Partial organic substitution weakens the negative effect of chemical fertilizer on soil micro-food webs

Soil biotic communities play vital roles in enhancing soil nutrient cycling and soil fertility.Long-term excessive nitrogen(N)application is disadvantageous to the stability of soil food webs and affects arable soil health and sustainable utilization.Proper organic substitution is essential to improve soil health and alleviate the disadvantages of excessive chemical fertilization.However,the biological effects of various organic amendments on soil micro-food webs are poorly understood.In order to explore the effects of various organic amendments including stover,biochar and manure on soil micro-food webs(microbial and nematode communities),a field plot experiment with maize having five treatments viz.,100%urea(100%N),70%urea(70%N),70%urea plus stover(Stover),70%urea plus cattle manure(Manure)and 70%urea plus biochar(Biochar)was conducted.Manure treatment increased the carbon(C)to N use efficiency of soil microbes,which contributed to the retention of soil C,while Biochar treatment elevated soil organic C(SOC)and soil p H.Additionally,Biochar treatment mitigated the negative effects of soil acidification on the soil micro-food web and reduced the abundance of plant parasites.Overall,the biological effect of organic amendments was distinguished from chemical fertilization(100%N and 70%N)through principal co-ordinates analysis.Negative relationships among soil properties,microbial and nematode biomass in the 100%N treatment were diminished in treatments where chemical fertilizer was reduced.The bottom-up effects on soil food webs were observed in organic substitution treatments.In conclusion,organic amendments improved soil fertility by regulating soil microbial and nematode communities in the cropland ecosystem,alleviated the negative effects of chemical fertilizer on the micro-food webs and controlled the trophic cascades among soil biota.

Effects of a decade of organic fertilizer substitution on vegetable yield and soil phosphorus pools, phosphatase activities, and the microbial community in a greenhouse vegetable production system

Partial substitution of chemical fertilizers by organic amendments is adopted widely for promoting the availability of soil phosphorus(P)in agricultural production.However,few studies have comprehensively evaluated the effects of longterm organic substitution on soil P availability and microbial activity in greenhouse vegetable fields.A 10-year(2009–2019)field experiment was carried out to investigate the impacts of organic fertilizer substitution on soil P pools,phosphatase activities and the microbial community,and identify factors that regulate these soil P transformation characteristics.Four treatments included 100%chemical N fertilizer(4 CN),50%substitution of chemical N by manure(2 CN+2 MN),straw(2 CN+2 SN),and combined manure with straw(2 CN+1 MN+1 SN).Compared with the 4 CN treatment,organic substitution treatments increased celery and tomato yields by 6.9-13.8%and 8.6-18.1%,respectively,with the highest yields being in the 2 CN+1 MN+1 SN treatment.After 10 years of fertilization,organic substitution treatments reduced total P and inorganic P accumulation,increased the concentrations of available P,organic P,and microbial biomass P,and promoted phosphatase activities(alkaline and acid phosphomonoesterase,phosphodiesterase,and phytase)and microbial growth in comparison with the 4 CN treatment.Further,organic substitution treatments significantly increased soil C/P,and the partial least squares path model(PLS-PM)revealed that the soil C/P ratio directly and significantly affected phosphatase activities and the microbial biomass and positively influenced soil P pools and vegetable yield.Partial least squares(PLS)regression demonstrated that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi positively affected phosphatase activities.Our results suggest that organic fertilizer substitution can promote soil P transformation and availability.Combining manure with straw was more effective than applying these materials separately for developing sustainable P management practices.

Biochar and organic substitution improved net ecosystem economic benefit in intensive vegetable production

Biochar amendment and substituting chemical fertilizers with organic manure(organic substitution)have been widely reported to increase crop production and decrease reactive nitrogen(Nr)loss including nitrous oxide(N_(2)O),nitric oxide(NO),and ammonia(NH3)emissions,and N runoff and leaching.However,few comprehensive evalua-tions have been performed on the environmental and economic aspects of biochar amendment or organic sub-stitution.Here,we studied the comprehensive effects of biochar amendment,organic substitution,and biochar amendment combined with organic substitution on crop production,Nr loss,and net ecosystem economic benefit(NEEB)in intensive vegetable production by integrating life-cycle assessment for Nr footprints,empirical models for NH3 volatilization and N runoff and leaching derived from peer-reviewed publications and validated by the current measurements and direct field measurement for N_(2)O and NO emissions during 5 consecutive years of vegetable crop rotations.Five fertilization treatments were applied(SN:synthetic fertilizer application;SNB:SN plus 20 t ha^(−1)biochar amendment;SNM:substituting 50%of chemical N fertilizer with organic manure;SNMB:SNM plus 20 t ha^(−1)biochar amendment;and CK:no fertilizer or biochar addition).Compared with the SN,the SNB increased vegetable yield(28.4%,p<0.05;interannually varying from−10 to 74.9%)and nitrogen use efficiency(29.2%,interannually varying from−39.7 to 150.4%),and decreased field Nr loss(45.4%,p<0.01;interannually varying from−40.3 to 78.4%),and thus improved NEEB by 7.1%;meanwhile,the SNM increased vegetable yield(11.6%,interannually varying from−5.4 to 27.1%)and nitrogen use efficiency(45.7%,p<0.05;interannually varying from 2.3 to 154%),reduced field Nr loss(34.9%,p<0.01;interannually varying from 8.4-39.0%),and thus improved NEEB by 17.8%(p<0.05)compared to the SN,being 56.0×10^(3)Chinese Yuan(CNY)ha^(−1)crop^(−1).Due to the high foreground Nr loss during organic manure production and high input costs of biochar production,the SNMB decreased the NEEB by 8.0%as compared to the SN.Moreover,the SNB and SNM improved vegetable qualities by increasing protein,soluble sugar,and vitamin C contents while decreasing nitrate content(p<0.05).Therefore,single application of biochar amendment or organic substitution would achieve better NEEB and product quality in vegetable production.