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Effects of saline water irrigation and fertilization regimes on soil microbial metabolic activity

  • Soils, Sec 2 • Global Change, Environ Risk Assess, Sustainable Land Use • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Irrigation and fertilization can change soil environment, which thereby influence soil microbial metabolic activity (MMA). How to alleviate the adverse effects by taking judicious saline water irrigation and fertilization regimes is mainly concerned in this research.

Materials and methods

Here, we conducted a field orthogonal designed test under different saline water irrigation amount, water salinity, and nitrogen fertilizer application. The metabolic profiles of soil microbial communities were analyzed by using the Biolog method.

Results and discussion

The results demonstrated that irrigation amount and fertilizer application could significantly change MMA while irrigation water salinity had no significant effect on it. Medium irrigation amount (30 mm), least (50 kg ha−1) or medium (350 kg ha−1) N fertilizer application, and whatever irrigation water salinity could obtain the optimal MMA. Different utilization rates of carbohydrates, amino acids, carboxylic acids, and polymers by soil microbial communities caused the differences of the effects, and D-galactonic acid γ-lactone, L-arginine, L-asparagine, D-glucosaminic acid, Tween 80, L-threonine, and D-galacturonic acid were the indicator for distinguishing the effects.

Conclusions

The results presented here demonstrated that by regulating irrigation water amount and fertilizer application, the effects of irrigation salinity on MMA could be alleviated, which offered an efficient approach for guiding saline water irrigation.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41501113, 41471210, 31270482), Foundation for Excellent Youth Scholars of CAREERI, CAS (Y451051001), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2013M542407, 2014T70950), and International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Li -Juan Chen, Qi Feng, Hui-Ya Li & Bao-Gui Zhang

  2. School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia

    Li -Juan Chen, Yong-Ping Wei & Yan Zhao

  3. Plant Protection and Quarantine Station of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, 730020, China

    Chang-Sheng Li

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  1. Li -Juan Chen
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  2. Qi Feng
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Correspondence to Li -Juan Chen.

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Responsible editor: Hailong Wang

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Chen, L.J., Feng, Q., Wei, YP. et al. Effects of saline water irrigation and fertilization regimes on soil microbial metabolic activity. J Soils Sediments 17, 376–383 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1551-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-016-1551-x

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