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Gou X, Hu Y, Ni H, Wang X, Qiu L, Chang X, Shao M, Wei G, Wei X. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alleviate erosional soil nitrogen loss by regulating nitrogen cycling genes and enzymes in experimental agro-ecosystems. Sci Total Environ 2024; 906:167425. [PMID: 37774877 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Nutrient losses from agricultural ecosystems are increasingly threatening global environmental and human health. Although arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have the potential to regulate soil nitrogen (N) loss by enhancing plant uptake and soil particle immobilization, the microbial mechanism behind such mycorrhizal effect is unknown. Herein, by conducting a simulated erosion experiment, we compared the effects of exogenous AM fungal inoculation (Funneliformis mosseae) on the gene abundances and enzyme activities of N-cycling processes, and associated such effect to N uptake and loss. The experiment was composed of combinations of two AM fungal treatments (control vs. AM fungal inoculation), two crops (maize vs. soybean) and two slopes of the plots (6° vs. 20°). The experimental plots subjected to natural rainfalls to simulate the erosion events. We showed that the effects of AM fungi were greater in the maize soils than in the soybean soils. In the maize soils, AM fungi increased the abundances of N-fixing (+81.1 %) and nitrifying genes (+200.7 %) and N cycling enzyme activity (+22.3 %). In the soybean soils, AM fungi increased the N-fixing gene abundance (+36.9 %) but decreased the abundance of nitrifying genes (-18.9 %). The abundance of N-fixing gene was positively correlated with N uptake but negatively correlated with N loss. Additionally, AM fungi enhanced the effects of mycorrhizal colonization and moisture but decreased the effects of nutrients on soil microbial metrics related to N-cycling processes. Therefore, AM fungal inoculation enhanced N uptake and reduced N loss by increasing N-fixing gene abundance, and that AM fungi should be preferably used for the low N environments or for the ecosystems highly limited by or competing for N.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaomei Gou
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, the Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yaxian Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, the Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; College of Soil & Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
| | - Huaqian Ni
- College of Soil & Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
| | - Xiang Wang
- College of Soil & Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Liping Qiu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, the Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; College of Soil & Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
| | - Xingchen Chang
- College of Soil & Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
| | - Mingan Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, the Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; College of Soil & Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Gehong Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, the Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; College of Soil & Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
| | - Xiaorong Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, the Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; College of Soil & Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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