Organic material combined with inorganic fertilizer has been shown to greatly improve crop yield and maintain soil fertility globally. However, it remains unclear if crop yield and soil fertility can be sustained in t...Organic material combined with inorganic fertilizer has been shown to greatly improve crop yield and maintain soil fertility globally. However, it remains unclear if crop yield and soil fertility can be sustained in the long term under the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers. Three long-term field trials were conducted to investigate the effects of organic amendments on the grain sustainable yield index(SYI), soil fertility index(SFI)and nutrient balance in maize–wheat cropping systems of central and southern China during 1991–2019. Five treatments were included in the trials: 1) no fertilization(control);2) balanced mineral fertilization(NPK);3) NPK plus manure(NPKM);4) high dose of NPK plus manure(1.5NPKM);and 5) NPK plus crop straw(NPKS). Over time, the grain yields of wheat and maize showed an increasing trend in all four fertilization treatments at the Yangling(YL) and Zhengzhou(ZZ) locations, while they declined at Qiyang(QY). The grain yield in the NPKM and 1.5NPKM treatments gradually exceeded that of the NPK and NPKS treatments at the QY site. The largest SYI was recorded in the NPKM treatment across the three sites, suggesting that inorganic fertilizer combined with manure can effectively improve crop yield sustainability. Higher SYI values were recorded at the YL and ZZ sites than at the QY site, possibly because the soil was more acid at QY. The key factors affecting grain yield were soil available phosphorus(AP) and available potassium(AK) at the YL and ZZ sites, and pH and AP at the QY site.All fertilization treatments resulted in soil N and P surpluses at the three sites, but soil K surpluses were recorded only at the QY site. The SFI was greater in the 1.5NPKM, NPKM and NPKS treatments than in the NPK treatment by 13.3–40.0 and 16.4–63.6% at the YL and ZZ sites, respectively, and was significantly higher in the NPKM and 1.5NPKM treatments than in the NPK and NPKS treatments at the QY site. A significant, positive linear relationship was found between SFI and crop yield, and SYI and nutrient balance, indicating that grain yield and its sustainability significantly increased with increasing soil fertility. The apparent N, P and K balances positively affected SFI.This study suggests that the appropriate amount of manure mixed with mineral NPK fertilizer is beneficial to the development of sustainable agriculture, which effectively increases the crop yield and yield sustainability by improving soil fertility.展开更多
Soil microbial diversity is extremely vulnerable to fertilization,which is one of the main anthropogenic activities associated with global changes.Yet we know little about how and why soil microbial diversity responds...Soil microbial diversity is extremely vulnerable to fertilization,which is one of the main anthropogenic activities associated with global changes.Yet we know little about how and why soil microbial diversity responds to fertilization across contrasting local ecological contexts.This knowledge is fundamental for predicting changes in soil microbial diversity in response to ongoing global changes.We analyzed soils from ten 20-year field fertilization(organic and/or inorganic)experiments across China and found that the national-scale responses of soil bacterial diversity to fertilization are dependent on ecological context.In acidic soils from regions with high precipitation and soil fertility,inorganic fertilization can result in further acidification,resulting in negative impacts on soil bacterial diversity.In comparison,organic fer-tilization causes a smaller disturbance to soil bacterial diversity.Despite the overall role of environmental contexts in driving soil microbial diversity,a small group of bacterial taxa were found to respond to fer-tilization in a consistent way across contrasting regions throughout China.Taxa such as Nitrosospira and Nitrososphaera,which benefit from nitrogen fertilizer addition,as well as Chitinophagaceae,Bacilli,and phototrophic bacteria,which respond positively to organic fertilization,could be used as bioindicators for soil fertility in response to fertilization at the national scale.Overall,our work provides new insights into the importance of local environmental context in determining the responses of soil microbial diver-sity to fertilization,and identifies regions with acidic soils wherein soil microbial diversity is more vul-nerable to fertilization at the national scale.展开更多
Biological nitrogen(N)fixation(BNF)driven by diazotrophs is an important pathway for N input in agricultural ecosystems.However,free-living BNF and its associated diazotrophic communities under different fertilization...Biological nitrogen(N)fixation(BNF)driven by diazotrophs is an important pathway for N input in agricultural ecosystems.However,free-living BNF and its associated diazotrophic communities under different fertilization practices in acidic soils are poorly studied.Here,we conducted a long-term(29 years)fertilization experiment to explore how fertilization affected free-living BNF via changing biotic and abiotic variables.The fertilization treatments included an unfertilized control(CK),chemical N,phosphorus(P),and potassium(K)fertilizers(NPK),NPK plus lime(NPKL),NPK plus straw(NPKS),NPK plus straw and lime(NPKSL),and NPK plus manure(NPKM).Compared with CK(1.51 nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1)),BNF rate was significantly(P<0.05)higher in NPKM(1.99 nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1))but lower in NPK(0.55 nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1)),NPKL(0.61 nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1)),and NPKS(0.69nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1)).Similarly,chemical fertilization treatments without manure reduced the gene abundance(0.71×10^(8)-1.18×10^(8)copies g^(-1))andα-diversity(Shannon index,1.11-2.43)of diazotrophic communities,whereas the treatment with manure had a positive effect on diazotrophic abundance(3.23×10^(8)copies g^(-1))and Shannon index(3.36).Non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance(PERMANOVA)suggested that manure application(R^(2)=0.212,P=0.001)had a stronger influence on diazotrophic community composition than the addition of lime(R^(2)=0.115,P=0.019)or straw(R^(2)=0.064,P=0.161).Random forest modeling revealed that BNF rates can be significantly(P<0.05)explained by soil pH(9.9%),diazotrophic community attributes(composition,8.5%;Chao 1 index,8.1%;abundance,6.0%;Shannon index,5.7%),and soil total carbon(5.1%).Partial least squares path modeling(PLS-PM)suggested that the diazotrophic community attributes and soil properties mainly provided direct and indirect contributions to the variations in BNF rates,respectively.The dominant genera,Pelomonas,Azospirillum,and Dechloromonas,were positively associated with BNF rates,with their members being observed as keystone species in the community network.Application of chemical fertilizers combined with manure is an effective practice for improving BNF in acidic soils by affecting soil diazotrophic communities.展开更多
Two virtual joint centers for nitrogen agronomy were established between the UK and China to facilitate collaborative research aimed at improving nitrogen use efficiency(NUE)in agricultural production systems and redu...Two virtual joint centers for nitrogen agronomy were established between the UK and China to facilitate collaborative research aimed at improving nitrogen use efficiency(NUE)in agricultural production systems and reducing losses of reactive N to the environment.Major focus areas were improving fertilizer NUE,use of livestock manures,soil health,and policy development and knowledge exchange.Improvements to fertilizer NUE included attention to application rate in the context of yield potential and economic considerations and the potential of improved practices including enhanced efficiency fertilizers,plastic film mulching and cropping design.Improved utilization of livestock manures requires knowledge of the available nutrient content,appropriate manure processing technologies and integrated nutrient management practices.Soil carbon,acidification and biodiversity were considered as important aspects of soil health.Both centers identified a range of potential actions that could be taken to improve N management,and the research conducted has highlighted the importance of developing a systemslevel approach to assessing improvement in the overall efficiency of N management and avoiding unintended secondary effects from individual interventions.Within this context,the management of fertilizer emissions and livestock manure at the farm and regional scales appear to be particularly important targets for mitigation.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42177341)the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shanxi,China(202203021222138).
文摘Organic material combined with inorganic fertilizer has been shown to greatly improve crop yield and maintain soil fertility globally. However, it remains unclear if crop yield and soil fertility can be sustained in the long term under the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers. Three long-term field trials were conducted to investigate the effects of organic amendments on the grain sustainable yield index(SYI), soil fertility index(SFI)and nutrient balance in maize–wheat cropping systems of central and southern China during 1991–2019. Five treatments were included in the trials: 1) no fertilization(control);2) balanced mineral fertilization(NPK);3) NPK plus manure(NPKM);4) high dose of NPK plus manure(1.5NPKM);and 5) NPK plus crop straw(NPKS). Over time, the grain yields of wheat and maize showed an increasing trend in all four fertilization treatments at the Yangling(YL) and Zhengzhou(ZZ) locations, while they declined at Qiyang(QY). The grain yield in the NPKM and 1.5NPKM treatments gradually exceeded that of the NPK and NPKS treatments at the QY site. The largest SYI was recorded in the NPKM treatment across the three sites, suggesting that inorganic fertilizer combined with manure can effectively improve crop yield sustainability. Higher SYI values were recorded at the YL and ZZ sites than at the QY site, possibly because the soil was more acid at QY. The key factors affecting grain yield were soil available phosphorus(AP) and available potassium(AK) at the YL and ZZ sites, and pH and AP at the QY site.All fertilization treatments resulted in soil N and P surpluses at the three sites, but soil K surpluses were recorded only at the QY site. The SFI was greater in the 1.5NPKM, NPKM and NPKS treatments than in the NPK treatment by 13.3–40.0 and 16.4–63.6% at the YL and ZZ sites, respectively, and was significantly higher in the NPKM and 1.5NPKM treatments than in the NPK and NPKS treatments at the QY site. A significant, positive linear relationship was found between SFI and crop yield, and SYI and nutrient balance, indicating that grain yield and its sustainability significantly increased with increasing soil fertility. The apparent N, P and K balances positively affected SFI.This study suggests that the appropriate amount of manure mixed with mineral NPK fertilizer is beneficial to the development of sustainable agriculture, which effectively increases the crop yield and yield sustainability by improving soil fertility.
基金funding from the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFD0300802)the Field Station Consortium Program of The Chinese Academy of Sciences (KFJ-SWYW035)+1 种基金funding from the National Key R&D Program (2019YFC1520700)Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo is supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2018-025483-I)
文摘Soil microbial diversity is extremely vulnerable to fertilization,which is one of the main anthropogenic activities associated with global changes.Yet we know little about how and why soil microbial diversity responds to fertilization across contrasting local ecological contexts.This knowledge is fundamental for predicting changes in soil microbial diversity in response to ongoing global changes.We analyzed soils from ten 20-year field fertilization(organic and/or inorganic)experiments across China and found that the national-scale responses of soil bacterial diversity to fertilization are dependent on ecological context.In acidic soils from regions with high precipitation and soil fertility,inorganic fertilization can result in further acidification,resulting in negative impacts on soil bacterial diversity.In comparison,organic fer-tilization causes a smaller disturbance to soil bacterial diversity.Despite the overall role of environmental contexts in driving soil microbial diversity,a small group of bacterial taxa were found to respond to fer-tilization in a consistent way across contrasting regions throughout China.Taxa such as Nitrosospira and Nitrososphaera,which benefit from nitrogen fertilizer addition,as well as Chitinophagaceae,Bacilli,and phototrophic bacteria,which respond positively to organic fertilization,could be used as bioindicators for soil fertility in response to fertilization at the national scale.Overall,our work provides new insights into the importance of local environmental context in determining the responses of soil microbial diver-sity to fertilization,and identifies regions with acidic soils wherein soil microbial diversity is more vul-nerable to fertilization at the national scale.
基金supported by the National Key Plan for Research and Development of China(No.2022YFD1900602)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.42020104004,52022028,51779077,and 41501328)。
文摘Biological nitrogen(N)fixation(BNF)driven by diazotrophs is an important pathway for N input in agricultural ecosystems.However,free-living BNF and its associated diazotrophic communities under different fertilization practices in acidic soils are poorly studied.Here,we conducted a long-term(29 years)fertilization experiment to explore how fertilization affected free-living BNF via changing biotic and abiotic variables.The fertilization treatments included an unfertilized control(CK),chemical N,phosphorus(P),and potassium(K)fertilizers(NPK),NPK plus lime(NPKL),NPK plus straw(NPKS),NPK plus straw and lime(NPKSL),and NPK plus manure(NPKM).Compared with CK(1.51 nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1)),BNF rate was significantly(P<0.05)higher in NPKM(1.99 nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1))but lower in NPK(0.55 nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1)),NPKL(0.61 nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1)),and NPKS(0.69nmol C_(2)H_(2)g^(-1)d^(-1)).Similarly,chemical fertilization treatments without manure reduced the gene abundance(0.71×10^(8)-1.18×10^(8)copies g^(-1))andα-diversity(Shannon index,1.11-2.43)of diazotrophic communities,whereas the treatment with manure had a positive effect on diazotrophic abundance(3.23×10^(8)copies g^(-1))and Shannon index(3.36).Non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance(PERMANOVA)suggested that manure application(R^(2)=0.212,P=0.001)had a stronger influence on diazotrophic community composition than the addition of lime(R^(2)=0.115,P=0.019)or straw(R^(2)=0.064,P=0.161).Random forest modeling revealed that BNF rates can be significantly(P<0.05)explained by soil pH(9.9%),diazotrophic community attributes(composition,8.5%;Chao 1 index,8.1%;abundance,6.0%;Shannon index,5.7%),and soil total carbon(5.1%).Partial least squares path modeling(PLS-PM)suggested that the diazotrophic community attributes and soil properties mainly provided direct and indirect contributions to the variations in BNF rates,respectively.The dominant genera,Pelomonas,Azospirillum,and Dechloromonas,were positively associated with BNF rates,with their members being observed as keystone species in the community network.Application of chemical fertilizers combined with manure is an effective practice for improving BNF in acidic soils by affecting soil diazotrophic communities.
基金supported through Newton Fund via UK BBSRC/NERC(BB/N013484/1 and BB/N013468/1)。
文摘Two virtual joint centers for nitrogen agronomy were established between the UK and China to facilitate collaborative research aimed at improving nitrogen use efficiency(NUE)in agricultural production systems and reducing losses of reactive N to the environment.Major focus areas were improving fertilizer NUE,use of livestock manures,soil health,and policy development and knowledge exchange.Improvements to fertilizer NUE included attention to application rate in the context of yield potential and economic considerations and the potential of improved practices including enhanced efficiency fertilizers,plastic film mulching and cropping design.Improved utilization of livestock manures requires knowledge of the available nutrient content,appropriate manure processing technologies and integrated nutrient management practices.Soil carbon,acidification and biodiversity were considered as important aspects of soil health.Both centers identified a range of potential actions that could be taken to improve N management,and the research conducted has highlighted the importance of developing a systemslevel approach to assessing improvement in the overall efficiency of N management and avoiding unintended secondary effects from individual interventions.Within this context,the management of fertilizer emissions and livestock manure at the farm and regional scales appear to be particularly important targets for mitigation.
