1- Department of Soil Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
2- Department of Soil Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran ,hemami@um.ac.ir
2- Department of Soil Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran ,
Abstract: (5 Views)
Background and Objective: Soil biological indicators are sensitive to changes in land use and management practices, and are valuable for assesing agricultural soils, Despite their importance, the responses of them to different agricultural land uses in arid environments remains is limited. Terefore, this research was performed to evaluate the effects of four agricultural land-uses on soil biological indicators -espicially those associated to microbial activity and carbon and nitrogen dynamics- in arid conditions.
Materials and Methods: This research was performed in the Al-Yousifiya area (45 km south of Baghdad, Iraq) in April 2025. Soil samples were collected from depth 0–20 cm of, four agricultural land-uses with three replicates. 11 biological indicators associated with soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics and microbial activity were measured including organic cabon, total nitrogen, bacterial abundance, particulate organic matter, active carbon, basal respiration, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, potential minerazilable nitrogen, microbial quotient, and metabolic quotient. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by mean comparisons using Tuckey’s HSD at p < 0.05.
Results: Land-use type significantly influenced soil biological indicators. The apple orchard had the highest soil organic carbon, particulate organic matter, active carbon, microbial biomass carbon, total nitrogen, microbial biomass nitrogen (15.2 μgN g⁻¹), basal respiration (0.74 mgCO₂ g⁻¹ h⁻¹), and microbial quotient (48.73 mgCmic mg-1C soil), and the potato field exhibited the lowest values for most biological indicators and the highest metabolic quotient.
Conclusion: Land-use type and management practices significantly influenced soil biological indicators and carbon and nitrogen cycling in Al-Yousifiya area. Among the studied land-uss, the apple orchard showed the most favorable biological condition. Intensive cultivation, particularly cultivation of potato (twice a year) field under conventional tillage practice, was associated with lower biological activity.
Materials and Methods: This research was performed in the Al-Yousifiya area (45 km south of Baghdad, Iraq) in April 2025. Soil samples were collected from depth 0–20 cm of, four agricultural land-uses with three replicates. 11 biological indicators associated with soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics and microbial activity were measured including organic cabon, total nitrogen, bacterial abundance, particulate organic matter, active carbon, basal respiration, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, potential minerazilable nitrogen, microbial quotient, and metabolic quotient. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by mean comparisons using Tuckey’s HSD at p < 0.05.
Results: Land-use type significantly influenced soil biological indicators. The apple orchard had the highest soil organic carbon, particulate organic matter, active carbon, microbial biomass carbon, total nitrogen, microbial biomass nitrogen (15.2 μgN g⁻¹), basal respiration (0.74 mgCO₂ g⁻¹ h⁻¹), and microbial quotient (48.73 mgCmic mg-1C soil), and the potato field exhibited the lowest values for most biological indicators and the highest metabolic quotient.
Conclusion: Land-use type and management practices significantly influenced soil biological indicators and carbon and nitrogen cycling in Al-Yousifiya area. Among the studied land-uss, the apple orchard showed the most favorable biological condition. Intensive cultivation, particularly cultivation of potato (twice a year) field under conventional tillage practice, was associated with lower biological activity.
Keywords: Land use, soil biological indicators, soil respiration, microbial biomass, potentially mineralizable nitrogen.
Type of Article: Research |
Subject:
Biological interactions, resources and fluxes in the rhizosphere
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Journal of Soil and Plant Interactions by http://jspi.iut.ac.ir is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License which allows users to read, copy, distribute and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited properly.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License which allows users to read, copy, distribute and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited properly.
