Effects of vermicompost application on soil quality and maize yield in coastal saline-alkali land
In order to explore the effects of exogenous organic ameliorant application on soil quality and maize yield in coastal saline-alkali land,vermicompost was chosen as exogenous organic ameliorant.Four treatments were set up,including non-vermicompost application control(CK),vermicompost application rate of 50 t/hm2(V50),vermicompost application rate of 100 t/hm2(V100),and vermicompost application rate of 200 t/hm2(V200).The effects of vermicompost application on soil physicochemical properties,enzyme ac-tivity,microbial carbon source utilization pattern,microbial community composition,and maize growth and yield in coastal saline-alkali land were investigated.The results showed that compared with the control,the plant height,biomass and yield of maize in coastal saline-alkali land with vermi-compost were significantly increased.After the application of vermicompost,the soil pH and salt content decreased significant-ly,and the contents of organic carbon,total nitrogen,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and available phosphorus increased signifi-cantly.After the application of vermicompost,the activities of soil fluorescein diacetate hydrolase,sucrase,urease and alka-line phosphatase were significantly increased,the metabolic activity of soil microbial carbon source,Shannon diversity index and richness index were significantly increased,and the metabolic ability to amino acids,phenolic acids and carbohydrates was significantly enhanced.In addition,the results of high-throughput sequencing showed that vermicompost reshaped the soil microbial community in coastal saline-alkali land,and the dominant position of functional microbial groups such as Desulfo-monas,Bacillus and Mortierella was significantly improved.Procrustes analysis indicated that the improvement of maize growth and yield in coastal saline-alkali land after vermicompost application was significantly correlated with the improvement of soil physical and chemical properties,enzyme activity,microbial community composition and functional diversity.In summary,vermicompost could improve soil quality and promote maize yield by reducing soil salt and alkali damage,increasing soil or-ganic carbon,improving nutrient supply,reshaping microbial communities and enhancing their functional diversity.The treat-ment of vermicompost at application rate of 200 t/hm2 exhibited the best effect on the improvement of soil quality and maize yield,but the increment of maize yield resulted by organics per unit mass decreased.The results of this study are of great sig-nificance to ensure the sustainable development of agriculture in coastal saline-alkali land.
万方数据
维普
