Estimates on nitrogen uptake in the subsequent wheat by aboveground and root residue and rhizodeposition of using peanut labeled with^(15)N isotope on the North China Plain

Leguminous crops play a vital role in enhancing crop yield and improving soil fertility. Therefore, it can be used as an organic N source for improving soil fertility. The purpose of this study was to(i) quantify the amounts of N derived from rhizodeposition, root and above-ground biomass of peanut residue in comparison with wheat and(ii) estimate the effect of the residual N on the wheat-growing season in the subsequent year. The plants of peanut and wheat were stem fed with 15 N urea using the cotton-wick method at the Wuqiao Station of China Agricultural University in 2014. The experiment consisted of four residue-returning strategies in a randomized complete-block design:(i) no return of crop residue(CR0);(ii) return of above-ground biomass of peanut crop(CR1);(iii) return of peanut root biomass(CR2); and(iv) return of all residue of the whole peanut plant(CR3). The 31.5 and 21% of the labeled 15 N isotope were accumulated in the above-ground tissues(leaves and stems) of peanuts and wheat, respectively. N rhizodeposition of peanuts and wheat accounted for 14.91 and 3.61% of the BG15 N, respectively. The 15 N from the below-ground 15 N-labeled of peanuts were supplied 11.3, 5.9, 13.5, and 6.1% of in the CR0, CR1, CR2, and CR3 treatments, respectively. Peanut straw contributes a significant proportion of N to the soil through the decomposition of plant residues and N rhizodeposition. With the current production level on the NCP, it is estimated that peanut straw can potentially replace 104 500 tons of synthetic N fertilizer per year. The inclusion of peanut in rotation with cereal can significantly reduce the use of N fertilizer and enhance the system sustainability.

Soil properties and habitats determine the response of bacterial communities to agricultural wastewater irrigation

Increasing temperatures and variability of precipitation events due to climate change will lead in the future to higher irrigation demands in agroecosystems.However,the use of secondary treated wasterwater(TWW)could have consequences for the receiving soil environment and its resident microbial communities.The objective of this study was to characterize the importance of soil properties and habitats to the response of soil bacteria and archaea to irrigation with TWW.Two agricultural soils with contrasting textures(loamy sand or silt loam)and,for each,three variants differing in soil organic carbon and nitrogen,as generated by long-term fertilization,were analyzed.For each of these six soils,prokaryotic communities from two habitats,i.e.,root-free bulk soil and the rhizosphere of developing cucumber plants in the greenhouse,were characterized.Communities were analyzed by the quantity and diversity of their polymerase chain reaction(PCR)-amplified 16S rRNA genes.To account for TWW-associated nutrient effects,potable water(PW)served as a control.Amplicon sequence analysis showed that prokaryotic communities mainly consisted of bacteria(99.8%).Upon irrigation,regardless of the water quality,prokaryotic diversity declined,p H increased,and no bacterial growth was detected in bulk soil.In contrast,the growth of cucumbers was stimulated by TWW,indicating that plants were the main beneficiaries.Moreover,strong responses were seen in the rhizosphere,suggesting an indirect effect of TWW by altered rhizodepositions.The main bacterial responders to TWW were Proteobacteria,Bacteroidetes,Actinobacteria,and Planctomycetes.Changes in bacterial communities due to TWW were less pronounced in all variants of the silt loam,indicating the importance of clay and soil organic carbon for buffering effects of TWW on soil bacterial communities.Hence,soil organic carbon and soil texture are important parameters that need to be considered when applying TWW in agriculture.

Coupling of the chemical niche and microbiome in the rhizosphere:implications from watermelon grafting

Grafting is commonly used to overcome soilborne diseases. However, its effects on the rhizodeposits as well as the linkages between the rhizosphere chemical niche and microbiome remained unknown. In this paper,significant negative correlations between the bacterial alpha diversity and both the disease incidence(r = – 0.832,P = 0.005) and pathogen population(r = – 0.786, P = 0.012)were detected. Moreover, our results showed that the chemical diversity not only predicts bacterial alpha diversity but also can impact on overall microbial community structure(beta diversity) in the rhizosphere.Furthermore, some anti-fungal compounds including heptadecane and hexadecane were identified in the rhizosphere of grafted watermelon. We concluded that grafted watermelon can form a distinct rhizosphere chemical niche and thus recruit microbial communities with high diversity. Furthermore, the diverse bacteria and the antifungal compounds in the rhizosphere can potentially serve as biological and chemical barriers, respectively, to hinder pathogen invasion. These results not only lead us toward broadening the view of disease resistance mechanism of grafting, but also provide clues to control the microbial composition by manipulating the rhizosphere chemical niche.

Legacy effect of elevated CO_(2) and N fertilization on mineralization and retention of rice (Oryza sativa L.) rhizodeposit-C in paddy soil aggregates

Rhizodeposits in rice paddy soil are important in global C sequestration and cycling.This study explored the effects of elevated CO_(2) and N fertilization during the rice growing season on the subsequent mineralization and retention of rhizodeposit-C in soil aggregates after harvest.Rice(Oryza sativa L.)was labeled with ^(13)CO_(2) under ambient(400 ppm)and elevated(800 ppm)CO_(2) concentrations with and without N fertilization.After harvest,soil with labeled rhizodeposits was collected,separated into three aggregate size fractions,and flood-incubated for 100 d.The initial rhizodeposit-^(13)C content of N-fertilized microaggregates was less than 65%of that of non-fertilized microaggregates.During the incubation of microaggregates separated from N-fertilized soils,3%–9%and 9%–16%more proportion of rhizodeposit-^(13)C was mineralized to ^(13)CO_(2),and incorporated into the microbial biomass,respectively,while less was allocated to soil organic carbon than in the non-fertilized soils.Elevated CO_(2) increased the rhizodeposit-^(13)C content of all aggregate fractions by 10%–80%,while it reduced cumulative ^(13)CO_(2) emission and the bioavailable C pool size of rhizodeposit-C,especially in N-fertilized soil,except for the silt-clay fraction.It also resulted in up to 23%less rhizodeposit-C incorporated into the microbial biomass of the three soil aggregates,and up to 23%more incorporated into soil organic carbon.These results were relatively weak in the silt-clay fraction.Elevated CO_(2) and N fertilizer applied in rice growing season had a legacy effect on subsequent mineralization and retention of rhizodeposits in paddy soils after harvest,the extent of which varied among the soil aggregates.