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Long-term partial substitution of chemical fertilizer with green manure regulated organic matter mineralization in paddy soil dominantly by modulating organic carbon quality

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the response characteristics and potential mechanisms of soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization to the ten years partial substitution of chemical fertilizer with green manure in paddy soil.

Methods

The mineralization of SOM in paddy soil treated with no fertilizer, complete chemical fertilizer, and chemical fertilizer partially substituted with increasing amount of green manure was investigated by incubation experiments. The CO2 released during the incubation was determined by gas chromatography. The chemical structure and pool of soil organic carbon was analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance and acid hydrolysis, respectively. Soil microbial communities and the abundance of organic carbon hydrolase genes were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Random forest analysis was used to analyze the roles of related factors in the mineralization of SOM.

Results

The mineralization of SOM was significantly suppressed by chemical fertilizer, but the suppression was alleviated or reversed by the partial substitution of chemical fertilizer with increasing amount of green manure. The quality of soil organic carbon showed a similar tendency to the mineralization of SOM. Fertilization treatments, especially those with green manure, significantly increased soil organic carbon quantity and the activity of organic carbon hydrolases. Fertilization treatments also significantly changed the composition of microbial communities, but had no significant influence on the abundance of the genes encoding hydrolases.

Conclusion

Long-term partial substitution of chemical fertilizer with green manure regulated organic matter mineralization in paddy soil dominantly by modulating organic carbon quality.

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Funding

The research was financially supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number: 41877031) and China Agriculture Research System-Green Manure (CARS-22).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtse River), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Peidong Xu, Jun Zhu, Qingling Fu, Mingjian Geng, Hongqing Hu & Qiaoyun Huang

  2. Institute of Soil and Fertilizer, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China

    Ji Wu, Hui Wang & Shang Han

Authors
  1. Peidong Xu
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  2. Ji Wu
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  3. Hui Wang
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  4. Shang Han
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  5. Jun Zhu
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  6. Qingling Fu
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  7. Mingjian Geng
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  8. Hongqing Hu
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  9. Qiaoyun Huang
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Contributions

Peidong Xu, Ji Wu and Jun Zhu designed the study, Peidong Xu and Jun Zhu interpreted data and wrote the manuscript, Hui Wang and Shang Han contributed to sample and data collection, Qingling Fu, Mingjian Geng, Hongqing Hu and Qiaoyun Huang provided technical advice and support for the study.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jun Zhu.

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Xu, P., Wu, J., Wang, H. et al. Long-term partial substitution of chemical fertilizer with green manure regulated organic matter mineralization in paddy soil dominantly by modulating organic carbon quality. Plant Soil 468, 459–473 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05130-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05130-5

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