Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Volume 15, Issue 9, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15091797
Keywords
litter decomposition; soil microbial biomass; soil enzyme activity
Funding
- Open Program of State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, CASMWR [A314021402-1812]
- Doctor Foundation of Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences [YBSJJ1614]
- Foundation of the youth science and technology research in Shanxi province [201701D221206]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Litter, the link between soil and plant, is an important part of nutrient return to soil. Deeply understanding the effect of litter decomposition on soil microbiological properties is important for the sustainable development of grasslands. Three plants (Thymus quinquecostatus Celak., Stipa bungeana Trin. and Artemisia sacrorum ledeb.) leaf litter were selected. A simulation experiment using the nylon bag method was conducted to measure the soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and soil enzyme activity during litter decomposition. The results showed that the decomposition of three leaf litter enhanced soil microbial carbon and nitrogen. The change rate of soil microbial carbon and nitrogen decreased as Ar.S > St.B > Th.Q. The activities of soil invertase, soil urease, and soil nitrate reductase were significantly improved by the coverage of leaf litter. After 741-day litter decomposition, the change rate of soil invertase was from 16.7% to 33.2%. The change rate of soil urease was highest in the Th.Q treatment; St.B treatment and Ar.S treatment followed, and lowest in the control. The change rates of soil nitrate reductase in the St.B and Ar.S treatment were >1000% higher than those of other treatments. The response of soil enzyme activity to litter decomposition lagged behind the change of soil microbial biomass. The significant increase of soil microbial biomass and enzyme activity demonstrated that litter decomposition played an important role in maintaining soil ecological function.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available