Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Soil science dep. Gorgan university of agricultural sciences and natural resources. Gorgan. IRAN

2 Soil science dep. Gorgan university of agricultural sciences and natural resources.Goran. IRAN

Abstract

Introduction: Soil microorganisms play an important role in maintaining soil quality through the decomposition of organic matter and nutrients cycling. The quantity of plant residue has a positive effect on the accumulation of organic carbon in the soil. One of the most important problems hampering the release of nutrients from plant residues is the high content of lignocellulose in their structure. Therefore, biological treatment has been considered as a candidate to improve lignocellulosic conversion and more release of nutrients from them. Salinity reduces microbial biomass and decreases their activity in decomposition of soil organic matter and organic matter input into soil. Due to the importance of the role of microorganisms in the storage and release of energy and nutrients in the soil, in recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the estimation of microbial activity and biomass in soil. Therefore, the aim of this study was to study the effect of salinity, inoculation of Pleurotus astreatus and wheat residue on respiration, microbial biomass carbon, organic carbon, carbon availability index and metabolic quotient.
Materials and Methods: The experiment was conducted as a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement in three replications under controlled laboratory conditions at Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Factors included three salinity levels (0, 8 and 15 dS m-1), two fungal levels (0 and 5%) and two wheat residue levels (0 and 1%, w/w). Salinity treatments including (control), 8 and 15 dS m-1 was applied using a mixture of salts (NaCl, KCl and MgCl2 with a molar ratio of 3:2:1). Wheat straw was treated pleurotus fungus and the treated straw was then thoroughly mixed into the soil. To activate the microbial population, soil moisture was adjusted to about 70% of the field capacity and the containers were pre-incubated at room temperature for 2 weeks. The samples were incubated at 25±2°C for 90 days. Microbial biomass carbon, organic carbon was measured at monthly intervals, microbial respiration was measured weekly and substrate-induced respiration (SIR) was measured once at the end of the incubation period.
Results and Discussion: The results show that salinity has a negative effect on microbial activity and population, but wheat residues reduce the effect of salinity stress on soil microbial community. Inoculation of Pleurotus into the soil also increased the respiration and microbial biomass. The interaction of wheat residues and Pleurotus on microbial activity in saline soil was greater than their effect alone. According to the results, the simultaneous addition of Pleurotus and wheat residue increases organic carbon (%98), microbial respiration rate (90%), substrate respiration (69%) and microbial biomass carbon (79%) and decreases the metabolic coefficient (6%). Salinity reduced respiration (78%), microbial biomass carbon (81%) and carbon availability index (23%), which indicates a decrease in carbon for microbial activity in saline soils. The lowest and highest microbial activity and biomass were in saline soil (15 dS m-1) not treated with wheat residues and Pleurotus (S2F0R0) and in non-saline soils treated with wheat residues enriched with Pleurotus (S0F1R1), respectively. The results showed that higher salinity level (15 dS m-1) further decreased the measured characteristics including carbon availability index, respiration and microbial biomass carbon compared with 8 dS m-1 salinity level in all treatments. In non-treated soil with wheat residue and Pleurotus, salinity level of 8 dS m-1 reduced MBC by 43, 46 and 44 % compared to control (non-saline) soil. The results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between microbial respiration rate and salinity (P <0.01, r = - 0.87). Salinity reduced microbial respiration rate and the effect of salinity on reducing microbial respiration rate of soil with EC 15 dSm-1 was higher than lower salinity level (8 dSm-1). Also, inoculation of Pleurotus in soil led to increase microbial respiration rate compared with non-treated one. According to the results, salinity levels of 8 and 15 dSm-1 reduced carbon availability index in soil treated with Pleurotus and wheat residue by 18% and 23%, respectively, compared to non-saline soil.
Conclusion: The addition of wheat straw enriched with Pleurotus astreatus increased microbial respiration, organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon, substrate-induced respiration and carbon availability index due to the increase of available substrate. Therefore, in saline soils with carbon restriction, increasing the level of organic matter, increased microbial activity and biological potentials in the soil. However, further information on responses of microbial indicators to the joint effect of salinity and Plant residues enriched with other microorganisms is required.

Received
Received in revised form
Accepted

Key words:
Carbon availability index, Microbial biomass carbon, Microbial respiration rate, Soil organic carbon, Substrate-induced respiration

Keywords

  1. Alef, K., and Nannipieri, P. 1995. Enzyme activities. In: Alef K. and Nannipieri P. (eds.) Methods in Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry. Academic Press, New York. pp: 311- 373.
  2. Anderson, J.P.E. 1982. Soil respiration. In: Miller R.H. and Keeney D.R. (eds.) Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties. The American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin. pp: 831- 871.
  3. Anderson, T.H. 2003. Microbial eco-physiological indicators to asses soil quality. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 98:285-293.
  4. Ankush,, Prakash, R., Kumar, R., Singh, V., Harender, H., and Singh, V. 2020. Soil microbial and nutrient dynamics influenced by irrigation-induced salinity and sewage sludge incorporation in sandy–loam textured soil. International Agrophysics. 34:451-462.
  5. Blagodatsky, S.A., Heinemeyer, O., and Richter, J. 2000. Estimating the active and total soil microbial biomass by kinetic respiration analysis. Biology and Fertility of Soils. 32:73-81.
  6. Chen, R., Senbayram, M., Blagodatsky, S., Myachina, O., Dittert, K., Lin, X., Blagodatskaya, E., and Kuzyakov, Y. 2014. Soil C and N availability determine the priming effect: microbial N mining and stoichiometric decomposition theories. Global Change Biology. 20:2356-2367.
  7. Cheng, W., Coleman, D.C., Carroll, C.R., and Hoffman, C.A. 1993. In situ measurements of root respiration and soluble carbon concentrations in the rhizosphere. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 25:1189-1196.
  8. Cong, P., Wanga, J., Lia, Y., Liua, N., Dong, J., Panga, H., Zhanga, L., and Gaoa, Z. 2020. Changes in soil organic carbon and microbial community under varying straw incorporation strategies. Soil and Tillage Research. 204:104735.
  9. Drake, J.A., Cavagnaro, T.R., Cunningham, S.C., Jackson, W.R., and Patti, A.F. 2016. Does biochar improve establishment of tree seedlings in saline sodic soils? Land Degradation and Development. 27:52-59.
  10. Economou, C.N., Diamantopoulou, P.A., and Philippoussis, A.N. 2017. Valorization of spent oyster mushroom substrate and laccase recovery through successive solid state cultivation of Pleurotus, Ganoderma, and Lentinula Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 101:5213-5222.
  11. Elgharably, A., Marschner, P. 2011. Microbial activity and biomass and N and P availability in a saline sandy loam amended with inorganic N and lupin residues. European Journal of Soil Biology. 47:310-315.
  12. Gunarathne, V., Senadeera, A., Gunarathne, U., Biswas, J.K., Almaroai, Y.A., and Vithanage, M. 2020. Potential of biochar and organic amendments for reclamation of coastal acidic-salt affected soil. Biochar. 2:107-120.
  13. Katya, K., Yun, Y., Park, G., Lee, J., Yoo, G., and Bai, S.C. 2014. Evaluation of the efficacy of fermented by-product of mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, as a fish meal replacer in juvenile Amur catfish, Silurus asotus: effects on growth, serological ccharacteristics and immune responses. Asian Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences. 27:1478–1486.
  14. Kochsiek, A., Knops, J., and Zhang, W. 2013. Effects of nitrogen availability on the fate of litter-carbon and soil organic matter decomposition. Journal of Environment and Climate Change. 3:24-43.
  15. Li, L., Han, X., You, M., Yuan, Y., Ding, W., and Qiao, Y. 2013. Carbon and nitrogen mineralization patterns of two contrasting crop residues in a Mollisol: effects of residue type and placement in soils. European Journal of Soil Biology. 54:1-6.
  16. Liu, M., Hu, F., Chen, X., Huang, Q., Jiao, J., Zhang, B., and Li, H. 2009. Organic amendments with reduced chemical fertilizer promote soil microbial development and nutrient availability in a subtropical paddy field: the influence of quantity, type and application time of organic amendments. Applied Soil Ecology. 42:166-175.
  17. Liu, S., Yang, M., Cheng, F., Coxixo, A., Wu, X., and Zhang, Y. 2018. Factors driving the relationships between vegetation and soil properties in the Yellow River Delta, China. Catena. 165:279-285.
  18. Liu, S.W., Zhang, Y.J., Zong, Y.J., Hu, Z.Q., Wu, S., Zhou, J., Jin, Y.G., and Zou, J.W. 2015. Response of soil carbon dioxide fluxes, soil organic carbon andmicrobial biomass carbon to biochar amendment: a meta-analysis. GCB Bioenergy. 8:392-406.
  19. Liu, X.J., Ruecker, A., Song, B., Conner, W.H., and Chow, A. 2017. Effects of salinity and wet-dry treatments on C and N dynamics in coastal-forested wetland soils: implications of sea level rise. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 112:56-
  20. Lou, Y., Liang, W., Xu, M., He, X., Wang, Y., and Zhao, K. 2011. Straw coverage alleviates seasonal variability of the topsoil microbial biomass and activity. Catena. 86:117-120.
  21. Melanouri, E., Dedousi, M., and Diamantopoulou, P. 2022. Cultivating Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus eryngii mushroom strains on agro-industrial residues in solid-state fermentation. Part II: Effect on productivity and quality of carposomes. Carbon Resources Conversion. 5:52-60.
  22. Moameni, A. 2010. Geographical distribution and salinity levels of soil resources of Iran. Soil Research. 24: 203-215. (In Persian with English abstract).
  23. Moreira, H., Pereira, S.I.A., Marques, A.P.G.C., Rangel, A.O.S.S., and Castro, P.M.L. 2016. Mine land valorization through energy maize production enhanced by the application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 23:6940-6950.
  24. Moscatelli, M., Di Tizio, A., Marinari, S., and Grego, S. 2007. Microbial indicators related to soil carbon in Mediterranean land use systems. Soil and Tillage Research. 97:51-59.
  25. Nelson, D.W., and Sommers, L.E., 1996. Total carbon, organic carbon and organic matter. In: Sparks, D.L. (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 3. Chemical methods. Soil Science Society of America. Madison. Wisconsin. pp:961-1011.
  26. Page, A.L., Miller, R.H., and Keeney, D.R. 1982. Methods of Analysis. Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties. American Society of Agronomy. In Soil Science Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin. 1159p.
  27. Parastesh, F., Alikhani, H., Etesami, H., and Hasandokht, M. 2019. The effect of vermicompost enriched with phosphate solubilizing bacteria on phosphorus availability, pH and biological indices in a calcareous soil. Journal of Soil Management and Sustainable Production. 9:25-46.
  28. Philippoussis, A. 2009. Production of mushrooms using agro-industrial residues as substrates, in: P. Sing Nigam, A. Pandey (eds.), Biotechnology for agro-industrial residues processing, Springer, Berlin. pp:163–196.
  29. Pokharel, P., Ma, Z., and Chang, S.X. 2020. Biochar increases soil microbial biomass with changes in extra-and intracellular enzyme activities: a global meta-analysis. Biochar. 2:65-79.
  30. Qin, J., Liu, H., Zhao, J., Wang, H., Zhang, H., Yang, D., and Zhang, 2020. The roles of bacteria in soil organic carbon accumulation under nitrogen deposition in Stipa baicalensis steppe. Microorganisms. 8:326.
  31. Raiesi, F., and Sadeghi, E. 2019. Interactive effect of salinity and cadmium toxicity on soil microbial properties and enzyme activities. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 168:221-229.
  32. Rath, K.M., and Rousk, J. 2015. Salt effects on the soil microbial decomposer community and their role in organic carbon cycling: a review. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 81:108-
  33. Rath, K.M., Maheshwari, A., and Rousk, J. 2017. The impact of salinity on the microbial response to drying and rewetting in soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 108:17-
  34. Rezaee Danesh, N., Rasouli-Sadaghiani, M., Moradi, N., and Barin, M. The effect of compost, biochar and bio-inoculant on enzymatic activity and some soil microbial indices. Journal of Soil Biology. 2:141-155. (In Persian).
  35. Rossini-Oliva, S., Mingorance, M., and Pena, A. 2017. Effect of two different composts on soil quality and on the growth of various plant species in a polymetallic acidic mine soil. Chemosphere. 168:183-190.
  36. Sadeghi, E., Raiesi, F., and Hossienpur, A. 2018. Interactive effects of salinity and cadmium pollution on enzyme activity in a calcareous soil treated with plant residues. Journal of Water and Soil. 31:1623-1636. (In Persian).
  37. Salmones, D., Mata, G., and Waliszewski, K. 2005. Comparative culturing of Pleurotus on coffee pulp and wheat straw: biomass production and substrate biodegradation. Bioresource Technology. 96:537-544.
  38. She, R., Yu, Y., Ge, C., and Yao, H. 2021. Soil texture alters the impact of salinity on carbon mineralization. 11:128.
  39. Shi, S., Tian, L., Nasir, F., Bahadur, A., Batool, A., Luo, S., Yang, F., Wang, Z., and Tian, C. 2019. Response of microbial communities and enzyme activities to amendments in saline-alkaline soils. Applied Soil Ecology. 135:16-24.
  40. Singh, B., Rengel, Z., and Bowden, J.W. 2006. Carbon, nitrogen and sulphur cycling following incorporation of canola residue of different sizes into a nutrient-poor sandy soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 38:32-42.
  41. Singh, R., Mavi, M.S., and Choudhary, O.P., 2019. Saline soils can be ameliorated by adding biochar generated from rice residue waste. Clean - Soil, Air, Water. 47:1700656.
  42. Singh, V., Vyas, D., Pandey, R., and Sheik, I.A. 2015. Pleurotus ostreatus produces antioxidant and anti arthritis activity in wistar albino rats. World Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 4:1230–1246.
  43. Suman, A., Lal, M., Singh, A., and Gaur, A. 2006. Microbial biomass turnover in Indian subtropical soils under different sugarcane intercropping systems. Agronomy Journal. 98:698-704.
  44. Tripathi, S., Kumari, S., Chakraborty, A., Gupta, A., Chakrabarti, K., and Bandyapadhyay, B.K. 2006. Microbial biomass and its activities in salt-affected coastal soils. Biology and Fertility of Soils. 42:273-277.
  45. Usman, A.R.A. 2015. Influence of NaCl-induced salinity and Cd toxicity on respiration activity and Cd availability to barley plants in farmyard manure-amended soil. Applied and Environmental Soil Science. 2015:1-8.
  46. Vance, E., Brookes, P., and Jenkinson, D. 1987. An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 19:703-707.
  47. Wang, J., Sun, Q., Shang, J., Shang, J., Zhang, J., Wu, F., Zhou, G., and Dai, Q. 2020. A new approach for estimating soil salinity using a low-cost soil sensor in situ: a case study in saline regions of China’s east coast. Remote Sensing. 12:239.
  48. Wang, Y., Villamil, M.B., Davidson, P.C., and Akdeniz, N. 2019. A quantitative understanding of the role of co-composted biochar in plant growth using meta-analysis. Science of the Total Environment. 685:741-752.
  49. Wu, L., Zhang, S., Ma, R., Chen, M., Wei, W., and Ding, X. 2021. Carbon sequestration under different organic amendments in saline-alkaline soils. Catena 196: 104882.
  50. Xia, J.B., Ren, R.R., Zhang, S.Y., Wang, Y.H., and Fang, Y. 2019. Forest and grass composite patterns improve the soil quality in the coastal saline-alkali land of the Yellow River Delta, China. Geoderma. 349:25-35.
  51. Xiao, D., Huang, Y., Feng, S.Z., Ge, Y.H., Zhang, W., He, X.Y., and Wang, K.L. 2018. Soil organic carbon mineralization with fresh organic substrate and inorganic carbon additions in a red soil is controlled by fungal diversity along a pH gradient. Geoderma. 321:79-89.
  52. Xu, Y., Seshadri, B., Bolan, N., Sarkar, B., Ok, Y.S., Zhang, W., Rumpel, C., Sparks, D., Farrell, M., Hall, T., and Dong, Z. 2019. Microbial functional diversity and carbon use feedback in soils as affected by heavy metals. Environment International. 125:478-488.
  53. Yang, C., Wang, X., Miao, F., Li, Z., Tang, W., and Sun, J. 2020. Assessing the effect of soil salinization on soil microbial respiration and diversities under incubation conditions. Applied Soil Ecology. 155:103671.
  54. Yang, Ch., Dantong, L., Shenyi, J., Hao, L., Junqi, S., Kangjia, L., and Juan, S. 2021. Soil salinity regulation of soil microbial carbon metabolic function in the Yellow River Delta, China. Science of the Total Environment. 790:148258.
  55. Zhao, Q.Q., Bai, J.H., Gao, Y.C., Zhao, H.X., Zhang, G.L., and Cui, B.S., 2020. Shifts of soil bacterial community along a salinity gradient in the Yellow River Delta. Land Degradation & Development. 31:2255-2267
  56. Zhu, T., Shao, T., Liu, J., Li, N., Long, X, Gao, X., and Rengel, Z. 2021. Improvement of physico-chemical properties and microbiome in different salinity soils by incorporating Jerusalem artichoke Applied Soil Ecology. 158:103791.