Pedosphere 22(2): 263--272, 2012
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2012 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
Shortterm responses of nitrogen mineralization and microbial community to moisture regimes in greenhouse vegetable soils
CHEN Qiu-Hui1, FENG Ying1,2, ZHANG Yan-Ping2, ZHANG Qi-Chun1, I. H. SHAMSI1, ZHANG Yong-Song1,2 and LIN Xian-Yong1,2
1 Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health of Ministry of Education, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China)
2 Key Laboratory of Subtropical Soil Science and Plant Nutrition of Zhejiang Province, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China)
ABSTRACT
      Soil drying and wetting impose significant influences on soil nitrogen (N) dynamics and microbial communities. However, effects of drying-wetting cycles, while common in vegetable soils, especially under greenhouse conditions, have not been well studied. In this study, two greenhouse vegetable soils, which were collected from Xinji (XJ) and Hangzhou (HZ), China, were maintained at 30% and 75% water-holding capacity (WHC), or five cycles of 75% WHC followed by a 7-day dry-down to 30% WHC (DW). Soil inorganic N content increased during incubation. Net N mineralization (Nmin), microbial activity, and microbial biomass were significantly higher in the DW treatment than in the 30% and 75% WHC treatments. The higher water content (75% WHC) treatment had higher Nmin, microbial activity, and microbial biomass than the lower water content treatment (30% WHC). Multivariate analyses of community-level physiological profile (CLPP) and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) data indicated that soil moisture regime had a significant effect on soil microbial community substrate utilization pattern and microbial community composition. The significant positive correlation between Nmin and microbial substrate utilization or PLFAs suggested that soil N mineralization had a close relationship with microbial community.
Key Words:  drying-wetting cycles, microbial activity, microbial biomass, microbial substrate utilization, phospholipid fatty acid
Citation: Chen, Q. H., Feng, Y., Zhang, Y. P., Zhang, Q. C., Shamsi, I. H., Zhang, Y. S. and Lin, X. Y. 2012. Shortterm responses of nitrogen mineralization and microbial community to moisture regimes in greenhouse vegetable soils. Pedosphere. 22(2): 263-272.
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