Short‐term effects of mineral and combined mineral‐organic fertilization in soil microbial communities

Abstract

AbstractFertilization is a widely used practice to maintain soil fertility. To unravel the rapid response patterns of soil microbial under mineral and combined mineral‐organic fertilization treatments, 1‐year fertilization trial was conducted in an intensive greenhouse on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP). Higher soil nutrient concentrations and lower soil pH were detected in mineral and combined mineral‐organic fertilized soils than in unfertilized soils. Both fertilized soils also showed higher bacterial richness and diversity and lower fungal diversity than unfertilized soils. Compared with the soil without fertilizer application, the soil microflora structure was significantly changed by fertilizer application; however, no differences were detected between both fertilized soils. Both short‐term fertilizations recruited more abundant Proteobacteria and Ascomycota, and a smaller proportion of Acidobacteriota, Basidiomycota and Mortierellomycota. In addition, available phosphorus (AP), was most closely linked to the variations in the structures of soil bacterial and fungal communities. Our findings highlight the significance of the temporal component for fertilization effects, indicating that 1 year of mineral and combined mineral‐organic fertilization only affected the diversity of some bacterial and fungal communities in the soil. Therefore, a moderately longer fertilization year based on this study should be pondered in intensive greenhouse cultivation in the QTP.