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Fertilization enhances mineralization of soil carbon and nitrogen pools by regulating the bacterial community and biomass

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
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Abstract

Purpose

The stability of soil organic matter is a key predictor of changes in management practices due to the progressive decomposition of organic compounds. However, the dynamics of soil compounds and to what extent the composition of microbes controls the process are still unclear.

Methods

Black soils from Northeast China without fertilizer (CK), soil treated with chemical fertilizer (NPK), NPK plus maize straw (NPKS), and NPK plus cattle manure (NPKM) were collected and separated into the labile fraction (macroaggregates > 150 μm) and the recalcitrant fraction (microaggregates < 150 μm and mineral fraction > 150 μm) for a 14-day incubation.

Results

The net carbon (C) and net nitrogen (N) mineralization potentials of the labile fraction were 15.87–26.11 and 0.74–1.48 mg kg−1 soil day−1, respectively, which were between 1.4 and 2.3 times higher than those of the recalcitrant fraction. Compared with CK, NPKS and NPKM significantly increased C and N mineralization in the labile fraction but not in the recalcitrant fraction. Boosting regression tree analysis suggested that total nitrogen (TN), microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), and bacterial abundance accounted for 48.9%, 31.7%, and 14.0% of the total net C mineralization, respectively. Additionally, soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and bacterial abundance accounted for 39.4%, 37.3%, and 22.1% of the total net N mineralization, respectively. Path analysis showed that TN, MBN, and Brevundimonas positively influenced soil net C mineralization. SOC and MBC positively affected soil net N mineralization, whereas unclassified Comamonadaceae had a negative impact.

Conclusions

The mineralization of soil C and N was affected by the inputs of external inorganic nutrients and organic materials and was attributed to the bacterial community, in which Brevundimonas positively responded and contributed to mineralization, while unclassified Comamonadaceae responded negatively.

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Acknowledgments

We thank colleagues at the long-term experiment station (Gongzhuling, Jilin, China) for providing us with the soil samples.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest of China (201503122) and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-XTCX2016008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Engineering Laboratory for Improving Quality of Arable Land, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, People’s Republic of China

    Hongliang Wu, Tingting Xing, Shengchang Huai, Minggang Xu & Changai Lu

  2. Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, People’s Republic of China

    Andong Cai

  3. Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, 130124, People’s Republic of China

    Ping Zhu

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  1. Hongliang Wu
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  2. Andong Cai
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  3. Tingting Xing
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Correspondence to Changai Lu.

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Wu, H., Cai, A., Xing, T. et al. Fertilization enhances mineralization of soil carbon and nitrogen pools by regulating the bacterial community and biomass. J Soils Sediments 21, 1633–1643 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02865-z

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