Microbial Community Response to Various Types of Exogenous Organic Matter Applied to Soil

Abstract

Recycling of solid biowaste and manure would reduce the dependence of agriculture on synthetic products. Most of the available studies on the effects of exogenous organic matter (EOM) application to soil were focused on nutrients and crop yield, with much less attention to microbiological processes in soil, especially using modern molecular methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of various types of manure, sewage sludge and bottom sediment on the biochemical activity and biodiversity of soil and plant yield in a pot experiment. The soil was treated with a range of EOM types: six types of manure (cattle, pig, goat, poultry, rabbit and horse manure; two bottom sediments (from urban and rural systems); and two types of municipal sewage sludge. All EOMs stimulated dehydrogenases activity at a rate of 20 t ha−1. Alkaline phosphatase was mostly stimulated by poultry manure and one of the sludges. In general, the two-fold greater rate of EOMs did not further accelerate the soil enzymes. The functional diversity of the soil microbiome was stimulated the most by cattle and goat manure. EOMs produce a shift in distribution of the most abundant bacterial phyla and additionally introduce exogenous bacterial genera to soil. Poultry and horse manure introduced the greatest number of new genera that were able to survive the strong competition in soil. EOMs differentiated plant growth in our study, which was correlated to the rate of nitrate release to soil. The detailed impacts of particular amendments were EOM-specific, but in general, no harm for microbial parameters was observed for manure and sludge application, regardless of their type. There was also no proof that the PAH and pesticide contents measured in manure or sludge had any effect on microbial activity and diversity.