Abstract Agroecological practices are emerging as efficient alternatives to address the challenge of sustainable agriculture. The objective of this study was to examine whether plant residue amendments from stems and leaves (SL) of an agroforestry shrub (Piliostigma reticulatum) enriched with nitrogen (N) sources improve nutrient cycling in Soudano-Sahelian cropping systems. The experimental design was organized into four replicates with six treatments consisting of two treatments of SL residue amendments (amended and non-amended) in combination with three treatments including additional N sources (natural soils, urea, and cowpea as intercrop). The results showed that the activity of termites (Nasutitermes torquatus) and ants (Messor galla and Pachycondyla rufipes) was 12–13 and 2–3 times higher in the SL amended soils than in non-amended soils, respectively. The activity of earthworms (Millsonia inermis) was highest in the SL amended soils associated with the cowpea intercrop, and was significantly lower in the urea enriched soils. SL amendments and N enrichments had no effect on soil basal respiration. The substrate-induced respiration with N substrates (L-alanine and L-arginine l ) was 25 and 52 % higher in the SL amended soils than in the natural soils without any N inputs, indicating N limitation of microbial activity. This corroborates the higher C/N ratio (14.3) observed in the SL amended soils compared to the natural soils without any inputs (10.3). The N enrichment decreased the C/N ratio of the SL amended soils but was not efficient to alleviate microbial catabolic limitations, likely by switching from N to C limitation. Overall, the SL amendments with or without N enrichments triggered temporarily the soil macrofaunal activity, increased the NH4-N availability compared to that of NO3-N, and improved crop performance.

中文翻译：

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用木本残留物和氮输入修正的种植系统中的土壤大型动物活动、微生物分解代谢限制和养分循环

摘要 生态农业实践正在成为应对可持续农业挑战的有效替代方法。本研究的目的是检查来自富含氮 (N) 源的农林业灌木 (Piliostigma reticulatum) 茎和叶 (SL) 的植物残留改良剂是否能改善 Soudano-Sahelian 种植系统的养分循环。试验设计分为四个重复，六个处理由两个处理 SL 残留物改良剂（修正和未修正）与三个处理组合组成，包括额外的氮源（天然土壤、尿素和豇豆作为间作）。结果表明，SL改良土壤中白蚁（Nasutitermes torquatus）和蚂蚁（Messor galla和Pachycondyla rufipes）的活性是未改良土壤中的12-13和2-3倍，分别。蚯蚓（Millsonia inermis）的活性在与豇豆间作相关的SL改良土壤中最高，而在富含尿素的土壤中则显着较低。SL 修正和 N 富集对土壤基础呼吸没有影响。SL 改良土壤中氮底物（L-丙氨酸和 L-精氨酸 l ）的底物诱导呼吸比没有任何氮输入的天然土壤高 25% 和 52%，表明微生物活动的氮限制。这证实了与没有任何输入的天然土壤 (10.3) 相比，在 SL 修正土壤中观察到的更高的 C/N 比 (14.3)。N 富集降低了 SL 改良土壤的 C/N 比，但不能有效减轻微生物分解代谢的限制，可能是通过从 N 转换为 C 限制。全面的，