Effects of nitrogen fertilization on soil aggregate biological binding agents and stability in an alpine grassland

doi:10.11686/cyxb2024055

Abstract

Abstract:

In recent years， human activities and climate change have led to the deterioration of soil structure in alpine grasslands. Soil aggregates， as the fundamental structural units of soil， are mainly stabilized by the presence of biogenic substances. However， there is limited research on the relationship between soil aggregate characteristics and biogenic substances in grassland soils. In order to clarify the differences in soil aggregate biogenic substances and stability under different nitrogen application levels， the alpine grasslands of Hongyuan were studied. A randomized block design with seven nitrogen rates was employed， namely 0 （CK）， 10， 20， 30， 40， 50， and 60 g·m^-2 urea （46.7% N）. The differences in soil aggregate composition and stability in relation to the content of biogenic substances were measured and analyzed. The results showed that： 1） Soil aggregates in alpine grasslands were mainly in the 2-4 mm size class， which accounted for 34.22% of the total. Different nitrogen rates significantly influenced soil nutrient content， aggregate composition， and stability （P<0.05）. 2） The content of biogenic substances ［soil spore density， hyphal density， easily extractable glomalin （EEG）， difficult-to-extract glomalin （DEG）， and total glomalin （TG）］ varied significantly under different nitrogen rates （P<0.05）. Specifically， the highest spore density value of 72.33 ind·g^-1 occurred in N₁₀， the lowest hyphal density value of 0.48 m·g^-1 occurred in N₆₀， and the highest TG value of 6.84 mg·g^-1 occurred in N₆₀. 3） Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between hyphal density and the percentage weight of 2-4 mm soil aggregates， and a highly significant negative correlation with the percentage weight of 0.25-1.00 mm soil aggregates. The percentage weight of 0.25-1.00 mm soil aggregates was significantly positively correlated with glomalin. Stepwise regression analysis identified EEG as an important factor influencing changes in the percentage weight of soil aggregates <0.25 mm （R²=0.26）. Path analysis demonstrated that hyphal density had the largest direct positive effects on mean weight diameter （MWD） and geometric mean diameter （GMD）， with values of 0.79 and 0.78 respectively. The study results indicate that nitrogen application reduces the stability of soil aggregates in alpine grasslands， with hyphal density and EEG having the most significant effects on soil aggregate composition and stability （P<0.05）.

Key words: alpine grassland, nitrogen fertilization, soil aggregates, biological binding agents

Qing-hua TIAN, Dan LIU, Xiao-qin LIAO, Xiao-yan SONG, Lei HU, Chang-ting WANG. Effects of nitrogen fertilization on soil aggregate biological binding agents and stability in an alpine grassland[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2024, 33(11): 46-57.

Figures/Tables 7

References 51

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项目 Item	有机碳 Organic carbon （g·kg^-1）	总氮 Total nitrogen （g·kg^-1）	总磷 Total phosphorus （g·kg^-1）	铵态氮 NH₄⁺-N （mg·kg^-1）	速效磷 Available phosphorus （mg·kg^-1）	pH	含水量 Moisture content （%）
N₀	45.43±1.71b	3.43±0.22b	1.95±0.08abc	24.19±1.58ab	9.51±0.35b	5.70±0.05ab	30.22±0.52ab
N₁₀	45.77±1.32b	3.27±0.15b	1.85±0.03bc	23.76±0.94ab	8.56±0.32b	5.88±0.03a	32.93±0.54a
N₂₀	42.03±1.75b	3.03±0.30b	1.76±0.01c	25.52±0.88ab	7.86±0.69b	5.67±0.04ab	32.25±0.69a
N₃₀	45.57±2.01b	3.60±0.26b	1.75±0.03c	35.71±5.56ab	8.81±0.80b	5.26±0.12b	31.17±0.36a
N₄₀	66.93±0.49a	6.17±0.15a	2.25±0.04a	22.29±1.96ab	11.60±0.36ab	5.33±0.07b	25.09±0.13b
N₅₀	63.13±1.88a	5.90±0.23a	2.21±0.02a	20.48±0.85b	9.44±0.29b	5.37±0.06ab	26.54±0.40b
N₆₀	63.53±1.25a	6.00±0.17a	2.14±0.04ab	46.90±5.29a	15.19±0.37a	5.19±0.02b	24.76±0.68b

项目 Item	有机碳 Organic carbon （g·kg^-1）	总氮 Total nitrogen （g·kg^-1）	总磷 Total phosphorus （g·kg^-1）	铵态氮 NH₄⁺-N （mg·kg^-1）	速效磷 Available phosphorus （mg·kg^-1）	pH	含水量 Moisture content （%）
N₀	45.43±1.71b	3.43±0.22b	1.95±0.08abc	24.19±1.58ab	9.51±0.35b	5.70±0.05ab	30.22±0.52ab
N₁₀	45.77±1.32b	3.27±0.15b	1.85±0.03bc	23.76±0.94ab	8.56±0.32b	5.88±0.03a	32.93±0.54a
N₂₀	42.03±1.75b	3.03±0.30b	1.76±0.01c	25.52±0.88ab	7.86±0.69b	5.67±0.04ab	32.25±0.69a
N₃₀	45.57±2.01b	3.60±0.26b	1.75±0.03c	35.71±5.56ab	8.81±0.80b	5.26±0.12b	31.17±0.36a
N₄₀	66.93±0.49a	6.17±0.15a	2.25±0.04a	22.29±1.96ab	11.60±0.36ab	5.33±0.07b	25.09±0.13b
N₅₀	63.13±1.88a	5.90±0.23a	2.21±0.02a	20.48±0.85b	9.44±0.29b	5.37±0.06ab	26.54±0.40b
N₆₀	63.53±1.25a	6.00±0.17a	2.14±0.04ab	46.90±5.29a	15.19±0.37a	5.19±0.02b	24.76±0.68b

因变量 Dependent variable	回归方程 Equation	F	R²	自变量R² R² of each independent variable
W_i （<0.25 mm）	y=8.59+15.10EEG	6.67	0.260*	EEG （0.260*）
W_i （0.25~1.00 mm）	y=38.66-9.61Hyphal density+0.09Spore density	13.75	0.604**	Hyphal density （0.54*）， Spore density （0.07）
W_i （1~2 mm）	y=14.08+4.00Hyphal density-0.06Spore density	2.30	0.203	Hyphal density （0.20*）， Spore density （0.001）
W_i （2~4 mm）	y=24.834+7.10Hyphal density	16.37	0.463**	Hyphal density （0.46**）
MWD	y=1.57+0.20Hyphal density-0.001Spore density-0.41EEG	13.48	0.704**	Hyphal density （0.45）， Spore density （0.19）， EEG （0.06）
GMD	y=1.09+0.14Hyphal density-0.001Spore density-0.44EEG	17.36	0.750**	Hyphal density （0.44）， Spore density （0.18）， EEG （0.13**）

因变量 Dependent variable	回归方程 Equation	F	R²	自变量R² R² of each independent variable
W_i （<0.25 mm）	y=8.59+15.10EEG	6.67	0.260*	EEG （0.260*）
W_i （0.25~1.00 mm）	y=38.66-9.61Hyphal density+0.09Spore density	13.75	0.604**	Hyphal density （0.54*）， Spore density （0.07）
W_i （1~2 mm）	y=14.08+4.00Hyphal density-0.06Spore density	2.30	0.203	Hyphal density （0.20*）， Spore density （0.001）
W_i （2~4 mm）	y=24.834+7.10Hyphal density	16.37	0.463**	Hyphal density （0.46**）
MWD	y=1.57+0.20Hyphal density-0.001Spore density-0.41EEG	13.48	0.704**	Hyphal density （0.45）， Spore density （0.19）， EEG （0.06）
GMD	y=1.09+0.14Hyphal density-0.001Spore density-0.44EEG	17.36	0.750**	Hyphal density （0.44）， Spore density （0.18）， EEG （0.13**）

因变量 Dependent variable	自变量 Independent variable	与因变量的相关系数Correlation coefficient with dependent variable	直接通径系数Direct path coefficient	间接通径系数Indirect path coefficient
因变量 Dependent variable	自变量 Independent variable	与因变量的相关系数Correlation coefficient with dependent variable	直接通径系数Direct path coefficient	SOC	AP	EEG	TG	Spore density	Hyphal density	合计 Total
MWD	SOC	-0.80**	-0.61	-	0.33	-0.01	-0.08	0.20	-0.63	-0.19
	AP	-0.49*	0.47	-0.43	-	0	-0.06	0.13	-0.59	-0.96
	EEG	-0.63**	-0.02	-0.41	0.14	-	-0.06	0.18	-0.46	-0.61
	TG	-0.71**	-0.10	-0.47	0.28	-0.01	-	0.26	-0.66	-0.61
	Spore density	0.43	-0.38	0.32	-0.16	0.01	0.07	-	0.57	0.81
	Hyphal density	0.79**	0.83	0.46	-0.33	0.01	0.08	-0.26	-	-0.04
因变量 Dependent variable	自变量 Independent variable	与因变量的相关系数Correlation coefficient with dependent variable	直接通径系数Direct path coefficient	间接通径系数Indirect path coefficient
因变量 Dependent variable	自变量 Independent variable	与因变量的相关系数Correlation coefficient with dependent variable	直接通径系数Direct path coefficient	SOC	NH₄⁺-N	EEG	TG	Spore density	Hyphal density	合计 Total
GMD	SOC	-0.77**	-0.23	-	0	-0.24	-0.05	0.15	-0.40	-0.54
	NH₄⁺-N	-0.25	-0.07	-0.01	-	-0.01	-0.02	0.08	-0.22	-0.18
	EEG	-0.71**	-0.36	-0.15	0	-	-0.04	0.14	-0.29	-0.35
	TG	-0.69**	-0.06	-0.17	-0.02	-0.21	-	0.19	-0.42	-0.63
	Spore density	0.43	-0.28	0.12	0.02	0.17	0.04	-	0.36	0.71
	Hyphal density	0.78**	0.52	0.17	0.03	0.20	0.05	-0.20	-	0.26