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Effects of residue incorporation and plant growth on soil labile organic carbon and microbial function and community composition under two soil moisture levels

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Abstract

This study investigates the effects of residue incorporation coupled with plant growth and soil moisture level on wheat biomasses, soil nutrients, labile organic carbon (LOC), microbial metabolic profiles, and community composition. Four management practices were used in a 180-day pot experiment: (1) control (CON), (2) maize (Zea mays L.) residue incorporation without plants (MR), (3) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants without maize residue (WP), and (4) maize residue incorporation with wheat plants (MRWPs). Each management practice included soil moisture at both 40 and 80% of field capacity. At wheat harvest, soil nutrient contents in the WP and MRWP treatments were significantly lower than in the CON and MR treatments. In comparison with the CON treatment, MR, WP, and MRWP treatments resulted in 35, 23, and 67% increases in dissolved organic carbon content; 17, 12, and 34% increases in hot-water extractable organic carbon content; and 78, 50, and 150% increases in microbial biomass carbon content. Furthermore, microbial utilizations of carboxylic acids and polymer carbon sources in the MR, WP, and MRWP treatments were 261 and 88%, 239 and 105%, and 300 and 126% higher than in the CON treatment. The MR and CON treatments had similar phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) content but the WP and MRWP treatments had significantly increased gram-negative content and changes to community composition compared with the CON and MR treatments. The wheat biomass, LOC, and PLFA contents significantly increased with greater soil moisture. Overall, these results suggest an additive effect of residue incorporation and plant growth on LOC contents, primarily due to the changes in microbial utilization of carbon sources and community composition.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for the work was provided by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0200107, 2016YFD0300802), the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-03), and the Science and Technology Service Network Initiative (KFJ-SW-STS-142-03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 821, 71 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Zengqiang Li, Bingzi Zhao & Jiabao Zhang

  2. Institute of Environment and Resource & Soil Fertilizers, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 198 Shiqiao Road, Hangzhou, 310021, China

    Zengqiang Li

  3. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, 5403 1st Ave S., Lethbridge, AB, T1J 4B1, Canada

    Xiying Hao

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  1. Zengqiang Li
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  2. Bingzi Zhao
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Correspondence to Bingzi Zhao.

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Responsible editor: Zhihong Xu

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Li, Z., Zhao, B., Hao, X. et al. Effects of residue incorporation and plant growth on soil labile organic carbon and microbial function and community composition under two soil moisture levels. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 18849–18859 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9529-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9529-9

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