Transfer of Nitrogen and Phosphorus From Cattle Manure to Soil and Oats Under Simulative Cattle Manure Deposition

Simulated cattle manure deposition was used to estimate nutrient transfer to soil and oats and to investigate changes in microbial community composition and functional groups in oat rhizospheres. Nutrient absorption and return efficiency were calculated as a series of standard calculation formulas, and total nutrient transfer efficiency was nutrient absorption efficiency plus nutrient return efficiency. In total, 74.83% of nitrogen (N) and 59.30% of phosphorus (P) in cattle manure were transferred to soil and oats, with 11.79% of N and 7.89% of P in cattle manure absorbed by oats, and the remainder sequestered in the soil for 80 days after sowing. Cattle manure increased oat root length, surface, and volume under 0.2 mm diameter, and improved relative abundance of the microbiome known to be beneficial. In response to cattle manure, several bacteria known to be beneficial, such as Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, and Firmicutes at phyla the level and Pseudoxanthomonas, Pseudomonas, and Sphingomonas at the genus level, were positively related to oat biomass and nutrient accumulation. For fungal communities, the relative abundance of Ascomycota is the predominant phylum, which varied in a larger range in the control treatment (81.0-63.3%) than the cattle manure deposition treatment (37.0-42.9%) as plant growing days extend. The relevant abundance of Basidiomycota known as decomposer was higher in cattle manure deposition treatment compared to that in control treatment at 15 days after sowing. More importantly, cattle manure deposition inhibited trophic mode within pathotroph like Alternaria and Fusarium fungal genus and promoted saprotroph and symbiotroph.

Automated summary

Simulated cattle manure deposition was used to investigate nutrient transfer, microbial community composition, and functional groups in oat rhizospheres. Cattle manure increased oat root growth and beneficial microbiome abundance. Bacteria such as Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, and Firmicutes, and genera such as Pseudoxanthomonas, Pseudomonas, and Sphingomonas were positively related to oat biomass and nutrient accumulation. The dominant phylum in fungal communities was Ascomycota, and cattle manure deposition inhibited pathotroph genera like Alternaria and Fusarium while promoting saprotroph and symbiotroph.