Metabolic characteristics of microbial communities of Aeolian sandy soils induced by saline water drip irrigation in shelter forests |
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| Authors: | Z Jin J Lei S Li X Xu |
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| Institution: | Department of Desert and Environment, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, South Beijing Road, Urumqi, China |
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| Abstract: | The microbial metabolic activities of soils sampled at eight depths (0–5, 5–15, 15–30, 30–50, 50–70, 70–100, 100–150 and 150–200 cm) in shelter forests (comprising the tree species, Haloxylon sp.) along the Tarim Desert Highway under drip irrigation with different saline waters were investigated by using Biolog technology. Variance analysis and principal component analysis were conducted. The average well colour development (AWCD) values for single carbon source use by microorganisms increased with the incubation time. The microorganisms reached a lag phase within 24 hours of incubation and entered exponential and stationary phases after 48 and 216 hours of incubation, respectively; however, the death phase was not obvious. As the salinity of drip irrigation water increased, the AWCD values significantly decreased; the AWCD value in the land drip‐irrigated with lowest saline water (S8) was roughly 20% larger than that of the land drip‐irrigated with highest saline water (S1), which was mainly caused by the differences in the use of carboxylic acids, amino acids and phenolic compounds by soil microorganisms. The vertical differences in carbon source utilization by soil microbial communities were obvious: these may be caused by the vertical differences in soil organism abundance associated with distribution of roots in the shelter forest. The largest and smallest AWCD values were noted in the 70–100‐cm soil layer and 0–5‐cm topsoil layer, respectively. The correlation coefficients between the AWCD values and soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, available potassium, available phosphorus, pH, cation exchange capacity and bulk density were > 0.85. Thus, the differences in carbon source metabolism activities of soil microorganisms were caused mainly by the soil chemical properties, with total nutrients being the main driving factor. Furthermore, the amounts of carboxylic acids, amino acids and polymers provided sensitive markers for distinguishing the ability of soil microorganisms to use carbon sources under drip irrigation with different saline waters. Saline water irrigation affected the soil microbial community in shelter forest and produced obvious differences among the shelter forests irrigated with different saline waters. |
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