Earthworms regulate plants' effects on soil microbial nutrient limitations: Examinations with contrasting soils and moisture

Na Mao; Ming'an Shao; Xiang Wang; Xiaorong Wei

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117061

Earthworms regulate plants' effects on soil microbial nutrient limitations: Examinations with contrasting soils and moisture

J Environ Manage. 2023 Mar 1:329:117061. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117061. Epub 2022 Dec 21.

Authors

Na Mao¹, Ming'an Shao², Xiang Wang³, Xiaorong Wei⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China; College of Life Science, Yan'an University, Yan'an, 716000, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Xi'an, 710061, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China; College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China. Electronic address: wangxiang@cau.edu.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Xi'an, 710061, China. Electronic address: weixr@nwsuaf.edu.cn.

PMID: 36563447
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117061

Abstract

Soil microbial nutrient limitations significantly affect microbial processes and thus ecosystem functionality, whereas the response of soil microbial nutrient limitations to earthworms has rarely been addressed but is urgently needed due to the important role of earthworms in terrestrial ecosystems. By examining how earthworms regulate plants' effects on microbial nutrient limitations under contrasting soil types and moisture conditions, we showed that plant presence reduced microbial carbon (C) limitation and such reduction was enhanced by earthworm. Plant presence increased soil microbial phosphorus (P) limitation in soils with earthworms in most cases. Additionally, the effects of plants on microbial nutrient limitations and their responses to earthworms were dependent on soil type (or soil nutrients) and moisture. These results suggested that earthworms have the potential to reduce soil microbial C limitation but enhance P limitation and highlighted the importance of nutrients and moisture in influencing the effects of earthworms and plants on microbial nutrient limitations.

Keywords: Earthworm; Microbial nutrient limitations; Plant; Soil type.

MeSH terms

Animals
Ecosystem*
Nutrients
Oligochaeta*
Soil
Soil Microbiology

Substances

Soil