The molecular characteristics of compost affect plant growth, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and soil microbial community composition

Abstract

Compost amendment to agricultural soils influences plant growth and soil quality by affecting activity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and composition of microbial community. We related the molecular composition of compost of different maturity added to soils to their effects on maize growth, N and P uptake, AMF root colonization and growth, and composition of soil microbial community. The characteristics of compost after different days of maturation (C60, C90, C120) were provided by 13 C-solid state NMR spectroscopy, while neutral (NLFA) and phospholipid (PLFA) fatty acid analyses were used to evaluate the effects of compost on the composition of soil microbial communities. Multivariate elaboration was used to determine the relationships between microbial groups, as identified by PLFA analysis , and molecular properties of composts. Although compost amendments increased soil total C and N, and available P, soil addition of both C60 and C120 compost samples was detrimental to plant and AMF growth. Compost amendments modified the composition of soil microbial communities. The high content of biolabile compounds in C60 and C120 compost samples decreased the C16:1ω5 NLFA that was related to AMF and Gram(+)/Gram(−) and AMF/saprotrophic fungi ratios. A linear correlation was found between the molecular indexes in compost and the microbial groups in soil, thereby suggesting that the molecular composition of compost strictly controls the development and abundance of soil microbial communities. These findings highlight the importance of controlling the molecular quality of recycled biomass added to soil, in order to predict the effect on crop yields and biotic composition of soil

Plant response to biochar, compost, and mycorrhizal fungal amendments in post‐mine sandpits

“…Compost amendment increases soil organic matter content, water holding capacity, and nutrients (Termorshuizen et al ). In addition, compost addition stimulates soil microbial communities (Carlson et al ; Cozzolino et al ). Compost application to severely degraded landscapes has been shown to increase grassland plant survivorship and primary production (Noyd et al ; Kohler et al ; Gil‐Loaiza et al ).…”

Effects of Forest Age on Soil Fungal Community in a Northern Temperate Ecosystem

“…Different soils contain a great diversity of fungal species, whose spatial distribution results from many factors, such as plant diversity, soil properties, land use and dispersal, and climate [4,5]. Soil fungal community structures, in turn, directly affect the properties and fertility of soil, thereby influencing the growth of plants; the soil microbial population and abundance is thus positively correlated with soil fertility and plant growth status [6][7][8]. Hence, it has practical significance to investigate the distribution characteristics of soil microbiota, in which fungi take up an important position.…”

Compost, leonardite, and zeolite impacts on soil microbial community under barley crops

“…Similarly, the microbial community structure was changed in ZL relative to the other treatments, throughout the time of sampling. Cozzolino et al, (2016) and Tejada et al, (2006) reported that the chemical properties of compost used as an amendment may affect the microbial community structure of soil.…”