Straw Returning Alleviates the Inhibition of Soil Nitrification Medicated by Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea under Low Nitrogen Fertilization
Feng Wang,
Xiaolong Liang,
Minjie Liang,
Bingqing Guo,
Shuangyi Li,
Lingzhi Liu,
Jingkuan Wang
Affiliations
Feng Wang
Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang 110086, China
Xiaolong Liang
Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
Minjie Liang
Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang 110086, China
Bingqing Guo
Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang 110086, China
Shuangyi Li
Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang 110086, China
Lingzhi Liu
Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang 110086, China
Jingkuan Wang
Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation in Northeast China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, No. 120 Dongling Road, Shenhe District, Shenyang 110086, China
Straw returning may stimulate soil microbial activity, thereby influencing microbial-mediated soil nitrification, which can lead to nitrate leaching and nitrogen (N) loss. However, its effects under long-term nitrogen fertilization remain unclear. At an experimental station with 34 years of fertilizer application (0, 135, and 270 kg ha−1 N), we investigated how nitrogen fertilization and straw returning affected the soil potential nitrification rate (PNR) and ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM). Our results suggest that N fertilization concurrently inhibits soil PNR, but this inhibition can be alleviated by straw returning, particularly with low nitrogen fertilization (p p < 0.05). Furthermore, the partial least squares path model demonstrated that AOA abundance affected soil PNR by altering the AOA community. According to random forest analysis, soil pH and AOA beta diversity were the primary factors affecting soil PNR (explaining 10.76% and 10.03% of the variation, respectively). Overall, our findings highlight the importance of straw returning and AOA in soil nitrification under long-term nitrogen fertilization, emphasizing the need to consider these interactions for sustainable agriculture.
