title: Effects of manure compost application on soil microbial community diversity and soil microenvironments in a temperate cropland in China.
abstract: The long-term application of excessive chemical fertilizers has resulted in the degeneration of soil quality parameters such as soil microbial biomass, communities, and nutrient content, which in turn affects crop health, productivity, and soil sustainable productivity. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid and efficient solution for rehabilitating degraded cropland soils by precisely quantifying soil quality parameters through the application of manure compost and bacteria fertilizers or its combination during maize growth. We investigated dynamic impacts on soil microbial count, biomass, basal respiration, community structure diversity, and enzyme activity using six different treatments [no fertilizer (CK), N fertilizer (N), N fertilizer + bacterial fertilizer (NB), manure compost (M), manure compost + bacterial fertilizer (MB), and bacterial fertilizer (B)] in the plowed layer (0-20 cm) of potted soil during various maize growth stages in a temperate cropland of eastern China. Denaturing gradient electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting analysis showed that the structure and composition of bacterial and fungi communities in the six fertilizer treatments varied at different levels. The Shannon index of bacterial and fungi communities displayed the highest value in the MB treatments and the lowest in the N treatment at the maize mature stage. Changes in soil microorganism community structure and diversity after different fertilizer treatments resulted in different microbial properties. Adding manure compost significantly increased the amount of cultivable microorganisms and microbial biomass, thus enhancing soil respiration and enzyme activities (p<0.01), whereas N treatment showed the opposite results (p<0.01). However, B and NB treatments minimally increased the amount of cultivable microorganisms and microbial biomass, with no obvious influence on community structure and soil enzymes. Our findings indicate that the application of manure compost plus bacterial fertilizers can immediately improve the microbial community structure and diversity of degraded cropland soils.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Laboratory of Crop, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Development and Promotion Center, Shandong Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Ji'nan, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Liyue
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Guanglei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Gaoming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D018533:Biomass; D002681:China; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000254:growth & development; D005308:Fertilizers / Q000382:microbiology*; D008372:Manure / Q000382:microbiology*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D008372:Manure; D012987:Soil