Agricultural management and cultivation period alter soil enzymatic activity and bacterial diversity in litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) orchards

Background Agricultural management and temporal change including climate conditions and soil properties can result in the alteration of soil enzymatic activity and bacterial community, respectively. Therefore, different agricultural practices have been used globally to explore the soil quality. In this study, the temporal variations in soil property, enzymatic activity, and bacterial community at three successive trimester sampling intervals were performed in the soil samples of litchi orchards that were maintained under conventional and sustainable agricultural practices. Results Agricultural management found to significantly influence arylsulfatase, beta-glucosidase, and urease activities across time as observed by repeated-measures analysis of variance. Shannon and Simpson diversity indices, and the relative abundance of predominant Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria were significantly influenced by temporal change but not agricultural management. This suggested that soil enzymatic activity was more susceptible to the interaction of temporal change and agricultural management than that of the bacterial community. Multiple regression analysis identified total nitrogen, EC, and phosphorus as the significant predictors of acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase, and beta-glucosidase for explaining 29.5-39% of the variation. Moreover, the soil pH and EC were selected for the SOBS, Chao, ACE, and Shannon index to describe 33.8%, 79% of the variation, but no significant predictor was observed in the dominant bacterial phyla. Additionally, the temporal change involved in the soil properties had a greater effect on bacterial richness and diversity, and enzymatic activity than that of the dominant phyla of bacteria. Conclusions A long-term sustainable agriculture in litchi orchards would also decrease soil pH and phosphorus, resulting in low beta-glucosidase and urease activity, bacterial richness, and diversity. Nevertheless, application of chemical fertilizer could facilitate the soil acidification and lead to adverse effects on soil quality. The relationship between bacterial structure and biologically-driven ecological processes can be explored by the cross-over analysis of enzymatic activity, soil properties and bacterial composition.

Automated summary

The study showed significant effects of agricultural management and temporal change on soil enzymatic activity and bacterial community, with enzyme activity being more susceptible. Total nitrogen, EC, and phosphorus were important predictors of enzyme activity, while soil pH and EC were important for describing soil properties variation. The dominant bacterial phyla were not significant predictors, indicating that temporal changes had a greater impact on bacterial richness, diversity, and enzymatic activity.