Microbial community composition and activity in paired irrigated and non-irrigated pastures in New Zealand
Suzanne M. Lambie
A * , Paul L. Mudge A and Bryan A. Stevenson A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand.
Soil Research 60(4) 337-348 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR21149
Submitted: 4 June 2021 Accepted: 1 October 2021 Published: 17 November 2021
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Context: Microorganisms are key for carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling in soils supporting agricultural production.
Aims: We investigated the impacts of irrigation on microbial community structure and activity in New Zealand on 28 paired non-irrigated and irrigated grazed pasture sites where C and N had decreased under irrigation.
Methods: Microbial community structure and microbial biomass (phospholipid fatty acids) and activity (basal respiration, substrate-induced respiration (SIR), aerobically mineralisable N (AerMN)) were assessed.
Key results: Microbial biomass did not differ between irrigated and non-irrigated soils, but irrigated soils had increased gram-negative bacteria (P < 0.05), lower gram-positive:gram-negative ratio (P < 0.001) and lower fungal:bacterial ratio (P < 0.001) compared to non-irrigated soils. SIR and AerMN were greater in irrigated compared to non-irrigated soils. There were no differences in basal respiration between irrigation treatments. Greater prevalence of gram-negative bacteria (r-strategist) as well as decreases in actinomycetes and fungal to bacterial ratio, and increased SIR and AerMN suggest more rapid cycling of C and nutrients in irrigated systems where C had been lost.
Conclusions: We found clear evidence that irrigation alters microbial community structure and activity in New Zealand pasture systems.
Implications: Irrigation driven alteration of microbial populations may contribute to losses of soil SOM and soils’ ability to deliver ecosystem services.
Keywords: aerobically mineralisable nitrogen, carbon cycling, gram-negative bacteria, fungal:bacterial ratio, irrigation, microbial community composition, nitrogen, substrate induced respiration.
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