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Soil microbial communities and enzyme activities in a reclaimed coastal soil chronosequence under rice–barley cropping

  • SOILS, SEC 5 · SOIL AND LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY · RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

A field experiment with a reclamation chronosequence under rice–barley cropping was conducted to investigate soil enzyme activities and microbiology in a coastal saline soil. The aim of this study was to test whether changes in enzyme activity and microbial community structure are directly impacted by changes in soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and organic carbon (SOC) due to reclamation.

Materials and methods

The research area is located in south-eastern China. Four experimental sites were reclaimed in 1976, 1984, 1996, and 2006, respectively, and each site was divided into three plots, each of which was 22 m × 10 m. Each year, the plots were planted with rice (cv Xiushui) in summer and barley (cv Yanmai) in winter. Soil pH and EC were determined in an aqueous suspension with a 1:5 ratio of soil and water. Soil organic carbon content was measured by dichromate oxidation with heating. Measured soil enzyme activities included catalase, urease, and protease. Soil microbial community structures were assessed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.

Results and discussion

Reclamation under rice–barley cropping reduced EC and pH, but increased SOC, the activities of catalase, urease and protease, and the cell numbers of bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi, resulting in an increase in the bacterial community diversity. The enzyme activities and bacterial community diversity were significantly positively correlated with SOC, and negatively correlated with pH and EC. Five bacterial groups related to Gaetbulibacter, Sporosarcina, Flavobacterium, Aequorivita, and Gillisia, which have been associated with saline waters, did not appear in the soils that had been reclaimed prior to 1996.

Conclusions

Results of this field study suggest that soil properties which affect microbial activity such as EC, pH, and SOC significantly influence the activities of catalase, urease, and protease, and microbial community composition. More than 10 years after reclamation under rice–barley cropping, EC had decreased and bacteria typically found in marine and saline environments had disappeared from the soil.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Commonweal Industry (Agricultural) Program of China (projects 200903001-1-7), the Department of Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province (projects 2005C105), and Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (projects Y507244). We would like to thank Drs. Andrea Donnison and Shuijun Hu for their constructive comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environment, Resource, Soil and Fertilizer, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, People’s Republic of China

    Qinglin Fu, Chen Liu, Nengfei Ding, Yicheng Lin & Bin Guo

  2. AgResearch, Ruakura Research Centre, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, 3240, New Zealand

    Jiafa Luo

  3. School of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang A & F University, Hangzhou, 311300, People’s Republic China

    Hailong Wang

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  1. Qinglin Fu
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  2. Chen Liu
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  3. Nengfei Ding
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  4. Yicheng Lin
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  5. Bin Guo
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Correspondence to Qinglin Fu or Hailong Wang.

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Responsible editor: Ji-Zheng He

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Fu, Q., Liu, C., Ding, N. et al. Soil microbial communities and enzyme activities in a reclaimed coastal soil chronosequence under rice–barley cropping. J Soils Sediments 12, 1134–1144 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0544-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-012-0544-7

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