The effects of combined application of chemical fertilizer, functional bacteria and plant hormones on vegetation restoration of desertification land in Zoige Plateau

Background and aimsThe problem of desertification is becoming increasingly serious in the Zoige Plateau. How to carry out vegetation restoration more efficiently in desertified area has been a hotspot. This study aims to improve the vegetation restoration capacity in the desertified area of Zoige Plateau.MethodsIn this study, Elymus sibiricus, Elymus dahuricus Turcz and Avena sativa were used as restoration plants in desertified areas. The application concentrations of palygorskite fertilizers (PF), bacterial fertilizers (BF) and phyto-hormones were determined by orthogonal test. The restoration effects were determined based on the fractional vegetation cover (FVC), soil physicochemical properties and soil microbial community after restoration.ResultsThe results showed that FVC was improved in desertified lands through the addition of PF, BF and phyto-hormones, and the best performance of the combined application improved the FVC up to 67.9%. Meanwhile, the contents of available phosphorus and available nitrogen were also significantly increased compared with the control. Moreover, 16S sequencing analysis showed that Flavobacteria and Herbaspirillum were increased in the plots with high FVC compared to the ones in the control (p < 0.05). Functional prediction by using Tax4Fun revealed that the KEGG pathways of bacteria in the plots with high FVC were enriched for oxidation and amino associated enzymes.ConclusionThe addition of fertilizers and phytohormones improves FVC in desertified areas, and this improvement may be caused by increased soil nutrients and some functional soil microorganisms.

Automated summary

This study aims to improve vegetation restoration capacity in the desertified area of the Zoige Plateau by using palygorskite fertilizers, bacterial fertilizers, and phytohormones. The addition of these additives significantly increased fractional vegetation cover and soil nutrient levels. Moreover, the soil microbial community in high FVC plots was enriched with functional bacteria associated with oxidation and amino metabolism.