Influence of nitrogen substitution at an equivalent total nitrogen level on bacterial and fungal communities, as well as enzyme activities of the ditch bottom soil in a rice–fish coculture system

Abstract

AbstractBACKGROUNDRice–fish coculture system (RFS) operates through effectively utilizing water and land resources in a complementary form, but it requires more efficient utilization of fertilizer and feed without compromising rice yield. However, the knowledge of how to regulate the proportion of nitrogen (N) supplied from fertilizer and feed at an equivalent total N level to improve the benefits of RFS remains limited. Therefore, four treatments (S0: RFS with 0% N from fertilizer and 100% N from feed; S25: RFS with 25% N from fertilizer and 75% N from feed; S50: RFS with 50% N from fertilizer and 50% N from feed; S75: RFS with 75% N from fertilizer and 25% N from feed) were conducted to assess the variation of ditch bottom soil properties, microbial communities and enzyme activities, as well as to obtain the optimal ratio of N supplied from fish feed and fertilizer.RESULTSThe experiments showed that the contents of soil organic matter, total carbon and total N, and the activities of urease, N‐acetyl‐β‐D‐glucosaminidase, protease, β‐1,4‐glucosidase and catalase in the ditch bottom soil significantly reduced in S25 treatment, compared with the other three treatments. Ammonium N content decreased with increasing percentage of the basal fertilizer, whereas nitrate N content and pH value showed an adverse trend. However, the bacterial and fungal communities were unaffected by the ratio shifts between fertilizer‐N and feed‐N, but their dominant phyla were influenced by the ditch bottom soil N level. Moreover, the bacterial community composition was positively related to nitrate N, whereas fungal diversity was positively correlated with pH, ammonium N and nitrate N, and urease. We also found that the treatment of N input with 25% N from fertilizer and 75% N from feed can reduce N deposition in the ditch bottom soil in the rice–fish coculture system.CONCLUSIONOur findings indicate that under the equivalent total N input level, the relative higher ratio of N from fish feed increased (S0 treatment) or reduced (S25 treatment) the deposition of N in the ditch bottom soil, and improved fish production, but decreased rice yield; while the higher ratio of N from basal fertilizer increased the transportation of nutrients into the ditch bottom soil and rice yield, but reduced fish production. So when considering multi‐balance and multiple benefits, we recommend that a selective substitution ratio within 50% ~ 75% from fish feed to substitute for the basal fertilizer under the equivalent total N input may achieve a good balance of rice and fish production improvement, and reduce nutrients wastage to the ditch bottom, as well as alleviate the potential of non‐point source pollution. This study also provides an evidence for regulating and optimizing the ratio of N supplied from fertilizer and fish feed at an equivalent total N level through monitoring the nutrient accumulation in ditch bottom soil in the rice–fish coculture system. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.