Historical tillage promotes grass-legume mixtures establishment and accelerates soil microbial activity and organic carbon decomposition

doi:10.1007/s40333-024-0021-3

Journal of Arid Land

2024, Vol. 16

Issue (7): 910-924 DOI: 10.1007/s40333-024-0021-3

Research article

Historical tillage promotes grass-legume mixtures establishment and accelerates soil microbial activity and organic carbon decomposition

ZHOU Jiqiong¹^,^*(

), GONG Jinchao¹, WANG Pengsen¹, SU Yingying¹, LI Xuxu¹, LI Xiangjun¹, LIU Lin¹, BAI Yanfu¹, MA Congyu¹, WANG Wen², HUANG Ting¹, YAN Yanhong¹, ZHANG Xinquan¹

¹Department of Grassland Science, College of Grassland Science & Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
²Yunnan Sheep Breeding and Extension Center, Kunming 655204, China

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Abstract

Perennial grass-legume mixtures have been extensively used to restore degraded grasslands, increasing grassland productivity and forage quality. Tillage is crucial for seedbed preparation and sustainable weed management for the establishment of grass-legume mixtures. However, a common concern is that intensive tillage may alter soil characteristics, leading to losses in soil organic carbon (SOC). We investigated the plant community composition, SOC, soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC), soil enzyme activities, and soil properties in long-term perennial grass-legume mixtures under two different tillage intensities (once and twice) as well as in a fenced grassland (FG). The establishment of grass-legume mixtures increased plant species diversity and plant community coverage, compared with FG. Compared with once tilled grassland (OTG), twice tilled grassland (TTG) enhanced the coverage of high-quality leguminous forage species by 380.3%. Grass-legume mixtures with historical tillage decreased SOC and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, whereas soil MBC concentrations in OTG and TTG increased by 16.0% and 16.4%, respectively, compared with FG. TTG significantly decreased the activity of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) by 72.3%, whereas soil enzyme β-glucosidase (βG) in OTG and TTG increased by 55.9% and 27.3%, respectively, compared with FG. Correlation analysis indicated a close association of the increase in MBC and βG activities with the rapid decline in SOC. This result suggested that MBC was a key driving factor in soil carbon storage dynamics, potentially accelerating soil carbon cycling and facilitating biogeochemical cycling. The establishment of grass-legume mixtures effectively improves forage quality and boosts plant diversity, thereby facilitating the restoration of degraded grasslands. Although tillage assists in establishing legume-grass mixtures by controlling weeds, it accelerates microbial activity and organic carbon decomposition. Our findings provide a foundation for understanding the process and effectiveness of restoration management in degraded grasslands.

Key words： tillage grass-legume mixtures fencing grassland microbial biomass carbon β-glucosidase (βG) N-acetyl- β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG)

Received: 06 March 2024 Published: 31 July 2024

Corresponding Authors: * ZHOU Jiqiong (E-mail: jiqiong_zhou@sicau.edu.cn)

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The first and second authors contributed equally to this work.

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	ZHOU Jiqiong
	GONG Jinchao
	WANG Pengsen
	SU Yingying
	LI Xuxu
	LI Xiangjun
	LIU Lin
	BAI Yanfu
	MA Congyu
	WANG Wen
	HUANG Ting
	YAN Yanhong
	ZHANG Xinquan

Cite this article:

ZHOU Jiqiong, GONG Jinchao, WANG Pengsen, SU Yingying, LI Xuxu, LI Xiangjun, LIU Lin, BAI Yanfu, MA Congyu, WANG Wen, HUANG Ting, YAN Yanhong, ZHANG Xinquan. Historical tillage promotes grass-legume mixtures establishment and accelerates soil microbial activity and organic carbon decomposition. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(7): 910-924.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-024-0021-3 OR http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2024/V16/I7/910

Type of grassland	Plant species	Family	Relative abundance (%)
FG	Imperata cylindrica (L.) P. Beauv.	Gramineae	73.59±4.42
	Eragrostis ferruginea (Thunb.) P. Beauv.	Gramineae	2.56±0.00
	Artemisia dubia Wall. ex Besser subf. intermedia Pamp.	Compositae	8.21±2.10
	Galium aparine L.	Rubiaceae	7.80±2.20
	Aster indicus L.	Compositae	1.97±1.33
	Duchesnea indica (Andrews) Focke	Rosaceae	2.83±0.00
	Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyl.	Lamiaceae	4.64±0.00
	Lonicera japonica Thunb.	Caprifoliaceae	1.11±0.00
	Potentilla chinensis Ser.	Rosaceae	1.15±0.00
	Origanum vulgare L.	Lamiaceae	5.00±0.00
	Dichondra micrantha Urb.	Convolvulaceae	1.23±0.00
	Dactylis glomerata L.	Gramineae	1.11±0.00
	Trifolium repens L.	Leguminosae	1.23±0.00
OTG	Dactylis glomerata L.	Gramineae	44.60±9.62
	Trifolium repens L.	Leguminosae	6.58±3.00
	Lolium perenne L.	Gramineae	3.59±0.62
	Cynodon dactylon (L.) Persoon	Gramineae	6.30±6.10
	Vicia Sativa L.	Leguminosae	0.46±0.24
	Artemisia dubia Wall. ex Besser subf. intermedia Pamp.	Compositae	12.09±1.69
	Lonicera japonica Thunb.	Caprifoliaceae	2.25±1.21
	Dichondra micrantha Urb.	Convolvulaceae	9.97±7.93
	Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.	Gramineae	5.74±0.00
	Clinopodium chinense (Benth.) Kuntze	Lamiaceae	2.87±0.00
	Bidens pilosa L.	Compositae	1.26±0.00
	Hypochaeris ciliata (Thunb.) Makino	Compositae	9.02±0.00
	Plantago asiatica L.	Plantaginaceae	1.23±0.00
	Aster indicus L.	Compositae	0.92±0.00
TTG	Dactylis glomerata L.	Gramineae	37.45±7.08
	Trifolium repens L.	Leguminosae	28.45±8.80
	Lolium perenne L.	Gramineae	2.32±0.00
	Cynodon dactylon (L.) Persoon	Gramineae	4.62±2.76
	Vicia Sativa L.	Leguminosae	5.35±0.39
	Sporobolus fertilis (Steud.) Clayton	Gramineae	4.39±0.00
	Imperata cylindrica (L.) P. Beauv.	Gramineae	7.71±2.51
	Artemisia dubia Wall. ex Besser subf. intermedia Pamp.	Compositae	5.30±2.66
	Lonicera japonica Thunb.	Caprifoliaceae	3.97±0.00
	Dichondra micrantha Urb.	Convolvulaceae	1.59±0.09
	Hypochaeris ciliata (Thunb.) Makino	Compositae	1.15±0.00
	Rumex acetosa L.	Polygonaceae	3.84±2.14
	Aster indicus L.	Compositae	1.15±0.00
	Potentilla chinensis Ser.	Rosaceae	1.72±0.00
	Elsholtzia ciliata (Thunb.) Hyl.	Lamiaceae	1.75±0.00
	Artemisia argyi H. Lév. & Vaniot	Compositae	0.62±0.00

Table 1 Plant species of fenced grassland (FG), once tilled grassland (OTG), and twice tilled grassland (TTG)

Fig. 1 Total plant coverage (a), Shannon-Wiener index (b), and relative coverages of grasses (c), legumes (d), and forbs (e) under different grassland treatments. FG, fenced grassland; OTG, once tilled grassland; TTG, twice tilled grassland. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among different treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars are standard errors. The abbreviations are the same as in the following figures.

Fig. 2 Concentrations of MBC and MBN (a) and MBC:MBN ratio (b) under different grassland treatments. MBC, microbial biomass carbon; MBN, microbial biomass nitrogen. Different uppercase or lowercase letters within the same parameter indicate significant differences among different treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars are standard errors.

Fig. 3 Concentration of TN (a), MBC:SOC ratio (b), and MBN:TN ratio (c) under different grassland treatments. TN, total nitrogen; SOC, soil organic carbon. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among different treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars are standard errors.

Fig. 4 Variation in soil enzyme activity under different grassland treatments. NAG, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase; βG, β-glucosidase. Different uppercase or lowercase letters within the same parameter indicate significant differences among different treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars are standard errors.

Fig. 5 Concentrations of soil ammonium (NH₄⁺-N; a), nitrate (NO₃^--N; b), pH (c), and TDN (d) under different grassland treatments. TDN, total dissolved nitrogen. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among different treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars are standard errors.

Fig. 6 Concentrations of DOC (a) and SOC (b) under different grassland treatments. DOC, dissolved organic carbon. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among different treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars are standard errors.

Fig. 7 Redundancy analysis (RDA) of plant composition, soil microbial biomass, soil properties, and soil enzyme activity. Red arrows indicate soil factors, and blue arrows indicate plant characteristics.

Fig. 8 Heatmap of the correlation of plant community, soil microbial biomass, soil property, and enzyme activity. *, P<0.05 level.


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