Subsoil tillage enhances wheat productivity,soil organic carbon and available nutrient status in dryland fields

Tillage practices during the fallow period benefit water storage and yield in dryland wheat crops.However,there is currently no clarity on the responses of soil organic carbon(SOC),total nitrogen(TN),and available nutrients to tillage practices within the growing season.This study evaluated the effects of three tillage practices(NT,no tillage;SS,subsoil tillage;DT,deep tillage)over five years on soil physicochemical properties.Soil samples at harvest stage from the fifth year were analyzed to determine the soil aggregate and aggregate-associated C and N fractions.The results indicated that SS and DT improved grain yield,straw biomass and straw carbon return of wheat compared with NT.In contrast to DT and NT,SS favored SOC and TN concentrations and stocks by increasing the soil organic carbon sequestration rate(SOCSR)and soil nitrogen sequestration rate(TNSR)in the 0-40 cm layer.Higher SOC levels under SS and NT were associated with greater aggregate-associated C fractions,while TN was positively associated with soluble organic nitrogen(SON).Compared with DT,the NT and SS treatments improved soil available nutrients in the 0-20 cm layer.These findings suggest that SS is an excellent practice for increasing soil carbon,nitrogen and nutrient availability in dryland wheat fields in North China.

Effects of Different Land Cover Types on Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon and Nitrogen in the Lower Reaches of Niyang River

[Objectives]To comprehensively and deeply explore the effects of different land cover types in the lower reaches of Niyang River on soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen,and to provide a scientific basis for the rational use and sustainable management of land resources in this area.[Methods]Taking the 3 types of land cover(cultivated land,grass land and forest land)in the lower reaches of Niyang River in Tibet as the research object,the contents,distribution characteristics and relationships of soil organic carbon,organic nitrogen,microbial biomass carbon,microbial biomass nitrogen and readily oxidizable organic carbon,and their relationships were studied in 0-10,10-20,20-40,40-60,and 60-100 cm soil depth.[Results]The soil organic carbon content of forest land was higher than that of grass land and cultivated land;the vertical change trend of soil organic carbon content decreased with the increase of depth(P<0.05),and it was mainly concentrated in the soil with a depth of 0-20 cm.The soil organic carbon content was significantly different among forest land,grass land and cultivated land(P<0.05),but there was no significant difference between cultivated land and grass land(P>0.05).The soil organic nitrogen content was significantly different among cultivated land,grass land,and forest land(P<0.05),but there was no significant difference between grass land and forest land(P>0.05).The readily oxidizable organic carbon,microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in forest land were higher than that in cultivated land and grass land.The change trend of soil readily oxidizable organic carbon,microbial biomass carbon and microbial biomass nitrogen was similar to the change of soil organic carbon content,showing a significant positive correlation.In addition to being subject to land cover,soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen content were also subject to the interaction of factors such as soil temperature,humidity,pH and vegetation types.[Conclusions]Changes in land cover significantly affect soil organic carbon and nitrogen,readily oxidizable organic carbon,microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen content.

Effect of vegetation on soil bacteria and their potential functions for ecological restoration in the Hulun Buir Sandy Land,China

To date,much of research on revegetation has focused on soil microorganisms due to their contributions in the formation of soil and soil remediation process.However,little is known about the soil bacteria and their functions respond to the diverse vegetational types in the process of vegetation restoration.Effects of dominated vegetation,i.e.,Artemisia halodendron Turcz Ex Bess,Caragana microphylla Lam.,Hedysarum fruticosum Pall.and Pinus sylvestris L.on bacterial community structures and their potential functions in the Hulun Buir Sandy Land,China were determined using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states(PICRUSt)in 2015.Although the dominant phyla of soil bacterial community among different types of vegetation,including Proteobacteria,Actinobacteria,Acidobacteria,Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes,were similar,the relative abundance of these dominant groups significantly differed,indicating that different types of vegetation might result in variations in the composition of soil bacterial community.In addition,functional genes of bacterial populations were similar among different types of vegetation,whereas its relative abundance was significantly differed.Most carbon fixation genes showed a high relative abundance in P.sylvestris,vs.recalcitrant carbon decomposition genes in A.halodendron,suggesting the variations in carbon cycling potential of different types of vegetation.Abundance of assimilatory nitrate reduction genes was the highest in P.sylvestris,vs.dissimilatory nitrate reduction and nitrate reductase genes in A.halodendron,indicating higher nitrogen gasification loss and lower nitrogen utilization gene functions in A.halodendron.The structures and functional genes of soil bacterial community showed marked sensitivities to different plant species,presenting the potentials for regulating soil carbon and nitrogen cycling.