Reisforschung: Open Access

Abstrakt

Alternate Wetting-Drying Enhances Soil Nitrogen Availability for Rice Crops

Pushkar Raj Rathore

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation influences soil nutrient cycling and the functioning of soil microorganisms. However, the effects of AWD on organic nitrogen (ON) partitioning in rice-microbe ecosystems and soil microbial communities are poorly understood. A root-box microcosm experiment with two rice varieties two irrigation regimes (conventional flood irrigation (CF); AWD) and three N application levels (zero N, N0; medium N, N1; high N, N2) was performed based on the 13C,15N-labelled glycine and 13C-phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) techniques. Compared to CF, AWD increased soil dissolved oxygen, microbial growth and the enzymes related to N transformation, thus enhancing rice growth and the N utilization index (NUI). Approximately 4.9–10.3% and 7.7–13.6% of the exogenous glycine was directly utilized by Nip and YD6 seedlings, respectively, and its ratio increased with increasing N levels, whereas 4.4–11.2% and 4.6–10.3% were incorporated into soil microbes. It seems that rice has an appreciable capacity to utilize organic N despite fierce competition with soil microbes. The 13C:15N ratio showed that 12.5–37.5% and 11.0– 41.0% of the added glycine was taken up intact by soil microorganisms in the rhizospheres of Nip and YD6. At the N1 and N levels, AWD increased rice 15N-glycine uptake but decreased microbial 15N-glycine uptake. Rice intact glycine uptake and soil inorganic N contents were positively correlated with rice biomass and NUI, indicating that the enhanced inorganic N under AWD is beneficial for soil ON availability and rice growth.