Open Access

ARTICLE

Effects of Different Chinese Hickory Husk Returning Modes on Soil Nutrition and Microbial Community in Acid Forest Soil

Qian Liu¹, Sayikal Duyxanale¹, Yongqian Tang², Xinyu Shen¹, Yuanlai Zhao¹, Xinru Ma¹, Shuai Shao¹, Chenfei Liang^1,*

1 State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, China
2 Lingfeng Temple Forest Farm, Anji, 313300, China

* Corresponding Author: Chenfei Liang. Email:

(This article belongs to this Special Issue: The Effect of Soil Quality Degradation on the Plant Growth, Quality and Food Safety in Subtropical Agroforestry Ecosystems)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2023, 92(3), 943-954. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2022.023225

Received 20 April 2022; Accepted 23 May 2022; Issue published 29 November 2022

Abstract

Chinese hickory (Carya cathayensis Sarg.) is an important economic forest in Southeastern China. A large amount of hickory husk waste is generated every year but with a low proportion of returning. Meanwhile, intensive management has resulted in soil degradation of Chinese hickory plantations. This study aims to investigate the effects of three Chinese hickory husk returning modes on soil amendment, including soil acidity, soil nutrition, and microbial community. The field experiment carried out four treatments: control (CK), hickory husk mulching (HM), hickory husk biochar (BC), and hickory husk organic fertilizer (OF). The phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) biomarker method was employed to determine the soil microbial community. After one year of treatment, the results showed that: (i) HM and BC significantly increased soil pH by 0.33 and 1.71 units, respectively; (ii) HM, BC and OF treatments significantly increased the soil organic carbon, alkaline nitrogen, available phosphorous, and available potassium. The OF treatment demonstrated the most significant improvement in the soil nutrient; (iii) The soil microbial biomass significantly increased in the HM, BC and OF treatments, and all microbial groups showed an increasing trend. HM treatment increased the fungal/bacterial ratio (F/B). The OF treatment significantly decreased the Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’) and evenness index (J) of the microbial community (P < 0.05). Considering the treatments effects, costs, and ease of operation, our recommended returning modes of Chinese hickory husk are mulching and organic fertilizer produced by composting with manure.

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Keywords

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