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Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on soil microbial community structure and ecological processes in the farmland of Chinese Loess Plateau

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Abstract

Microorganisms regulate the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to anthropogenic nutrient inputs. The escalation of anthropogenic activities has resulted in a rise in the primary terrestrial constraining elements, namely nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms governing the influence of soil microbial community structure and ecological processes in ecologically vulnerable and delicate semi-arid loess agroecosystems remain inadequately understood. Therefore, we explored the effects of different N and P additions on soil microbial community structure and its associated ecological processes in the farmland of Chinese Loess Plateau based on a 36-a long-term experiment. Nine fertilization treatments with complete interactions of high, medium, and low N and P gradients were set up. Soil physical and chemical properties, along with the microbial community structure were measured in this study. Additionally, relevant ecological processes such as microbial biomass, respiration, N mineralization, and enzyme activity were quantified. To elucidate the relationships between these variables, we examined correlation-mediated processes using statistical techniques, including redundancy analysis (RDA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that the addition of N alone had a detrimental effect on soil microbial biomass, mineralized N accumulation, and β-1,4-glucosidase activity. Conversely, the addition of P exhibited an opposing effect, leading to positive influences on these soil parameters. The interactive addition of N and P significantly changed the microbial community structure, increasing microbial activity (microbial biomass and soil respiration), but decreasing the accumulation of mineralized N. Among them, N24P12 treatment showed the greatest increase in the soil nutrient content and respiration. N12P12 treatment increased the overall enzyme activity and total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) content by 70.93%. N and P nutrient contents of the soil dominate the microbial community structure and the corresponding changes in hydrolytic enzymes. Soil microbial biomass, respiration, and overall enzyme activity are driven by mineralized N. Our study provides a theoretical basis for exploring energy conversion processes of soil microbial community and environmental sustainability under long-term N and P additions in semi-arid loess areas.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Project of Science and Technology Department of Shaanxi Province, China (2022NY-074), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41501255), the Xi’an Science and Technology Project (21NYYF0033), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (SYJS202224, GK202206032).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 710119, China

    Zhaoyang Kou, Chunyue Li, Shun Chang, Yu Miao, Wenting Zhang & Qianxue Li

  2. Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Xianyang, 712100, China

    Tinghui Dang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, 710061, China

    Yi Wang

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  1. Zhaoyang Kou
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Contributions

Conceptualization: LI Chunyue, KOU Zhaoyang, DANG Tinghui; Methodology: KOU Zhaoyang, CHANG Shun, MIAO Yu, ZHANG Wenting, LI Qianxue; Formal analysis: LI Chunyue, KOU Zhaoyang, CHANG Shun, MIAO Yu, LI Qianxue; Writing - original draft preparation: KOU Zhaoyang; Writing - review and editing: KOU Zhaoyang, LI Chunyue, WANG Yi, ZHANG Wenting; Funding acquisition: LI Chunyue.

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Correspondence to Chunyue Li.

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Kou, Z., Li, C., Chang, S. et al. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on soil microbial community structure and ecological processes in the farmland of Chinese Loess Plateau. J. Arid Land 15, 960–974 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-023-0023-6

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