Effects of long-term partial substitution of inorganic fertilizer with pig manure and/or straw on nitrogen fractions and microbiological properties in greenhouse vegetable soils

Partial substitution of inorganic fertilizers with organic amendments is an important agricultural management practice.An 11-year field experiment(22 cropping periods)was carried out to analyze the impacts of different partial substitution treatments on crop yields and the transformation of nitrogen fractions in greenhouse vegetable soil.Four treatments with equal N,P_(2)O_(5),and K_(2)O inputs were selected,including complete inorganic fertilizer N(CN),50%inorganic fertilizer N plus 50%pig manure N(CPN),50%inorganic fertilizer N plus 25%pig manure N and 25%corn straw N(CPSN),and 50%inorganic fertilizer N plus 50%corn straw N(CSN).Organic substitution treatments tended to increase crop yields since the 6th cropping period compared to the CN treatment.From the 8th to the 22nd cropping periods,the highest yields were observed in the CPSN treatment where yields were 7.5-11.1%greater than in CN treatment.After 11-year fertilization,compared to CN,organic substitution treatments significantly increased the concentrations of NO_(3)^(-)-N,NH_(4)^(+)-N,acid hydrolysis ammonium-N(AHAN),amino acid-N(AAN),amino sugar-N(ASN),and acid hydrolysis unknown-N(AHUN)in soil by 45.0-69.4,32.8-58.1,49.3-66.6,62.0-69.5,34.5-100.3,and 109.2-172.9%,respectively.Redundancy analysis indicated that soil C/N and OC concentration significantly affected the distribution of N fractions.The highest concentrations of NO_(3)^(-)-N,AHAN,AAN,AHUN were found in the CPSN treatment.Organic substitution treatments increased the activities ofβ-glucosidase,β-cellobiosidase,N-acetyl-glucosamidase,L-aminopeptidase,and phosphatase in the soil.Organic substitution treatments reduced vector length and increased vector angle,indicating alleviation of constraints of C and N on soil microorganisms.Organic substitution treatments increased the total concentrations of phospholipid fatty acids(PLFAs)in the soil by 109.9-205.3%,and increased the relative abundance of G^(+)bacteria and fungi taxa,but decreased the relative abundance of G-bacteria,total bacteria,and actinomycetes.Overall,long-term organic substitution management increased soil OC concentration,C/N,and the microbial population,the latter in turn positively influenced soil enzyme activity.Enhanced microorganism numbers and enzyme activity enhanced soil N sequestration by transforming inorganic N to acid hydrolysis-N(AHN),and enhanced soil N supply capacity by activating non-acid hydrolysis-N(NAHN)to AHN,thus improving vegetable yield.Application of inorganic fertilizer,manure,and straw was a more effective fertilization model for achieving sustainable greenhouse vegetable production than application of inorganic fertilizer alone.

The effects of aeration and irrigation regimes on soil CO_2 and N_2O emissions in a greenhouse tomato production system

Aerated irrigation has been proven to increase crop production and quality, but studies on its environmental impacts are sparse. The effects of aeration and irrigation regimes on soil CO2 and N2O emissions in two consecutive greenhouse tomato rotation cycles in Northwest China were studied via the static closed chamber and gas chromatography technique. Four treatments, aerated deficit irrigation（AI1）, non-aerated deficit irrigation（CK1）, aerated full irrigation（AI2） and non-aerated full irrigation（CK2）, were performed. The results showed that the tomato yield under aeration of each irrigation regime increased by 18.8% on average compared to non-aeration, and the difference was significant under full irrigation（P〈0.05）. Full irrigation significantly increased the tomato yield by 23.9% on average in comparison to deficit irrigation. Moreover, aeration increased the cumulative CO2 emissions compared to non-aeration, and treatment effects were significant in the autumn-winter season（P〈0.05）. A slight increase of CO2 emissions in the two seasons was observed under full irrigation（P〉0.05）. There was no significant difference between aeration and non-aeration in soil N2O emissions in the spring-summer season, whereas aeration enhanced N2O emissions significantly in the autumn-winter season. Furthermore, full irrigation over the two seasons greatly increased soil N2O emissions compared to the deficit irrigation treatment（P〈0.05）. Correlation analysis indicated that soil temperature was the primary factor influencing CO2 fluxes. Soil temperature, soil moisture and NO3^- were the primary factors influencing N2O fluxes. Irrigation coupled with particular soil aeration practices may allow for a balance between crop production yield and greenhouse gas mitigation in greenhouse vegetable fields.

Long-term straw addition promotes moderately labile phosphorus formation, decreasing phosphorus downward migration and loss in greenhouse vegetable soil

Phosphorus(P) leaching is a major problem in greenhouse vegetable production with excessive P fertilizer application. Substitution of inorganic P fertilizer with organic fertilizer is considered a potential strategy to reduce leaching, but the effect of organic material addition on soil P transformation and leaching loss remains unclear. The X-ray absorption nearedge structure(XANES) spectroscopy technique can determine P speciation at the molecular level. Here, we integrated XANES and chemical methods to explore P speciation and transformation in a 10-year field experiment with four treatments: 100% chemical fertilizer(4 CN), 50% chemical N and 50% manure N(2CN+2MN), 50% chemical N and 50% straw N(2CN+2SN), and 50% chemical N and 25% manure N plus 25% straw N(2CN+2 MSN). Compared with the 4 CN treatment, the organic substitution treatments increased the content of labile P by 13.7–54.2% in the 0–40 cm soil layers, with newberyite and brushite being the main constituents of the labile P. Organic substitution treatments decreased the stable P content;hydroxyapatite was the main species and showed an increasing trend with increasing soil depth. Straw addition(2CN+2SN and 2CN+2 MSN) resulted in a higher moderately labile P content and a lower labile P content in the subsoil(60–100 cm). Moreover, straw addition significantly reduced the concentrations and amounts of total P, dissolved inorganic P(DIP), and particulate P in leachate. DIP was the main form transferred by leaching and co-migrated with dissolved organic carbon. Partial least squares path modeling revealed that straw addition decreased P leaching by decreasing labile P and increasing moderately labile P in the subsoil. Overall, straw addition is beneficial for developing sustainable P management strategies due to increasing labile P in the upper soil layer for the utilization of plants, and decreasing P migration and leaching.

Heavy metal contamination in soils of greenhouse vegetable production systems in a cold region of China

Heavy metal(HM)contamination in soils of greenhouse vegetable production(GVP)systems has drawn increasing attention in terms of food safety.In the present study,64 surface soils were sampled,and the concentrations of select HMs were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy.The results showed that the concentrations of cadmium(Cd),lead(Pb),zinc(Zn),copper(Cu),nickel(Ni)and chromium(Cr)in the soils were(0.2±0.2)mg/kg,(26.5±8.4)mg/kg,(101.4±43.2)mg/kg,(29.1±8.6)mg/kg,(24.5±3.3)mg/kg,and(56.5±6.3)mg/kg,and the corresponding accumulation index(AI)values were 2.30,1.10,1.43,1.45,1.07,and 0.97,respectively.The spatial distribution of the HMs suggested that Cd pollution displays a fractionation effect,which may be related to the source of Cd and its mobility.The concentration of Zn was significantly correlated with that of other HMs,implying that a comprehensive interactive effect might occur between Zn and other HMs.Furthermore,the values of the potential ecological risk index(RI)ranged from 41.23 to 185.91,meaning that attention should be paid to HM contamination of GVP soils to ensure food quality and safety.

Phosphorus accumulation and leaching risk of greenhouse vegetable soils in Southeast China

Over-fertilization has caused significant phosphorus(P)accumulation in Chinese greenhouse vegetable production(GVP)soils.This study,for the first time,quantified profile P accumulation directly from soil P measurements,as well as subsoil P immobilization,in three alkaline coarse-textured GVP soil profiles with 5(S5),15(S15),and 30(S30)years of cultivation in Tongshan,Southeast China.For each profile,soil samples were collected at depths of 0-10(topsoil),10-20,20-40,40-60,60-80,and 80-100 cm.Phosphorus accumulation was estimated from the difference in P contents between topsoil and parent material(60-100 cm subsoil).Phosphorus mobility was assessed from measurements of water-soluble P concentration(P_(Sol)).Finally,P sorption isotherms were produced using a batch sorption experiment and fitted using a modified Langmuir model.High total P contents of 1980(S5),3190(S15),and 2330(S30)mg kg^(-1) were measured in the topsoils versus lower total P content of approximately 600 mg kg^(-1) in the 80-100 cm subsoils.Likewise,topsoil PSol values were very high,varying from 6.4 to 17.0 mg L^(-1).The estimated annual P accumulations in the topsoils were 397(S5),212(S15),and 78(S30)kg ha^(-1) year^(-1).Sorption isotherms demonstrated the dominance of P desorption in highly P-saturated topsoils,whereas the amount of adsorbed P increased in the 80-100 cm subsoils with slightly larger P adsorption capacity.The total P adsorption capacity of the 80-100 cm subsoils at a solution P concentration of0.5 mg L^(-1) was 15.7(S5),8.7(S15),and 6.5(S30)kg ha^(-1),demonstrating that subsoils were unable to secure P concentrations in leaching water below 0.5 mg L^(-1) because of their insufficient P-binding capacity.