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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Terrestrial Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1495682
This article is part of the Research Topic Microbe Empowering Green Agriculture and Boosting Productivity and Quality View all 3 articles

How do various strategies for returning residues change microbiota modulation: potential implications for soil health

Provisionally accepted
Nan Jiang Nan Jiang 1Zhenhua Chen Zhenhua Chen 1*Yi Ren Yi Ren 2*Shichang Xie Shichang Xie 3*Zimeng Yao Zimeng Yao 1*Dongqi Jiang Dongqi Jiang 1*Yulan Zhang Yulan Zhang 1*Lijun Chen Lijun Chen 1*
  • 1 Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenyang, China
  • 2 Iotabiome Biotechnology Inc., Suzhou, Jiangxu 215000, China, Suzhou, Liaoning Province, China
  • 3 Soochow University Medical College, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Residue incorporation is a crucial aspect of anthropogenic land management practices in agricultural fields. However, the effects of various returning strategies on the soil microbiota, which play an essential vital role in maintaining soil health, remains largely unexplored. In a study conducted, different residue management strategies were implemented, involving the application of chemical fertilizers and residues that had undergone chopping (SD), composting (SC), and pyrolysis (BC) processes, with conventional fertilization serving as the control (CK). Using metagenomic sequencing, the analysis revealed that while all residue returning strategies had minimal effects on the diversity (both α and β) of microbiota, they did significantly alter microbial functional genes related to carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S) cycling, as well as the presence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogens. Specifically, chopped residues were found to enhance microbial genes associated with C, N, P, and S cycling, while composted residues primarily stimulated C and S cycling. Furthermore, all residue treatments resulted in a disruption of relationships among nutrient cycles, with varying degrees of impact observed across the different management strategies, with the sequence of impact being SD < SC < BC. Moreover, the residue additions resulted in the accumulation of ARGs, while only SC caused an increase in certain pathogens. Finally, through analyzing the correlation network among indices that exhibited active responses to residue additions, potential indicators for functional changes in response to residue additions were identified. This study further offered recommendations for future cropland management practices aimed at enhancing soil health through microbiomes.

    Keywords: Residue returning, Soil health, Soil microbiomes, nutrient cycling, antibiotic resistance genes, pathogen

    Received: 13 Sep 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jiang, Chen, Ren, Xie, Yao, Jiang, Zhang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Zhenhua Chen, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenyang, China
    Yi Ren, Iotabiome Biotechnology Inc., Suzhou, Jiangxu 215000, China, Suzhou, Liaoning Province, China
    Shichang Xie, Soochow University Medical College, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu Province, China
    Zimeng Yao, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenyang, China
    Dongqi Jiang, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenyang, China
    Yulan Zhang, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenyang, China
    Lijun Chen, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenyang, China

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