Abstract
Purpose
Soil fertility plays a key role in citrus productivity. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the effects of soil amendments on soil fertility and citrus productivity and estimate carbon fractions’ suitability, which response to soil fertility and citrus productivity.
Methods
A field experiment in a citrus orchard was conducted containing five treatments: local habit fertilization (LF), special fertilizer [25% lower NPK than LF, (SF)], special fertilizer, and rice straw mulching [0%, 12.5%, and 25% NPK higher than LF (SFRS25, SFRS37.5, and SFRS50, respectively)]. Total organic carbon (TOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), permanganate oxidizable carbon (ROC), available N, P, K, fruit yield, and quality were analyzed.
Results
Straw mulching and special fertilizer significantly increased soil carbon fractions, such as MBC and ROC. Such treatments also enhanced the soil available N, P, and K, subsequently elevated the fruit yield. MBC, available K, and available P showed a significantly positive correlation with citrus yield. Redundancy analysis indicated that MBC and ROC significantly explained 61.87% of the variation for available nutrients, suggesting that the increase of organic carbon fractions and microbial biomass could accelerate nutrient cycling for the plant.
Conclusion
It proved that decrement application of special compound fertilizer with straw mulching raised fruit yield by altering soil carbon fractions to improve soil available nutrients or fertility. The MBC of soil labile carbon responded more sensitively to not only soil fertility but also citrus fruit yield.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agegnehu G, Bass AM, Nelson PN, Muirhead B, Wright G, Bird MI (2015) Biochar and biochar-compost as soil amendments: effects on peanut yield, soil properties and greenhouse gas emissions in tropical North Queensland, Australia. Agric Ecosyst Environ 213:72–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2015.07.027
Alburquerque JA, Cabello M, Avelino R, Barrón V, del Campillo MC, Torrent J (2015) Plant growth responses to biochar amendment of Mediterranean soils deficient in iron and phosphorus. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 178(4):567–575. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.201400653
Awale R, Emeson MA, Machado S (2017) Soil organic carbon pools as early indicators for soil organic matter stock changes under different tillage practices in Inland Pacific Northwest. Front Ecol Evol 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2017.00096
Blair GJ, Lefory RDB, Lise L (1995) Soil carbon fractions based on their degree of oxidation and the development of a carbon management index for agricultural system. Aust J Agric Res 46:1459–1466. https://doi.org/10.1071/AR9951459
Bongiorno G, Bünemann EK, Oguejiofor CU, Meier J, Gort G, Comans R (2019) Sensitivity of labile carbon fractions to tillage and organic matter management and their potential as comprehensive soil quality indicators across pedoclimatic conditions in Europe. Ecol Indic 99:38–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.12.008
Carpenter SR, Caraco NF, Correll DL, Howarth RW, Sharpley AN, Smith VH (1998) Nonpoint pollution of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen. Ecol Appl 8(3):559. https://doi.org/10.2307/2641247
Chen HQ, Hou RX, Gong YS, Li HW, Fan MS, Kuzyakov Y (2009) Effects of 11 years of conservation tillage on soil organic matter fractions in wheat monoculture in Loess Plateau of China. Soil Till Res 106:85–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2009.09.009
Chan KY, Van Zwieten L, Meszaros I, Downie A, Joseph S (2008) Using poultry litter biochars as soil amendments. Aust J Soil Res 46(5):437. https://doi.org/10.1071/sr08036
Cox D, Bezdicek D, Fauci M (2001) Effects of compost, coal ash, and straw amendments on restoring the quality of eroded Palouse soil. Biol Fertil Soils 33(5):365–372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s003740000335
Debnath S, Bl A, Kumar A, Kishor A, Narayan R, Sinha K, Singh DB (2020) Influence of peach (Prunus persica Batsch) phenological stage on the short-term changes in oxidizable and labile pools of soil organic carbon and activities of carbon-cycle enzymes in the North-Western Himalayas. Pedosphere 30(5):638–650. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1002-0160(20)60026-1
Delonzek EC, Botelho RV, Muller MM, Maciel CD d G, Maia AJ (2019) Soil cover management: initial development of pear trees hosui cultivar and its effects on soil and weeds. Rev Bras Frutic 41(2). https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-29452019077
Fang H, Cheng S, Yu G, Xu M, Wang YL, Dang X, Wang L, Li Y (2014) Experimental nitrogen deposition alters the quantity and quality of soil dissolved organic carbon in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Agric Ecosyst Environ Appl Soil Ecol 81:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2014.04.007
Franzluebbers A (2002) Soil organic matter stratification ratio as an indicator of soil quality. Soil Tillage Res 66(2):95–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-1987(02)00018-1
Geraei DS, Hojati S, Landi A, Cano AF (2016) Total and labile forms of soil organic carbon as affected by land use change in southwestern Iran. Geoderma Regional 7(1):29–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geodrs.2016.01.001
Gong W, Yan X, Wang J, Hu T, Gong Y (2008) Long-term manuring and fertilization effects on soil organic carbon pools under a wheat–maize cropping system in North China Plain. Plant Soil 314(1-2):67–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9705-2
Halil Yİ, Zornoza R, Faz Cano Á, Büyükkılıç Yanardağ A, Mermut AR (2020) Changes in carbon pools and enzyme activities in soil amended with pig slurry derived from different feeding diets and filtration process. Geoderma 380:114640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114640
Haynes RJ (2005) Labile organic matter fractions as central components of the quality of agricultural soils: an overview. Adv Agron:221–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0065-2113(04)85005-3
He Y, Cheng W, Zhou L, Shao J, Zhou X (2020) Soil DOC release and aggregate disruption mediate rhizosphere priming effect on soil C decomposition. Soil Biol Biochem 107787:107787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107787
Huang R, Liu J, He X, Xie D, Ni J, Xu C, Gao M (2019) Reduced mineral fertilization coupled with straw return in field mesocosm vegetable cultivation helps to coordinate greenhouse gas emissions and vegetable production. J Soil Sedment 20:1834–1845. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02477-2
Hurisso TT, Culman SW, Horwath WR, Wade J, Cass D, Beniston JW, Ugarte CM (2016) Comparison of permanganate-oxidizable carbon and mineralizable carbon for assessment of organic matter stabilization and mineralization. Soil Sci Soc Am J 80(5):1352–1364. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2016.04.0106
Jin X, Gall AR, Saeed MF, Li S, Filley T, Wang J (2020) Plastic film mulching and nitrogen fertilization enhance the conversion of newly-added maize straw to water-soluble organic carbon. Soil Tillage Res 197:104527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.104527
Kumari R, Kundu M, Das A, Rakshit R, Sahay S, Sengupta S, Ahmad MF (2019) Long-term integrated nutrient management improves carbon stock and fruit yield in a subtropical mango (Mangifera indica L.) orchard. J Plant Nutr Soil Sc. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-019-00160-6
Kuzyakov Y (2010) Priming effects: interactions between living and dead organic matter. Soil Biol Biochem 42:1363–1371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.04.003
Lal R (2004) Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security. Science 304(5677):1623–1627. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1097396
Li S, Zhang S, Pu Y, Li T, Xu X, Jia Y (2016) Dynamics of soil labile organic carbon fractions and C-cycle enzyme activities under straw mulch in Chengdu Plain. Soil Tillage Res 155:289–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2015.07.019
Li S, Li X, Zhu W, Chen J, Tian X, Shi J (2019a) Does straw return strategy influence soil carbon sequestration and labile fractions? Agron J 111:897–906. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2018.08.0484
Li Y, Hu Y, Song D, Liang S, Qin X, Siddique KHM (2019b) The effects of straw incorporation with plastic film mulch on soil properties and bacterial community structure on the Loess Plateau. Eur J Soil Sci 72:979–994. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12912
Liang SS (2017) Studies on NPK fertilizations status and the potential of reducing application rate in major citrus planting regions of china. Dissertation. Huazhong agricultural university
Liu Y, Ge T, Zhu Z, Liu S, Luo Y, Li Y, Kuzyakov Y (2019) Carbon input and allocation by rice into paddy soils: a review. Soil Biol Biochem 133:97–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.02.019
Luo S, Gao Q, Wang S, Tian L, Zhou Q, Li X, Tian C (2020) Long-term fertilization and residue return affect soil stoichiometry characteristics and labile soil organic matter fractions. Pedosphere 30(5):703–713. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1002-0160(20)60031-5
Ma L, Kong F, Wang Z, Luo Y, Lv X, Zhou Z, Meng Y (2019) Growth and yield of cotton as affected by different straw returning modes with an equivalent carbon input. Field Crop Res 243:107616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2019.107616
Maarastawi SA, Frindte K, Bodelier PLE, Knief C (2019) Rice straw serves as additional carbon source for rhizosphere microorganisms and reduces root exudate consumption. Soil Biol Biochem 135:235–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2019.05.007
Mueller ND, Gerber JS, Johnston M, Ray DK, Ramankutty N, Foley JA (2012) Closing yield gaps through nutrient and water management. Nature 490(7419):254–257. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11420
Mukherjee A, Zimmerman AR (2013) Organic carbon and nutrient release from a range of laboratory-produced biochars and biochar–soil mixtures. Geoderma 193-194:122–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.10.002
Nurzadeh NM, Davarynejad GH, Ansary H, Nemati H, Zarea Feyzabady A (2018) Effects of mulching on soil temperature and moisture variations, leaf nutrient status, growth and yield of pistachio trees (Pistacia vera.L). Sci Hortic 241:115–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2018.06.092
Plaza-Bonilla D, Álvaro-Fuentes J, Cantero-Martínez C (2014) Identifying soil organic carbon fractions sensitive to agricultural management practices. Soil Tillage Res 139:19–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2014.01.006
Rana MS, Hu CX, Shaaban M, Imran M, Afzal J, Moussa MG, Sun X (2020a) Soil phosphorus transformation characteristics in response to molybdenum supply in leguminous crops. J Environ Manage 268:110610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110610
Rana MS, Sun X, Imran M, Ali S, Shaaban M, Moussa MG, Hu C. (2020b) Molybdenum-induced effects on leaf ultra-structure and rhizosphere phosphorus transformation in Triticum aestivum L. Plant Physiol Biochem https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2020.05.010
Rana MS, Sun X, Imran M, Khan Z, Moussa MG, Abbas M, Hu C (2020c) Mo-inefficient wheat response toward molybdenum supply in terms of soil phosphorus availability. J Soil Sci Plant Nutr https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-020-00298-8
Rasool G, Guo X, Wang Z, Ali MU, Chen S, Zhang S (2020) Coupling fertigation and buried straw layer improves fertilizer use efficiency, fruit yield, and quality of greenhouse tomato. Agric Water Manag 239:106239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106239
Rongyan B, Tao R, Mingjue L (2020) Tillage and straw-returning practices effect on soil dissolved organic matter, aggregate fraction and bacteria community under rice-rice-rapeseed rotation system. Agric Ecosyst Environ 287:0167–8809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2019.106681
Sarker JR, Singh BP, Fang Y, Cowie A, Dougherty WJ, Collins D (2019) Tillage history and crop residue input enhanced native carbon mineralisation and nutrient supply in contrasting soils under long-term farming systems. Soil Tillage Res 193:71–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.05.027
Sharpley AN, Chapra SC, Wedepohl R, Sims JT, Daniel TC, Reddy KR (1994) Managing agricultural phosphorus for protection of surface waters: issues and options. Journal of Environment. Quality 23(3):437. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq1994.0047242500230003000
Suo G, Xie Y, Zhang Y, Luo H (2019) Long-term effects of different surface mulching techniques on soil water and fruit yield in an apple orchard on the Loess Plateau of China. Sci Hortic 246:643–651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2018.11.028
Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(87)90052-6
Walkley A, Black IA (1934) An examination of the Degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter, and a proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci 37:29–38. https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-193401000-00003
Wang YX, Ye J, Wang CJ, Weng BQ, Huang YB (2014) Effect of different cultivation years on soil organic carbon pools in citrus orchards. Ecology and Environmental. Sciences 23(10):1574–1580. https://doi.org/10.16258/j.cnki.1674-5906.2014.10.020
Wang C, Wang H, Zhao X, Chen B, Wang F (2015) Mulching affects photosynthetic and chlorophyll a fluorescence characteristics during stage III of peach fruit growth on the rain-fed semiarid Loess Plateau of China. Sci Hortic 194:246–254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2015.08.012
Wang W, Chen C, Wu X, Xie K, Yin C, Hou H Xie X (2018) Effects of reduced chemical fertilizer combined with straw retention on greenhouse gas budget and crop production in double rice fields. Bio Fert Soils https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-90ooo0018-1330-5
Wu QS, Zou YN (2014) New advances in the research of arbuscular mycorrhizas in citrus. Acta Agriculturae Universitatis Jiangxiensis in China 36(02):279–284. https://doi.org/10.13836/j.jjau.201404
Wu S, Zhang Y, Tan Q, Sun X, Wei W, Hu C (2020) Biochar is superior to lime in improving acidic soil properties and fruit quality of Satsuma mandarin. Sci Total Environ 714:136722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136722
Xiloyannis C, Montanaro G, Dichio B (2011) Sustainable orchard management, fruit quality and carbon footprint. Acta Hortic 913:269–273. https://doi.org/10.17660/actahortic.2011.913.34
Xu M, Lou Y, Sun X, Wang W, Baniyamuddin M, Zhao K (2011) Soil organic carbon active fractions as early indicators for total carbon change under straw incorporation. Biol Fertil Soils 47(7):745–752. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-011-0579-8
Xu X, Pei J, Xu Y, Wang J (2020) Soil organic carbon depletion in global Mollisols regions and restoration by management practices: a review. J Soils Sediments 20(3):1173–1181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-019-02557-3
Yan S, Song J, Fan J, Yan C, Dong S, Ma C, Chao Y, Shou D, Ma C, Gong Z (2020) Changes in soil organic carbon fractions and microbial community under rice straw return in Northeast China. Global Ecology and Conservation 22:e962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e00962
Yang X, Ren W, Sun B, Zhang S (2012) Effects of contrasting soil management regimes on total and labile soil organic carbon fractions in a loess soil in China. Geoderma 177-178:49–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.01.033
Yang H, Wu G, Mo P, Chen S, Wang S, Xiao Y, Fan G (2020) The combined effects of maize straw mulch and no-tillage on grain yield and water and nitrogen use efficiency of dry-land winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Soil Tillage Res 197:104485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.104485
Zhang Y, Wang B, Li Z, Huang S, Yuan Y, Qin Y (2018) Relationship between soil organic characteristics and soil nutrients for different tree-age Torreya granids. Chinese Journal of Acta Botanica Boreali-Occidentalia Sinica 038(008):1517–1525. https://doi.org/10.7606/j.issn.1000-4025.2018.08.1517
Zhao RY, Li ZC, Wang B, Ge X, Dai Y, Zhao Z, Zhang Y (2017) Effects of straw mulching and scarification on soil labile organic pool in a Phyllostachys edulis plantation. Chinese Journal of Ecology 36(8):2 118–2 126. https://doi.org/10.13292/j.1000-4890.201708.016
Zhao Y, Wang M, Hu S, Zhang X, Ouyang Z, Zhang G, Shi X (2018) Economics- and policy-driven organic carbon input enhancement dominates soil organic carbon accumulation in Chinese croplands. P Natl A Sci India B 115(16):4045–4050. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1700292114
Zhichen Y, Liandi Z, Danfeng S, Hong L, Jun C, Qimei L (2011) The effect of cow dung and red bean straw dosage on soil nutrients and microbial biomass in chestnut orchards. Procedia Environ Sci 10:1071–1077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2011.09.171
Zhou Y, He W, Zheng W, Tan Q, Xie Z, Zheng C, Hu Chengxiao (2018) Fruit sugar and organic acid were significantly related to fruit Mg of six citrus cultivars. Food Chem S0308-8146(18)30535–1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.03.102
Zhou Y, Tan Q , Hu CX , Zheng CS, Li L, Liu QR, Xu JW (2015) Effects of organic-inorganic special compound fertilizer on yield, quality and nutrient uptake of grape (Vitis labrus-cana Kyoho). Soil and Fertilizer Sciences in China 6:82–86+91. https://doi.org/10.11838/sfsc.20150613
Acknowledgements
We extend our sincere gratitude to staff at Taoyuan Agro-ecological Experimental Station for hosting us and for supporting this work. We also thank Professor Chengxiao Hu, Associate Professor Qiling Tan, Professor Xuecheng Sun, Associate Professor Xiaohu Zhao, as well as Dr. Songwei Wu for field assistance and group members Yuan Zhou, Hen Cui, Guozhen Gao, Peng Wang, and others for laboratory assistance.
Funding
The research leading to these results has received funding from National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFD0202000).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Jianming Xue
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liang, X., Chen, Q., Rana, M.S. et al. Effects of soil amendments on soil fertility and fruit yield through alterations in soil carbon fractions. J Soils Sediments 21, 2628–2638 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-021-02932-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-021-02932-z