Biological Indicators of Soil Condition on the Kabanyolo Experimental Field, Uganda
Soil biological activity is an integral characteristic reflecting the state of soil fertility, biodiversity, and the activity of soil processes carried out by soil organisms. In Africa, studies of soil biological properties are few compared to the agrochemical research. In this paper, we present an...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/12/1228 |
| _version_ | 1797507110674628608 |
|---|---|
| author | Anna Ivanova Elizaveta Denisova Patrick Musinguzi Emmanuel Opolot John Baptist Tumuhairwe Lev Pozdnyakov Natalia Manucharova Igor Ilichev Aleksey Stepanov Pavel Krasilnikov |
| author_facet | Anna Ivanova Elizaveta Denisova Patrick Musinguzi Emmanuel Opolot John Baptist Tumuhairwe Lev Pozdnyakov Natalia Manucharova Igor Ilichev Aleksey Stepanov Pavel Krasilnikov |
| author_sort | Anna Ivanova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil biological activity is an integral characteristic reflecting the state of soil fertility, biodiversity, and the activity of soil processes carried out by soil organisms. In Africa, studies of soil biological properties are few compared to the agrochemical research. In this paper, we present an assessment of multiple biochemical and microbiological properties of soil from an agricultural field located in the African tropical savanna. We determined basal respiration, substrate-induced respiration, C of microbial biomass, the potential activity of denitrification, nitrogen fixation activity, and estimated prokaryotic components in the soil microbial complex by quantitative PCR. Basal respiration of soils ranged from 0.77 ± 0.04 to 1.90 ± 0.23 μg C-CO<sub>2</sub>·g<sup>−1</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>, and substrate-induced respiration ranged from 3.31 ± 0.17 to 7.84 ± 1.04 μg C-CO<sub>2</sub>·g<sup>−1</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>. The C reserves of microbial biomass averaged 403.7 ± 121.6 μg C·g<sup>−1</sup> of soil. The N<sub>2</sub>O emission from the upper layer on average amounted to 2.79 ng N-N<sub>2</sub>O·g<sup>−1</sup>·day<sup>−1</sup>, and the potential denitrification activity reached 745 ± 98 ng N-N<sub>2</sub>O·g<sup>−1</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>. The number of copies of bacterial genes varied from (0.19 ± 0.02) × 10<sup>8</sup> to (3.52 ± 0.8) × 10<sup>8</sup> copies·g<sup>−1</sup>, and of archaea—from (0.10 ± 0.01) × 10<sup>7</sup> to (0.29 ± 0.01) × 10<sup>7</sup> copies·g<sup>−1</sup> of soil. These results were in good agreement with the studies in other seasonally wet tropical regions: the biological activity was relatively low. The difference between biological indicators of the experimental field and the reference profile were insignificant except for nitrogen loss, which was higher in the ploughed field. Biological indicators strongly varied in space; we explained their heterogeneity by non-uniform management practices in the course of agrochemical field experiments in the past. The use of organic fertilisers may cause the release of climatically active gases due to intensive microbial respiration and denitrification, but the intensity of emission would strongly depend on the cultivation and management method. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:42:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e5e53666e69d4825b0e360db7e2945de |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:42:02Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-e5e53666e69d4825b0e360db7e2945de2023-11-23T03:19:18ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722021-12-011112122810.3390/agriculture11121228Biological Indicators of Soil Condition on the Kabanyolo Experimental Field, UgandaAnna Ivanova0Elizaveta Denisova1Patrick Musinguzi2Emmanuel Opolot3John Baptist Tumuhairwe4Lev Pozdnyakov5Natalia Manucharova6Igor Ilichev7Aleksey Stepanov8Pavel Krasilnikov9Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, RussiaFaculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, RussiaDepartment of Agricultural Production, School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, UgandaDepartment of Agricultural Production, School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, UgandaDepartment of Agricultural Production, School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, UgandaFaculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, RussiaFaculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, RussiaFaculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, RussiaFaculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, RussiaFaculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, RussiaSoil biological activity is an integral characteristic reflecting the state of soil fertility, biodiversity, and the activity of soil processes carried out by soil organisms. In Africa, studies of soil biological properties are few compared to the agrochemical research. In this paper, we present an assessment of multiple biochemical and microbiological properties of soil from an agricultural field located in the African tropical savanna. We determined basal respiration, substrate-induced respiration, C of microbial biomass, the potential activity of denitrification, nitrogen fixation activity, and estimated prokaryotic components in the soil microbial complex by quantitative PCR. Basal respiration of soils ranged from 0.77 ± 0.04 to 1.90 ± 0.23 μg C-CO<sub>2</sub>·g<sup>−1</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>, and substrate-induced respiration ranged from 3.31 ± 0.17 to 7.84 ± 1.04 μg C-CO<sub>2</sub>·g<sup>−1</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>. The C reserves of microbial biomass averaged 403.7 ± 121.6 μg C·g<sup>−1</sup> of soil. The N<sub>2</sub>O emission from the upper layer on average amounted to 2.79 ng N-N<sub>2</sub>O·g<sup>−1</sup>·day<sup>−1</sup>, and the potential denitrification activity reached 745 ± 98 ng N-N<sub>2</sub>O·g<sup>−1</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>. The number of copies of bacterial genes varied from (0.19 ± 0.02) × 10<sup>8</sup> to (3.52 ± 0.8) × 10<sup>8</sup> copies·g<sup>−1</sup>, and of archaea—from (0.10 ± 0.01) × 10<sup>7</sup> to (0.29 ± 0.01) × 10<sup>7</sup> copies·g<sup>−1</sup> of soil. These results were in good agreement with the studies in other seasonally wet tropical regions: the biological activity was relatively low. The difference between biological indicators of the experimental field and the reference profile were insignificant except for nitrogen loss, which was higher in the ploughed field. Biological indicators strongly varied in space; we explained their heterogeneity by non-uniform management practices in the course of agrochemical field experiments in the past. The use of organic fertilisers may cause the release of climatically active gases due to intensive microbial respiration and denitrification, but the intensity of emission would strongly depend on the cultivation and management method.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/12/1228carbon cyclenitrogen cyclemicrobial biomassmicrobial diversityfertiliserssoil health |
| spellingShingle | Anna Ivanova Elizaveta Denisova Patrick Musinguzi Emmanuel Opolot John Baptist Tumuhairwe Lev Pozdnyakov Natalia Manucharova Igor Ilichev Aleksey Stepanov Pavel Krasilnikov Biological Indicators of Soil Condition on the Kabanyolo Experimental Field, Uganda Agriculture carbon cycle nitrogen cycle microbial biomass microbial diversity fertilisers soil health |
| title | Biological Indicators of Soil Condition on the Kabanyolo Experimental Field, Uganda |
| title_full | Biological Indicators of Soil Condition on the Kabanyolo Experimental Field, Uganda |
| title_fullStr | Biological Indicators of Soil Condition on the Kabanyolo Experimental Field, Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biological Indicators of Soil Condition on the Kabanyolo Experimental Field, Uganda |
| title_short | Biological Indicators of Soil Condition on the Kabanyolo Experimental Field, Uganda |
| title_sort | biological indicators of soil condition on the kabanyolo experimental field uganda |
| topic | carbon cycle nitrogen cycle microbial biomass microbial diversity fertilisers soil health |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/12/1228 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT annaivanova biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda AT elizavetadenisova biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda AT patrickmusinguzi biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda AT emmanuelopolot biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda AT johnbaptisttumuhairwe biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda AT levpozdnyakov biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda AT nataliamanucharova biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda AT igorilichev biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda AT alekseystepanov biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda AT pavelkrasilnikov biologicalindicatorsofsoilconditiononthekabanyoloexperimentalfielduganda |