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Increased rice yield in long-term crop rotation regimes through improved soil structure, rhizosphere microbial communities, and nutrient bioavailability in paddy soil

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Abstract

Soil in short-term crop rotation systems (STCR) is still in the initial development stage of farmland soil, whereas after long-term crop rotation treatment (LTCR), soil properties are significantly different. This study compares STCR (4 years) and LTCR (30 years) rice-rice-fallow, rice-rice-rape rotation practices under the same soil type background and management system. To reveal ecosystem mechanisms within soils and their effects on rice yield following LTCR, we analyzed the physical, chemical, and microbiological properties of soils with different rotations and rotation times. Relative to STCR, LTCR significantly reduced soil water-stable aggregate (WSA) content in the < 0.053-mm range, while > 2 mm WSA content significantly increased. Soil organic matter increased in fields under LTCR, mainly in > 2 mm, 2–0.25 mm, and < 0.053 mm soil WSA in 0–10 cm soil layer. LTCR was associated with significantly increased total soil organic matter, at the same time being associated with increasing the amount of active organic matter in the 0–20 cm soil layer. The two crop rotation regimes significantly differed in soil aggregate composition as well as in soil N and P, microbial biomass, and community composition. Relative to STCR, LTCR field soils had significantly higher soil organic matter, active organic matter content, soil enzyme activities, and overall microbial biomass, while soil WSA and microbial community composition was significantly different. Our results demonstrate that LTCR could significantly improve soil quality and rice yield and suggest that length of rotation time and rice-rice-rape rotation are critical factors for the development of green agriculture.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFD0200100, 2017YFD0200104), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31101596, 31372130), Hunan Provincial Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts, and the National Oilseed Rape Production Technology System of China, “2011 Plan” supported by The Chinese Ministry of Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Regional Collaborative Innovation Center for Grain and Oil Crops in China, National Engineering Laboratory for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Farmland Pollution Control and Agricultural Resources Use, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition in Common University, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, People’s Republic of China

    Sheng Lu, Hai-Xing Song & Zhen-Hua Zhang

  2. Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, 32514, USA

    Joe Eugene Lepo

  3. National Center of Oilseed Crops Improvement, Hunan Branch, Changsha, China

    Chun-Yun Guan

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  1. Sheng Lu
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Lu, S., Lepo, J.E., Song, HX. et al. Increased rice yield in long-term crop rotation regimes through improved soil structure, rhizosphere microbial communities, and nutrient bioavailability in paddy soil. Biol Fertil Soils 54, 909–923 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-018-1315-4

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