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Short-term impact of soybean management on ammonia oxidizers in a Brazilian savanna under restoration as revealed by coupling different techniques

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Abstract

Interactions between soil characteristics and soil microbiota influence soil ecosystem processes such as nitrification however, their complexity makes interpretation difficult. Furthermore, the impact of soil management systems on abundance and activity of soil microbial community is poorly understood, especially in the Neotropics. To investigate these interactions, the effects of tillage, inorganic fertilization, and plant cover on the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were assessed by quantification of the marker gene (amoA) during different stages of soybean cultivation in a site under restoration from gravel extraction in the Central Brazilian Savanna (Cerrado). Results of molecular analysis and classic and isotope techniques showed that levels of organic C and NH4 +–N were higher in the soybean field during fallow than in an adjacent undisturbed field (Campo sujo). Ammonia oxidizer abundance and nitrification rates were also higher in the agricultural soil than in the undisturbed site, with the lowest ammonium/nitrate ratio in tilled soil. Soil δ15N was lower in the undisturbed soil than the agricultural soil. Both AOA and AOB were more abundant during soybean crop transitional stages, and this increase positively correlated with soil pH, particularly for AOB abundance, in tilled soil and within the soybean rhizosphere. The results suggest that AOB have more copiotrophic characteristics than AOA and are better able to change available ammonium in the soil. The combination of standard soil ecological methods and modern molecular analysis show the short-term modification of ammonia oxidizer abundance and soil N dynamics in a managed system within the Cerrado biome.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to Mr. Fabiano Bielefeld Nardotto, owner of the Tabapuã dos Pireneus farm, for allowing our free movement around the farm and collection of soil samples, as well as providing information about soybean cultivation. The authors also thank Dr. Plínio de Camargo, who performed the isotopic analysis in the CENA laboratory at the University of São Paulo (USP). This work was supported by grants from the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq), Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES), and Foundation for Research Support of Distrito Federal (FAP-DF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia Celular, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, Brazil, 700910-900

    E. C. P. Catão, F. A. C. Lopes, M. R. Rubini & R. H. Krüger

  2. Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade de Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, 70910-900, Brasília, Brazil, 700910-900

    G. B. Nardoto

  3. Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Cruickshank Building, St. Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK

    J. I. Prosser

  4. Instituto Central de Ciências Sul – Departamento de Biologia Celular, Laboratório de Enzimologia, Universidade de Brasília – UnB, Cep. 70910-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    R. H. Krüger

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  1. E. C. P. Catão
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  2. F. A. C. Lopes
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  3. M. R. Rubini
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Fig. S1

Gravimetric soil water content. Boxplot created by R version 3.0.2 with the ggplot2 library. Letters and corresponding colors correspond to significant differences among groups after the Tukey–Kramer post hoc test. (PDF 845 kb)

Fig. S2

Satellite view and photographs of the sample site on the Tabapuã dos Pireneus Farm. a Schematic representation of the sampling design on a Google Earth picture from the sample site. 1–3 represent composite samples for molecular analysis. b–f Photos of the soil collection sites. b Undisturbed Campo sujo site, c–f Soybean site at four different time points: c after 9 months of natural fallow, d 1 month after fertilization, e during the blossom stage of soybean development, f soybean plants with beans. (PDF 532 kb)

Fig. S3

Relationship between soil δ13C and δ15N in per mille. Each point represents samples from each soil condition, marked with different symbols. (PDF 879 kb)

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Catão, E.C.P., Lopes, F.A.C., Rubini, M.R. et al. Short-term impact of soybean management on ammonia oxidizers in a Brazilian savanna under restoration as revealed by coupling different techniques. Biol Fertil Soils 52, 401–412 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-015-1086-0

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