Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage
No-till and cereal–legume intercropping have been recognized as favorable cropping practices to increase crop yields while maintaining soil quality in arid and semiarid environments, but the biological mechanisms are poorly understood. The present study aimed to determine the response of yields, soi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/11/2707 |
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| author | Peina Lu Cai Zhao Wen Yin Falong Hu Zhilong Fan Aizhong Yu Hong Fan |
| author_facet | Peina Lu Cai Zhao Wen Yin Falong Hu Zhilong Fan Aizhong Yu Hong Fan |
| author_sort | Peina Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | No-till and cereal–legume intercropping have been recognized as favorable cropping practices to increase crop yields while maintaining soil quality in arid and semiarid environments, but the biological mechanisms are poorly understood. The present study aimed to determine the response of yields, soil properties, enzyme activities, and microbial community diversity and composition in mono- and inter-cropping under conventional and no-tillage conditions. We initiated a field experiment in Wuwei, a typical arid area of China, in 2014. Soil was sampled in August 2022 and, yields, soil properties, enzyme activities, and the microbial community diversity and composition were determined in the maize and pea strips in inter- and mono-cropping systems. Results revealed that the maize and pea strips in the no-till intercropping significantly increased yields, total and organic carbon stocks, decreased NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N, and obtained the highest total and organic P in the soil. No-tillage significantly enhanced the Shannon index and Pielou evenness of the bacterial community and total microbial community over conventional tillage, with the α-diversity of the bacterial community and total microbial community distinctly higher in the NTIM treatment than in the CTIM treatment. The α-diversity of the total microbial community was significantly related to yield, soil IC and OC, and the α-diversity of the archaea community was significantly related to soil TC, TC/TP, TN/TP, and BX. Meanwhile, the α-diversity of the eukaryote community was significantly related to soil yield, soil TC/TP. Both no-tillage and intercropped maize significantly increased the abundance of archaea phylum Thaumarchaeota and bacterial phylum Nitrospirae, and were significantly positively associated with soil OC and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-N, benefiting nitrogen fixation of intercropped pea from the atmosphere under the no-tillage cereal/legume intercropping. No-till intercropping was conducive to the accumulation of organic carbon, while decreasing the abundance of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. Limited soil enzyme activities (ACP, ALP, DP, NAG, BG, AG, CB) led to decreases in organic carbon turnover and utilization. Intercropping altered soil microbial community diversity and composition due to changes in soil properties and enzyme activities. These findings suggest that no-tilled cereal–legume intercropping is a sustainable cropping practice for improving soil properties and enhancing microbial (archaea, bacterial, eukaryota) diversity, but the persistence is not conducive to rapid turnover of soil nutrients due to limited enzyme activities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:06:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd6d42b8b9c54dc3b76fd07c2a4bcbe3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:06:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
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| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd6d42b8b9c54dc3b76fd07c2a4bcbe32023-11-24T14:23:41ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952023-10-011311270710.3390/agronomy13112707Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to TillagePeina Lu0Cai Zhao1Wen Yin2Falong Hu3Zhilong Fan4Aizhong Yu5Hong Fan6State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaNo-till and cereal–legume intercropping have been recognized as favorable cropping practices to increase crop yields while maintaining soil quality in arid and semiarid environments, but the biological mechanisms are poorly understood. The present study aimed to determine the response of yields, soil properties, enzyme activities, and microbial community diversity and composition in mono- and inter-cropping under conventional and no-tillage conditions. We initiated a field experiment in Wuwei, a typical arid area of China, in 2014. Soil was sampled in August 2022 and, yields, soil properties, enzyme activities, and the microbial community diversity and composition were determined in the maize and pea strips in inter- and mono-cropping systems. Results revealed that the maize and pea strips in the no-till intercropping significantly increased yields, total and organic carbon stocks, decreased NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N, and obtained the highest total and organic P in the soil. No-tillage significantly enhanced the Shannon index and Pielou evenness of the bacterial community and total microbial community over conventional tillage, with the α-diversity of the bacterial community and total microbial community distinctly higher in the NTIM treatment than in the CTIM treatment. The α-diversity of the total microbial community was significantly related to yield, soil IC and OC, and the α-diversity of the archaea community was significantly related to soil TC, TC/TP, TN/TP, and BX. Meanwhile, the α-diversity of the eukaryote community was significantly related to soil yield, soil TC/TP. Both no-tillage and intercropped maize significantly increased the abundance of archaea phylum Thaumarchaeota and bacterial phylum Nitrospirae, and were significantly positively associated with soil OC and NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>-N, benefiting nitrogen fixation of intercropped pea from the atmosphere under the no-tillage cereal/legume intercropping. No-till intercropping was conducive to the accumulation of organic carbon, while decreasing the abundance of Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. Limited soil enzyme activities (ACP, ALP, DP, NAG, BG, AG, CB) led to decreases in organic carbon turnover and utilization. Intercropping altered soil microbial community diversity and composition due to changes in soil properties and enzyme activities. These findings suggest that no-tilled cereal–legume intercropping is a sustainable cropping practice for improving soil properties and enhancing microbial (archaea, bacterial, eukaryota) diversity, but the persistence is not conducive to rapid turnover of soil nutrients due to limited enzyme activities.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/11/2707no-tillageintercroppingmicrobial communitysoil propertiessoil enzyme activities |
| spellingShingle | Peina Lu Cai Zhao Wen Yin Falong Hu Zhilong Fan Aizhong Yu Hong Fan Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage Agronomy no-tillage intercropping microbial community soil properties soil enzyme activities |
| title | Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage |
| title_full | Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage |
| title_fullStr | Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage |
| title_short | Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage |
| title_sort | microbial community shifts with soil properties and enzyme activities in inter mono cropping systems in response to tillage |
| topic | no-tillage intercropping microbial community soil properties soil enzyme activities |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/11/2707 |
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