Soil biota enhance agricultural sustainability by improving crop yield, nutrient uptake and reducing nitrogen leaching losses

摘要

Efficient resource use is a key factor for sustainable production and a necessity for meeting future global food demands. However, the factors that control resource use efficiency in agro-ecosystems are only partly understood. We investigated the influence of soil biota on nutrient leaching, nutrient-use efficiency and plant performance in outdoor, open-top lysimeters comprising a volume of 230L. The lysimeters were filled with sterilized soil in two horizons and inoculated with a reduced soil-life inoculum (soil biota 11m, microbially dominated) and an enriched soil-life inoculum [soil organisms 2mm, also containing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)]. A crop rotation was planted, and nutrient leaching losses, plant biomass and nutrient contents were assessed over a period of almost 2years. In the first year of the experiment, enriched soil life increased crop yield (+22%), N uptake (+29%) and P uptake (+110%) of maize and strongly reduced leaching losses of N (-51%, corresponding to a reduction of 76kg N ha(-1)). In the second year, wheat biomass (+17%) and P contents (+80%) were significantly increased by enriched soil life, but the differences were lower than in the first year.