Effects of Mixing Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand on Soil Microbial Biomass and Extracellular Enzyme Activities—A Case Study in Mu Us Sandy Land in China
Microbial biomass, extracellular enzyme activity, and their stoichiometry in soil play an important role in ecosystem dynamics and functioning. To better understand the improvement of sand soil quality and the limitation of soil nutrients after adding feldspathic sandstone, we investigated changes i...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/19/3963 |
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| author | Xiuxiu Feng Lu Zhang Fazhu Zhao Hongying Bai Russell Doughty |
| author_facet | Xiuxiu Feng Lu Zhang Fazhu Zhao Hongying Bai Russell Doughty |
| author_sort | Xiuxiu Feng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microbial biomass, extracellular enzyme activity, and their stoichiometry in soil play an important role in ecosystem dynamics and functioning. To better understand the improvement of sand soil quality and the limitation of soil nutrients after adding feldspathic sandstone, we investigated changes in soil microbial activity after 10 months of mixing feldspathic sandstone and sand, and compared the dynamics with soil properties. We used fumigation extraction to determine soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), nitrogen (MBN), phosphorus (MBP), and microplate fluorometric techniques to measure soil β-1,4-glucosidase (BG), β-1,4-xylosidase (BX), β-D-cellobiohydrolase (CBH), N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG), and Alkaline phosphatase (AKP). We also measured soil organic carbon (SOC), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil inorganic carbon (SIC), and soil water content (SWC). Our results showed that the soil microbial biomass C, N, P, and individual extracellular enzyme activities significantly increased in mixed soil. Similarly, the soil microbial biomass C:N, C:P, N:P, MBC:SOC, and BG:NAG significantly increased by 54.3%, 106.3%, 33.1%, 23.0%, and 65.4%, respectively. However, BG:AKP and NAG:AKP decreased by 19.0% and 50.3%, respectively. Additionally, redundancy analysis (RDA) and Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that SWC, SOC, porosity and field capacity were significantly associated with soil microbial biomass indices (i.e., C, N, P, C:N, C:P, N:P in microbial biomass, and MBC:SOC) and extracellular enzyme activity metrics (i.e., individual enzyme activity, ecoenzymatic stoichiometry, and vector characteristics of enzyme activity), while pH, EC, and SIC had no correlation with these indices and metrics. These results indicated that mixing feldspathic sandstone and sand is highly susceptible to changes in soil microbial activity, and the soil N limitation decreased while P became more limited. In summary, our research showed that adding feldspathic sandstone into sand can significantly improve soil quality and provide a theoretical basis for the development of desertified land resources. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-c1890504b099401a95ebb7a1b5488dc32022-12-21T18:24:32ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172019-09-01919396310.3390/app9193963app9193963Effects of Mixing Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand on Soil Microbial Biomass and Extracellular Enzyme Activities—A Case Study in Mu Us Sandy Land in ChinaXiuxiu Feng0Lu Zhang1Fazhu Zhao2Hongying Bai3Russell Doughty4Key Laboratory of Degraded and Unused Land Consolidation Engineering, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Xi’an 710075, ChinaKey Laboratory of Degraded and Unused Land Consolidation Engineering, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Xi’an 710075, ChinaKey Laboratory of Degraded and Unused Land Consolidation Engineering, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Xi’an 710075, ChinaCollege of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaDepartment of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USAMicrobial biomass, extracellular enzyme activity, and their stoichiometry in soil play an important role in ecosystem dynamics and functioning. To better understand the improvement of sand soil quality and the limitation of soil nutrients after adding feldspathic sandstone, we investigated changes in soil microbial activity after 10 months of mixing feldspathic sandstone and sand, and compared the dynamics with soil properties. We used fumigation extraction to determine soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), nitrogen (MBN), phosphorus (MBP), and microplate fluorometric techniques to measure soil β-1,4-glucosidase (BG), β-1,4-xylosidase (BX), β-D-cellobiohydrolase (CBH), N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG), and Alkaline phosphatase (AKP). We also measured soil organic carbon (SOC), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil inorganic carbon (SIC), and soil water content (SWC). Our results showed that the soil microbial biomass C, N, P, and individual extracellular enzyme activities significantly increased in mixed soil. Similarly, the soil microbial biomass C:N, C:P, N:P, MBC:SOC, and BG:NAG significantly increased by 54.3%, 106.3%, 33.1%, 23.0%, and 65.4%, respectively. However, BG:AKP and NAG:AKP decreased by 19.0% and 50.3%, respectively. Additionally, redundancy analysis (RDA) and Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that SWC, SOC, porosity and field capacity were significantly associated with soil microbial biomass indices (i.e., C, N, P, C:N, C:P, N:P in microbial biomass, and MBC:SOC) and extracellular enzyme activity metrics (i.e., individual enzyme activity, ecoenzymatic stoichiometry, and vector characteristics of enzyme activity), while pH, EC, and SIC had no correlation with these indices and metrics. These results indicated that mixing feldspathic sandstone and sand is highly susceptible to changes in soil microbial activity, and the soil N limitation decreased while P became more limited. In summary, our research showed that adding feldspathic sandstone into sand can significantly improve soil quality and provide a theoretical basis for the development of desertified land resources.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/19/3963feldspathic sandstonesand soilMu Us sandy landsoil microbial biomassextracellular enzyme activityecological stoichiometry |
| spellingShingle | Xiuxiu Feng Lu Zhang Fazhu Zhao Hongying Bai Russell Doughty Effects of Mixing Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand on Soil Microbial Biomass and Extracellular Enzyme Activities—A Case Study in Mu Us Sandy Land in China Applied Sciences feldspathic sandstone sand soil Mu Us sandy land soil microbial biomass extracellular enzyme activity ecological stoichiometry |
| title | Effects of Mixing Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand on Soil Microbial Biomass and Extracellular Enzyme Activities—A Case Study in Mu Us Sandy Land in China |
| title_full | Effects of Mixing Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand on Soil Microbial Biomass and Extracellular Enzyme Activities—A Case Study in Mu Us Sandy Land in China |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Mixing Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand on Soil Microbial Biomass and Extracellular Enzyme Activities—A Case Study in Mu Us Sandy Land in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Mixing Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand on Soil Microbial Biomass and Extracellular Enzyme Activities—A Case Study in Mu Us Sandy Land in China |
| title_short | Effects of Mixing Feldspathic Sandstone and Sand on Soil Microbial Biomass and Extracellular Enzyme Activities—A Case Study in Mu Us Sandy Land in China |
| title_sort | effects of mixing feldspathic sandstone and sand on soil microbial biomass and extracellular enzyme activities a case study in mu us sandy land in china |
| topic | feldspathic sandstone sand soil Mu Us sandy land soil microbial biomass extracellular enzyme activity ecological stoichiometry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/19/3963 |
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