The Status of Soil Microbiome as Affected by the Application of Phosphorus Biofertilizer: Fertilizer Enriched with Beneficial Bacterial Strains

Abstract

Regarding the unfavourable changes in agroecosystems resulting from the excessive application of mineral fertilizers, biopreparations containing live microorganisms are gaining increasing attention. We assumed that the application of phosphorus mineral fertilizer enriched with strains of beneficial microorganisms contribute to favourable changes in enzymatic activity and in the genetic and functional diversity of microbial populations inhabiting degraded soils. Therefore, in field experiments conditions, the effects of phosphorus fertilizer enriched with bacterial strains on the status of soil microbiome in two chemically degraded soil types (Brunic Arenosol – BA and Abruptic Luvisol – AL) were investigated. The field experiments included treatments with an optimal dose of phosphorus fertilizer (without microorganisms – FC), optimal dose of phosphorus fertilizer enriched with microorganisms including Paenibacillus polymyxa strain CHT114AB, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain AF75BB and Bacillus sp. strain CZP4/4 (FA100) and a dose of phosphorus fertilizer reduced by 40% and enriched with the above-mentioned bacteria (FA60). The analyzes performed included: the determination of the activity of the soil enzymes (protease, urease, acid phosphomonoesterase, β-glucosidase), the assessment of the functional diversity of microorganisms with the application of BIOLOGTM plates and the characterization of the genetic diversity of bacteria, archaea and fungi with multiplex terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and next generation sequencing. The obtained results indicated that the application of phosphorus fertilizer enriched with microorganisms improved enzymatic activity, and the genetic and functional diversity of the soil microbial communities, however these effects were dependent on the soil type.

Chemical Transformation of Humic Acid Molecules under the Influence of Mineral, Fungal and Bacterial Fertilization in the Context of the Agricultural Use of Degraded Soils

“…The addition of microorganisms or NPK did not cause significant changes or a clear uniform trend during experiment period in HAs from BA soil, which likely resulted from the differences in the physicochemical properties of BA soil in relation to AL. This is in line with the conclusions of Mącik et al [ 33 ] regarding the different effects of microbial communities on enzymatic activity, and the genetic and functional diversity of BA and AL soils.…”

“…It should be noted, however, that the strains of microorganisms proposed in our research show beneficial, biological effects in the soils tested, which was confirmed by our previous studies. Mącik et al [33] observed the increase of amino acids metabolism in BA soil after addition of phosphorus fertilizers enriched with the same strains used in current study as compared to the control soil with mineral fertilization. The above authors showed also that mineral fertilization supplemented to the soil together with the bacterial strains provided positive effect on the microbiome changes and genetic biodiversity in soil.…”

“…of N-NO 3 and 6.77 mg kg −1 d.m. of N-NH 4 , as well as 5.3 mg 100 g −1 of K and 4.8 mg 100 g −1 of P. The organic carbon content was higher in AL soil (3.76%) than in BA soil (1.54%), and the pH KCl of BA soil was 4.8 whereas that of AL soil was 4.9 [ 33 ].…”

“…A lack of understanding regarding the effect of mineral additives and microorganism inoculation into the soil could also be the main limitation to the preparation of modern biofertilizers for agronomic use. Indeed, the concept of implementing biofertilizers is promising, based on several reports on the quality and quantity of crops [ 32 ], as well as quality of soils [ 33 , 34 ].…”

Mycobiome Composition and Diversity under the Long-Term Application of Spent Mushroom Substrate and Chicken Manure

“…Many species possess the ability to accelerate the organic compound transformation and fatty acids production [74]. Moreover, it was found that Mortierellales representatives increased in treatments fertilized with phosphorus biofertilizer [75]. The class of fungi which decreased after SMS and CM addition to the soil was Dothideomycetes, which is involved in the decay of cell walls [14] and is important in biomass degradation, and as the saprophyte is engaged in carbon cycling [76].…”