About the Journal
In Memory of Professor Jerzy Radecki
Ownership and Management Statement
Editorial Office
Editorial Board
Scope
Impact Factor
Indexed by
Journal Impact Factor contributing items
Publication Frequency
Revenue Sources & Business Model
Contact
Subscription
Current issue
Online first
Instructions for Authors
Copyright & Licensing
Publication Fees
Editorial policies
Publication Policy Overview
Peer Review Policy
Research Ethics and Malpractice Policy
Plagiarism Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Open Access Policy
Instructions for Reviewers
Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
Advertising Policy
Direct Marketing & Manuscript Solicitation
Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy
CrossMark, Correction, and Retraction Policy
Archive
Publication Fees
Copyright & Licensing
Editorial policies
Publication Policy Overview
Peer Review Policy
Research Ethics and Malpractice Policy
Plagiarism Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Open Access Policy
Instructions for Reviewers
Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
Advertising Policy
Direct Marketing & Manuscript Solicitation
Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy
CrossMark, Correction, and Retraction Policy
eISSN: 2083-5906
ISSN: 1230-1485
ISSN: 1230-1485
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Straw and Manure Return Can Increase Maize
Yield by Driving Soil Microbial Community
and Improving Soil Properties in Mollisols
1
College of Agriculture, Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology College, Jilin 132101, China
2
Jilin Province Soil Fertilizer Station, Changchun, China
Submission date: 2025-02-27
Final revision date: 2025-06-04
Acceptance date: 2025-06-27
Online publication date: 2025-09-29
Corresponding author
Shuai Wang
College of Agriculture, Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology College, Jilin 132101, China
College of Agriculture, Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology College, Jilin 132101, China
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Organic waste has been found to alter soil fertility and influence crop yield and is a key management
strategy for achieving sustainable agriculture. We studied the change in the soil properties, enzymes,
microbial community composition, and crop yields across four organic waste return practices (CK: no
maize straw and no animal manure control; MS: maize straw only; CS: chicken manure plus maize
straw; OS: ox manure plus maize straw) in a Mollisol. Our analysis showed that the total nitrogen,
total phosphorus, available phosphorus, and soil organic carbon contents increased by 2.52-6.64%,
7.22-21.67%, 9.92-25.61%, and 9.56-29.98% under the organic waste return treatments, respectively,
compared to the CK. Chicken manure plus maize straw treatment enhanced the activities of soil urease
and alkaline phosphatase, and also recorded the highest maize yield. Additionally, the application of
animal manure and maize straw increased the bacterial and fungal diversity indexes and the abundance
of Pseudomonadota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota. In conclusion, our findings revealed that applying
organic waste, especially chicken manure plus maize straw return, was the most effective treatment for
enhancing soil factors, microbial community, and maize yields. These findings offer valuable insights
for the development of more effective organic waste return strategies.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
REFERENCES (59)
1.
QIAN R., GUO R., YANG Q., NASEER M.A., SUN B., WANG L., ZHANG J., REN X., CHEN X., JIA Z. Can straw recycling achieve sustainable agriculture at the smallholder level? A case in a semi-arid region. Journal of Cleaner Production. 439, 140859, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcle....
2.
WANG X., TIAN X., LIU Z., LIU Z.H., SHANG S., LI H., QU J., CHEN P. Rearing of Black Soldier Fly Larvae with Corn Straw and the Assistance of Gut Microorganisms in Digesting Corn Straw. Insects. 15 (10), 734, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3390/insect....
3.
DONG W., ZHOU R., LI X., YAN H., ZHENG J., PENG N., ZHAO S. Effect of simplified inoculum agent on performance and microbiome during cow manure composting at industrial-scale. Bioresource Technology. 393, 130097, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bior....
4.
GREFF B., SZIGETI J., NAGY A., LAKATOS E., VARGA L. Influence of microbial inoculants on co-composting of lignocellulosic crop residues with farm animal manure: a review. Journal of Environmental Management. 302 (Pt B), 114088, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenv....
5.
XU X., PEI J., XU Y., WANG J. Soil organic carbon depletion in global Mollisols regions and restoration by management practices: a review. Journal of Soils and Sediments. 20, 1173, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368....
6.
LIU X., ZHOU F., HU G.Q., SHAO S., HE H.B., ZHANG W., ZHANG X.D., LI L.J. Dynamic contribution of microbial residues to soil organic matter accumulation influenced by maize straw mulching. Geoderma. 333, 35, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geod....
7.
ZHANG X., WANG J., FENG X., YANG H., LI Y., YAKOV K., LIU S., LI F.M. Effects of tillage on soil organic carbon and crop yield under straw return. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 354, 108543, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee... https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee....
8.
MI W., SUN T., MA Y.Y., CHEN C., MA Q., WU L., WU Q., XU Q. Higher yield sustainability and soil quality by manure amendment than straw returning under a single-rice cropping system. Field Crops Research. 292, 108805, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.....
9.
MA L., SHI L., WANG S., WANG K., ZHENG W., LI Z., ZHAI B. 15N labelling of cattle manure reveals the distribution of organic fertiliser nitrogen in a winter wheat system. Field Crops Research. 283, 108529, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.....
10.
ZHOU J., TANG S., PAN W., LIU X., HAN K., SI L., MA Q., MAO X., FU H., WU L. Long-term non-flooded cultivation with straw return maintains rice yield by increasing soil pH and soil quality in acidic soil. European Journal of Agronomy. 159, 127208, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.....
11.
CHEN W., WANG J., CHEN X., MENG Z., XU R., DUOJI D., ZHANG J., HE J., WANG Z., CHEN J., LIU K., HU T., ZHANG Y. Soil microbial network complexity predicts ecosystem function along elevation gradients on the Tibetan Plateau. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 172, 108766, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soil....
12.
PHILIPPOT L., CHENU C., KAPPLER A., RILLIG M.C., FIERER N. The interplay between microbial communities and soil properties. Nature Reviews Microbiology. 22, 226, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579....
13.
BREULMANN M., MASYUTENKO N.P., KOGUT B.M., SCHROLL R., DÖRFLER U., BUSCOT F., SCHULZ E. Short-term bioavailability of carbon in soil organic matter fractions of different particle sizes and densities in grassland ecosystems. Science of The Total Environment. 497-498, 29, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit....
14.
LI W., SHI F., YI S., FENG T., WANG C., LI Z., ZHENG W., ZHAI B. Soil multifunctionality predicted by bacterial network complexity explains differences in wheat productivity induced by fertilization management. European Journal of Agronomy. 153, 127058, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.....
15.
GOLDSTEIN A., TURNER W.R., SPAWN S., ANDERSON-TEIXEIRA K.J., COOK-PATTON S., FARGIONE J., GIBBS H., GRISCOM B., HEWSON J., HOWARD J.F., LEDEZMA J.C., PAGE S., KOH L., ROCKSTROM J., SANDERMAN J., HOLE D.G. Protecting irrecoverable carbon in Earth's ecosystems. Nature Climate Change. 10, 287, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558....
16.
LI Z., QIU L., ZHANG T., ZHANG E., WANG L., WU L., WANG Y., ZHANG Y., DONG J., LI W., LIU Z., ZHANG M. Long-term application of controlled-release potassium chloride increases maize yield by affecting soil bacterial ecology, enzymatic activity and nutrient supply. Field Crops Research. 297, 108946, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.....
17.
CUI X., ZHANG Y., GAO J., PENG F., GAO P. Long-term combined application of manure and chemical fertilizer sustained higher nutrient status and rhizospheric bacterial diversity in reddish paddy soil of Central South China. Scientific Reports. 8, 16554, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598....
18.
YE G., LIN Y., LUO J., DI H.J., LINDSEY S., LIU D., FAN J., DING W. Responses of soil fungal diversity and community composition to long-term fertilization: field experiment in an acidic ultisol and literature synthesis. Applied Soil Ecology. 145, 103305, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apso....
19.
LIU X., LIU H., ZHANG Y., CHEN G., LI Z., ZHANG M. Straw return drives soil microbial community assemblage to change metabolic processes for soil quality amendment in a rice-wheat rotation system. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 185, 109131, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soil....
20.
PAN H., CHEN M.M., FENG H.J., WEI M., SONG F.P., LOU Y.H., CUI X.M., WANG H., ZHUGE Y.P. Organic and inorganic fertilizers respectively drive bacterial and fungal community compositions in a fluvo-aquic soil in northern China. Soil and Tillage Research. 198, 104540, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stil....
21.
WU D., WANG W., YAO Y., LI H., WANG Q., NIU B. Microbial interactions within beneficial consortia promote soil health. Science of The Total Environment. 900, 165801, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit....
22.
JIN W., HU Z., BAI Y., DONG C., JIN S. Response of rice and bacterial communities to the incorporation of rice straw in areas mined for heavy rare earth elements. BioResources. 14 (4), 9392, 2019. https://doi.org/10.15376/biore....
24.
ZHANG Y.H., LÜ X.T., ISBELL F., STEVENS C., HAN X., HE N.P., ZHANG G.M., YU Q., HUANG J.H., HAN X.G. Rapid plant species loss at high rates and at low frequency of N addition in temperate steppe. Global Change Biology. 20, 3520, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12....
25.
CUI S.Y., LIANG S.W., ZHANG X.K., LI Y.B., LIANG W.J., SUN L.J., WANG J.K., BEZEMER T.M., LI Q. Long-term fertilization management affects the C utilization from crop residues by the soil micro-food web. Plant and Soil. 429, 335, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104....
26.
ZHANG C., LIU G., XUE S., SONG Z. Rhizosphere soil microbial activity under different vegetation types on the Loess Plateau, China. Geoderma. 161, 115, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geod....
27.
JORGE-MARDOMINGO I., SOLER-ROVIRA P., CASERMEIRO M.A., DE LA CRUZ M.T., POLO A. Seasonal changes in microbial activity in a semiarid soil after application of a high dose of different organic amendments. Geoderma. 206, 40, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geod....
28.
ZHU L., ZHANG Y., CUI X., ZHU Y., DAI Q., CHEN H., LIU G., YAO R., YANG Z. Host Bias in Diet-Source Microbiome Transmission in Wild Cohabitating Herbivores: New Knowledge for the Evolution of Herbivory and Plant Defense. Microbiology Spectrum. 9, e00756-21, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1128/Spectr....
29.
LIANG F., LI B., VOGT R.D., MULDER J., SONG H., CHEN J., GUO J. Straw return exacerbates soil acidification in major Chinese croplands. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 198, 107176, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resc....
30.
JIN X.X., AN T.T., GALL A.R., LI S.Y., FILLEY T., WANG J.K. Enhanced conversion of newly-added maize straw to soil microbial biomass C under plastic film mulching and organic manure management. Geoderma. 313, 154, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geod....
31.
XU W.X., LIU W.J., TANG S.R., YANG Q., MENG L., WU Y.Z., WANG J., WU L., WU M., XUE X., WANG W., LUO W. Long-term partial substitution of chemical nitrogen fertilizer with organic fertilizers increased SOC stability by mediating soil C mineralization and enzyme activities in a rubber plantation of Hainan Island, China. Applied Soil Ecology. 182, 104691, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apso....
32.
LIU J., SHU A., SONG W., SHI W., LI M., ZHANG W., LI Z., LIU G., YUAN F., ZHANG S., LIU Z., GAO Z. Long-term organic fertilizer substitution increases rice yield by improving soil properties and regulating soil bacteria. Geoderma. 404, 115287, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geod....
33.
ZHANG M., YAO Y.L., TIAN Y.H., CENG K., ZHAO M., ZHAO M., YIN B. Increasing yield and N use efficiency with organic fertilizer in Chinese intensive rice cropping systems. Field Crops Research. 227, 102, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.....
34.
TANG Q., COTTON A., WEI Z.J., XIA Y.Q., DANIELL T., YAN X.Y. How does partial substitution of chemical fertiliser with organic forms increase sustainability of agricultural production? Science of The Total Environment. 803, 149933, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit....
35.
MORADI S., RASOULI-SADAGHIANI M.H., SEPEHR E., KHODAVERDILOO H., BARIN M. Soil nutrients status affected by simple and enriched biochar application under salinity conditions. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 191 (4), 257, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661....
36.
PETERSEN E.H., HOYLE F.C. Estimating the economic value of soil organic carbon for grains cropping systems in Western Australia. Soil Research. 54, 383, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1071/SR1510....
37.
GAI X., ZHONG Z., ZHANG X., BIAN F., YANG C. Effects of chicken farming on soil organic carbon fractions and fungal communities in a Lei bamboo (Phyllostachys praecox) forest in subtropical China. Forest Ecology and Management. 479, 118603, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fore....
38.
NING L., XU X., ZHANG Y., ZHAO S., QIU S., DING W., ZOU G., HE P. Effects of chicken manure substitution for mineral nitrogen fertilizer on crop yield and soil fertility in a reduced nitrogen input regime of North-Central China. Frontiers in Plant Science. 13, 1050179, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2....
39.
XU J.M., TANG C., CHEN Z.L. The role of plant residues in pH change of acid soils differing in initial pH. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 38, 709, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soil....
40.
INAMDAR A., SANGAAWE V., ADHAPURE N. Enzymes in rhizosphere engineering. Rhizosphere Engineering. 14, 259, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0....
41.
LIAO Z., FAN J., LAI Z., BAI Z., WANG H., CHENG M., ZHANG F., LI Z. Chapter Three - Response network and regulatory measures of plant-soil-rhizosphere environment to drought stress. Advances in Agronomy. 180, 93, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.agr....
42.
LIU R., BORJIGIN Q., GAO J., YU X., HU S., LI R. Effects of different straw return methods on soil properties and yield potential of maize. Scientific Reports. 14, 28682, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598....
43.
BARTKOWIAK A., LEMANOWICZ J. Effect of forest fire on changes in the content of total and available forms of selected heavy metals and catalase activity in soil. Soil Science Annual. 68 (3), 140, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1515/ssa-20....
44.
WU L., MA H., ZHAO Q., ZHANG S., WEI W., DING X. Changes in soil bacterial community and enzyme activity under five years straw returning in paddy soil. European Journal of Soil Biology. 100, 103215, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejso....
45.
ZHANG W.M., YU C.X., WANG X.J., HAI L. Increased abundance of nitrogen transforming bacteria by higher C/N ratio reduces the total losses of N and C in chicken manure and corn stover mix composting. Bioresource Technology. 297, 122410, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bior....
46.
CHEN Q., SONG Y., AN Y., LU Y., ZHONG G. Soil Microorganisms: Their Role in Enhancing Crop Nutrition and Health. Diversity. 16, 734, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16120....
47.
WAGG C., SCHLAEPPI K., BANERJEE S., KURAMAE E.E., VAN DER HEIJDEN M.G.A. Fungal-bacterial diversity and microbiome complexity predict ecosystem functioning. Nature Communications. 10 (1), 4841, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467....
48.
SUN Z., LIN M., DU C., HAO Y., ZHANG Y., WANG Z. The use of manure shifts the response of α-diversity and network while not β-diversity of soil microbes to altered irrigation regimes. Applied Soil Ecology. 174, 104423, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apso....
49.
LIU S., MENG Q., LI Y., WANG Z., XU W., SUN Y., YU Z., HU Y. Differences in succession of bacterial communities during co-cultivation of corn straw with different soils. European Journal of Soil Biology. 123, 103683, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejso....
50.
KHATRI S., SAZINAS P., STRUBE M.L., DING L., DUBEY S., SHIVAY Y.S., SHARMA S., JELSBAK L. Pseudomonas is a key player in conferring disease suppressiveness in organic farming. Plant and Soil. 503, 85, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104....
51.
MA S., ZHU W., WANG W., LI X., SHENG Z. Microbial assemblies with distinct trophic strategies drive changes in soil microbial carbon use efficiency along vegetation primary succession in a glacier retreat area of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Science of The Total Environment. 867, 161587, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit....
52.
KIELAK A.M., BARRETO C.C., KOWALCHUK G.A., VAN VEEN J.A., KURAMAE E.E. The ecology of Acidobacteria: moving beyond genes and genomes. Frontiers in Microbiology. 7, 744, 2016. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.....
53.
LIU J., SUI Y., YU Z., YAO Q., SHI Y., CHU H., JIN J., LIU X., WANG G. Diversity and distribution patterns of acidobacterial communities in the black soil zone of northeast China. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 95, 212, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soil....
54.
FUKASAWA Y. Ecological impacts of fungal wood decay types: A review of current knowledge and future research directions. Ecological Research. 36 (6), 910, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1....
55.
MANICI L., CAPUTO F., DE SABATA D., FORNASIER F. The enzyme patterns of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota fungi reveal their different functions in soil. Applied Soil Ecology. 196, 105323, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apso....
56.
TÓTH A., HAUSKNECHT A., KRISAI-GREILHUBER I., PAPP T., VÁGVÖLGYI C., NAGY L.G. Iteratively refined guide trees help improving alignment and phylogenetic inference in the mushroom family Bolbitiaceae. PLoS One. 8 (2), e56143, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1371/journa....
57.
MALTAS A., KEBLI H., OBERHOLZER H.R., WEISSKOPF P., SINAJ S. The effects of organic and mineral fertilizers on carbon sequestration, soil properties, and crop yields from a long-term field experiment under a Swiss conventional farming system. Land Degradation & Development. 29 (4), 926, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.29....
58.
SARKAR S., MUKHERJEE I. Effect of organic amendment on mobility behavior of flupyradifurone in two different Indian soils. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 107 (1), 160, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128....
59.
SU R., WU X., HU J., LI H., XIAO H., ZHAO J., HU R. Warming promotes the decomposition of oligotrophic bacterial-driven organic matter in paddy soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 186, 109156, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soil....
| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
