are usually rich in nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and can be prepared through different strategies ( Figure 2 ) (Nazir et al, 2021 ; Ngo et al, 2021 ). Fertilizers can be classified into different types based on their components such as mineral fertilizers and methods in manufacture such as organic, inorganic fertilizers, and biofertilizers (Hirel et al, 2011 ; Liu et al, 2021 ; Urmi et al, 2022 ). The application of fertilizer improves the life of human beings while it also causes environmental problems (Herridge et al, 2008 ; Hirel et al, 2011 ; Zilio et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Chemically synthesized fertilizers have been widely used in agriculture because of their high purity, easy application, and fast absorption by the plants (Hirel et al, 2011 ). With the wide application of fertilizers, their impact on the ecosystem such as atmosphere, soil microorganisms, and groundwater in soil has been highly recognized (Liu et al, 2021 ; Guo et al, 2022 ; Lisowska et al, 2022 ; Maeda, 2022 ). For example, the application of synthesized nitrogen-containing fertilizer can supply the nutrient for fast growth of crops while excess amount of nitrogen can be converted into nitrogen gas which can be released to the atmosphere to serve as one of the greenhouse gases causing global warming (Gao et al, 2022 ; Islam et al, 2022 ; Mikhael et al, 2022 ).…”

Biochar combined with organic and inorganic fertilizers promoted the rapeseed nutrient uptake and improved the purple soil quality

“…As a substitute for inorganic fertilizers, organic fertilizers had a good ecological protection effect ( 9 ). Liu et al ( 10 ) showed that long-term use of organic fertilizers could increase the content of soil organic matter and significantly increased soil microbial biomass. Organic fertilizers was rich in nutrients and met the requirements of ecological agriculture development.…”

“…Organic fertilizers was rich in nutrients and met the requirements of ecological agriculture development. Studies showed that organic fertilizers contained a large amount of carbohydrates, which provided a sufficient carbon source for the growth of soil microorganisms ( 10 ). However, organic fertilizers also had some disadvantages such as heavy metal residues and slow onset of effects.…”