Continuous Four‐Year Biogas Slurry Application Regulates the Soil Fertility, Microbial Communities, and Nitrogen Cycling Functions in a Farmland Ecosystem
Bibliographic Data
Biogas slurry (BS) is widely applied as a crop fertilizer due to its high available nitrogen content. However, the effects of continuous BS application on soil fertility and nitrogen cycling in the farmland ecosystem remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the continuous four‐year BS application on soil properties, enzyme activity, microbial communities, and nitrogen cycling functions in a farmland field. The results showed that BS could increase soil alkali‐hydrolyzable nitrogen, total and available phosphorus, available potassium, organic matter, and the soil NH 4 + ‐N and NO 3 − ‐N concentrations over time. Moreover, BS application also changed the activities of key soil enzymes (e.g., urease, nitrate reductase, catalase, and phosphatase). Furthermore, the high‐throughput sequencing revealed an increase in the relative abundance of Proteobacteria , and decreases in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes , Acidobacteria , Actinobacteria , Planctomycetes , and Nitrospiraceae with continuous BS application. With the BS application years increasing, the abundance of amoA ‐AOB initially increased and then declined, while the nitrogen cycling genes (e.g., narG , nirS , norB , and nosZ ) exhibited significant alterations. Overall, these shifts indicate that continuous BS improves soil nutrient status and enzyme‐mediated processes while reshaping bacterial community structure and the expression of key nitrogen‐functional genes. This work provides new insights into the fertility benefits and the microbial‐ecological trade‐offs of repeated BS fertilization
Cycling · Ecosystem · Fertilizer · Manure · Nitrogen · Nitrogen Cycle · Nutrient cycle · Soil fertility · Bioenergy crop production and management · Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology · Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
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