Microbial Community Composition and Activity in Saline Soils of Coastal Agro-Ecosystems

Soil salinity is a serious problem for agriculture in coastal regions. Nevertheless, the effects of soil salinity on microbial community composition and their metabolic activities are far from clear. To improve such understanding, we studied microbial diversity, community composition, and potential metabolic activity of agricultural soils covering non-, mild-, and severe-salinity. The results showed that salinity had no significant effect on bacterial richness; however, it was the major driver of a shift in bacterial community composition and it significantly reduced microbial activity. Abundant and diverse of microbial communities were detected in the severe-salinity soils with an enriched population of salt-tolerant species. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed stronger dependencies between species associated with severe salinity soils. Results of microcalorimetric technology indicated that, after glucose amendment, there was no significant difference in microbial potential activity among soils with the three salinity levels. Although the salt prolonged the lag time of microbial communities, the activated microorganisms had a higher growth rate. In conclusion, salinity shapes soil microbial community composition and reduces microbial activity. An addition of labile organic amendments can greatly alleviate salt restrictions on microbial activity, which provides new insight for enhancing microbial ecological functions in salt-affected soils.

Automated summary

Soil salinity has significant impacts on microbial community composition and metabolic activity. This study found that salinity drives a shift in bacterial community composition and reduces microbial activity. In severe-salinity soils, a diverse microbial community with a higher abundance of salt-tolerant species was observed. Addition of labile organic amendments can alleviate salt restrictions on microbial activity.