Pedosphere 34(2): 351--360, 2024
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2024 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to straw return and nitrogen fertilizer reduction in a rainfed maize field |
Zhenling PENG1, Hao XI1, Lin MAO2, Huyuan FENG3, Jianjun ZHANG4 , Yongjun LIU1, |
1 State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China);
2 College of Life Sciences, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070 (China);
3 School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China);
4 Dryland Agriculture Institute, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730070 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Straw return can be used to reduce fertilizer input and improve agricultural sustainability and soil health. However, how straw return and reduced fertilizer application affect beneficial soil microbes, particularly arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), remains poorly understood. Here, we conducted a five-year field experiment in a rainfed maize field on the Loess Plateau of northwestern China. We tested four treatments with straw return combined with four nitrogen (N) application rates, i.e., 100%, 80%, 60%, and 0% of the common N application rate (225 kg N ha-1 year-1) in this region, and two reference treatments (full or no N application), with three replicates for each treatment. Mycorrhizal colonization was quantified and AMF communities colonizing maize roots were characterized using Illumina sequencing. Forty virtual taxa (VTs) of AMF were identified in root samples, among which VT113 (related to Rhizophagus fasciculatus) and VT156 (related to Dominikia gansuensis) were the predominant taxa. Both root length colonization and AMF VT richness were sensitive to N fertilization, but not to straw return; furthermore, both gradually increased with decreasing N application rate. The VT composition of the AMF community was also affected by N fertilization, but not by straw return, and the community variation could be well explained by soil available N and phosphorus concentrations. Additionally, 60%, 80%, and full N fertilization produced similar maize yields. Thus, our study revealed the response patterns of AMF to straw return and N fertilizer reduction and showed that straw return combined with N fertilizer reduction may be a promising practice to maintain mycorrhizal symbiosis concomitantly with crop productivity. |
| Key Words: agricultural sustainability,crop productivity,mycorrhizal colonization,mycorrhizal symbiosis,root length colonization,virtual taxon |
| Citation: Peng Z L, Xi H, Mao L, Feng H Y, Zhang J J, Liu Y J. 2024. Responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to straw return and nitrogen fertilizer reduction in a rainfed maize field. Pedosphere. 34(2): 351-360. |
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