Soil microbial nitrogen-cycling gene abundances in response to crop diversification: A meta-analysis
Abstract
Single planting structure has a significant impact on the maintenance of nitrogen in managed ecosystems. Although the effect of crop diversity on soil nitrogen-cycling microbes is mainly related to the influence of environmental factors, there is a lack of quantitative research. This study aims to determine the effect of diversified cropping mode on the abundance of functional genes in the soil nitrogen cycle based on the quantitative integration of a meta-analysis database containing 189 observation data pairs. The results show that the soil nifH (nitrogenase coding gene), nirS and nirK (nitrite reductase coding gene), and narG (nitrate reductase coding gene) abundances are positively affected by the diversity of plant species, whereas the amoA (ammonia monooxygenase coding gene) and nosZ (nitrous oxide reductase coding gene) show no response. Diversification duration and ecosystem type are important factors that regulate soil nitrogen fixation and nitrification gene abundances. Denitrification genes are mainly affected by categorical variables such as the planting pattern, soil layer, application species, duration, and soil texture. Among them, the long-term continuous diversification is mainly manifested in the reduction of soil nifH and increase of nirK abundances. Soil organic carbon and nitrogen linearly affect the responses of nifH, amoA, nirS, and nirK. Therefore, to maintain the soil ecological function, diversity of planting patterns needs to be applied flexibly by…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
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