Plant roots and species moderate the salinity effect on microbial respiration,biomass, and enzyme activities in a sandy clay soil

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of plant absence or presence on microbial properties and enzyme activities at different levels of salinity in a sandy clay soil. The treatments involved five salinity levels—0.5 (control), 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 dS m^?1 which were prepared using a mixture of chloride salts—and three soil environments (unplanted soil, and soils planted with either wheat or clover) under greenhouse conditions. Each treatment was replicated three times. At the end of the experiment, soil microbial respiration, substrate-induced respiration (SIR), microbial biomass C (MBC), and enzyme activities were determined after plant harvest. Increasing salinity decreased soil microbial properties and enzyme activities, but increased the metabolic quotient (qCO₂) in both unplanted and planted soils. Most microbial properties of planted soils were greater than those of unplanted soils at low to moderate salinity levels, depending upon plant species. There was a small or no difference in soil properties between the unplanted and planted treatments at the highest salinity level, indicating that the indirect effects of plant presence might be less important due to significant reduction of plant growth. The lowered microbial activity and biomass, and enzyme activities were due to the reduction of root activity and biomass in salinized soils. The lower values of qCO₂ in planted than unplanted soils support the positive influence of plant root and its exudates on soil microbial activity and biomass in saline soils. Nonetheless, the role of plants in alleviating salinity influence on soil microbial activities decreases at high salinity levels and depends on plant type. In conclusion, cultivation and growing plant in abandoned saline environments with moderate salinity would improve soil microbial properties and functions by reducing salinity effect, in particular planting moderately tolerant crops. This helps to maintain or increase the fertility and quality of abandoned saline soils in arid regions.     

Diversity of microorganisms from forest soils differently polluted with heavy metals

Large accumulation of heavy metals in organic layers of forest soils may adversely affect the structure and diversity of microbial communities. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of different soil chemical properties on structure and diversity of microbial communities in soils polluted with different levels of heavy metals. The soil samples were taken at ten sites located in the vicinity of the cities of Legnica and Olkusz, differently polluted with Cu, Zn and Pb. The samples were measured for pH and the contents of organic C (C_org), total N (N_t), total S (S_t) and total Zn, Cu and Pb. The measured gross microbial properties included microbial biomass (C_mic) and soil respiration (RESP). The structure of soil microbial communities was assessed using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and the structure of soil bacterial communities using pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes. To assess diversity of the bacterial communities the Chao1 index was calculated based on the pyrosequencing data. For C_mic and RESP the most important factors were N_t and C_org, respectively. The structure and diversity of soil microbial communities revealed by PLFA profiles and pyrosequencing depended mainly on soil pH. The effect of high heavy metal contents on soil microbial properties was weaker compared with other soil properties. High concentrations of heavy metals negatively affected RESP and the Chao1 diversity index. The heavy metal pollution altered the structure of microbial communities measured with PLFA analysis, but the effect of heavy metal pollution was not observed for the structure of soil bacteria measured by pyrosequencing. The obtained results indicate that the use of soil microbial properties to study heavy metal effects may be difficult due to confounding influences of other environmental factors. In large-scale studies local variability of soil properties may obscure the effect of heavy metals.     

Effect of organic,sustainable, and conventional management strategies in grower fields on soil physical,chemical, and biological factors and the incidence of Southern blight

The objectives of our research were to evaluate the impact of organic, sustainable, and conventional management strategies in grower fields on soil physical, chemical, and biological factors including soil microbial species and functional diversity and their effect on the Basidiomycete plant pathogen Sclerotium rolfsii, causal agent of Southern blight. Soils from 10 field locations including conventional, organic and sustainable farms were sampled and assayed for disease suppressiveness in greenhouse assays, and soil quality indicators. Soils from organic and sustainable farms were more suppressive to Southern blight than soils from conventional farms. Soils from organic farms had improved soil chemical factors and higher levels of extractable C and N, higher microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and net mineralizable N. In addition, soil microbial respiration was higher in soils from organic than sustainable or conventional farms, indicating that microbial activity was greater in these soils. Populations of fungi and thermophiles were significantly higher in soils from organic and sustainable than conventional fields. The diversity of bacterial functional communities was also greater in soils from organic farms, while species diversity was similar. Soils from organic and sustainable farms had improved soil health as indicated by a number of soil physical, chemical and biological factors and reduced disease.     

铅锌银尾矿区土壤微生物活性及其群落功能多样性研究

通过对浙江省天台铅锌银尾矿区土壤微生物活性指标以及微生物群落功能多样性研究 ,结果表明 ,尾矿污染区土壤几种重金属含量比非矿区土壤有明显的增加。尾矿区土壤微生物特征发生了显著的变化 ,微生物生物量和可培养细菌数量显著降低 ,但土壤基础呼吸和微生物代谢商 (qCO2 )值却明显升高。Bi olog测试结果显示 ,随着重金属污染程度的加剧其土壤微生物群落结构发生了相应变化 ,尾矿区土壤微生物群落代谢剖面 (AWCD)及群落丰富度、多样性指数均显著低于非矿区土壤 ,且供试土壤间均达极显著水平差异 (p <0 .0 1) ,表明尾矿区重金属污染引起了土壤微生物群落功能多样性的下降 ,减少了能利用有关碳源底物的微生物数量、降低了微生物对单一碳源底物的利用能力     

Capacity of fatty acid profiles and substrate utilization patterns to describe differences in soil microbial communities associated with increased salinity or alkalinity at three locations in South Australia

 Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles, together with Biolog substrate utilization patterns, were used in conjunction with measurements of other soil chemical and microbiological properties to describe differences in soil microbial communities induced by increased salinity and alkalinity in grass/legume pastures at three sites in SE South Australia. Total ester-linked FAMEs (EL-FAMEs) and phospholipid-linked FAMEs (PL-FAMEs), were also compared for their ability to detect differences between the soil microbial communities. The level of salinity and alkalinity in affected areas of the pastures showed seasonal variation, being greater in summer than in winter. At the time of sampling for the chemical and microbiological measurements (winter) only the affected soil at site 1 was significantly saline. The affected soils at all three sites had lower organic C and total N concentrations than the corresponding non-affected soils. At site 1 microbial biomass, CO₂-C respiration and the rate of cellulose decomposition was also lower in the affected soil compared to the non-affected soil. Biomarker fatty acids present in both the EL- and PL-FAME profiles indicated a lower ratio of fungal to bacterial fatty acids in the saline affected soil at site 1. Analysis of Biolog substrate utilization patterns indicated that the bacterial community in the affected soil at site 1 utilized fewer carbon substrates and had lower functional diversity than the corresponding community in the non-affected soil. In contrast, increased alkalinity, of major importance at sites 2 and 3, had no effect on microbial biomass, the rate of cellulose decomposition or functional diversity but was associated with significant differences in the relative amounts of several fatty acids in the PL-FAME profiles indicative of a shift towards a bacterial dominated community. Despite differences in the number and relative amounts of fatty acids detected, principal component analysis of the EL- and PL-FAME profiles were equally capable of separating the affected and non-affected soils at all three sites. Redundancy analysis of the FAME data showed that organic C, microbial biomass, electrical conductivity and bicarbonate-extractable P were significantly correlated with variation in the EL-FAME profiles, whereas pH, electrical conductivity, NH₄-N, CO₂-C respiration and the microbial quotient were significantly correlated with variation in the PL-FAME profiles. Redundancy analysis of the Biolog data indicated that cation exchange capacity and bicarbonate-extractable K were significantly correlated with the variation in Biolog substrate utilization patterns. Received: 8 March 2000     

南方几种水稻土重金属污染下的土壤呼吸及微生物学效应

采集南方几种重金属污染下的水稻土,通过室内培养的方法研究土壤CO2排放的动态变化以及微生物学指标的差异。结果表明,在60d的培养期内,前7d土壤呼吸速率较高,占了整个排放量的30．89％～64．37％,并且这一阶段重金属对土壤呼吸速率的影响最大。重金属对土壤微生物生物量的影响表现出增加、抑制与无显著性差异的结果,而重金属对微生物熵及微生物代谢熵（qCO2）的影响却是极显著的,同时表现出增加与降低的不同结果。这说明土壤呼吸以及不同的微生物学指标,在长期的复合重金属污染条件下,其表现并不一致,微生物熵与代谢熵用于基本性质差异较大的土壤时,对重金属的响应更为灵敏。此外,土壤重金属的累积还能提高土壤中有机碳的含量。     

Effects of irrigation-induced salinity and sodicity on soil microbial activity

The effects of irrigation-induced salinity and sodicity on the size and activity of the soil microbial biomass in vertic soils on a Zimbabwean sugar estate were investigated. Furrow-irrigated fields were selected which had a gradient of salinity and sugarcane yield ranging from good cane growth at the upper ends to dead and dying cane at the lower ends. Soils were sampled under dead and dying cane, poor, satisfactory and good cane growth and from adjacent undisturbed sites under native vegetation. Electrical conductivity (EC) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of saturation paste extracts was measured, as well as the exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP). There was a significant negative exponential relationship between EC and microbial biomass C, the percentage of organic C present as microbial biomass C, indices of microbial activity (arginine ammonification and fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis rates) and the activities of the exocellular enzymes β-glucosidase, alkaline phosphatase and arylsulphatase but the negative relationships with SAR and ESP were best described by linear functions. By contrast, the metabolic quotient increased with increasing salinity and sodicity, exponentially with EC and linearly with SAR and ESP.Potentially mineralizable N, measured by aerobic incubation, was also negatively correlated with EC, SAR and ESP. These results indicate that increasing salinity and sodicity resulted in a progressively smaller, more stressed microbial community which was less metabolically efficient. The exponential relationships with EC demonstrate the highly detrimental effect that small increases in salinity had on the microbial community. It is concluded that agriculture-induced salinity and sodicity not only influences the chemical and physical characteristics of soils but also greatly affects soil microbial and biochemical properties.     

盐分对土壤呼吸和有机质动力学的影响与土壤电导率相关，而与渗透势的关系更为密切

Osmotic potential (OP) of soil solution may be a more appropriate parameter than electrical conductivity (EC) to evaluate the effect of salts on plant growth and soil biomass.However,this has not been examined in detail with respect to microbial activity and dissolved organic matter in soils with different texture.This study evaluated the effect of salinity and sodicity on respiration and dissolved organic matter dynamics in salt-affected soils with different texture.Four non-saline and non-sodic soils differing in texture (S-4,S-13,S-24 and S-40 with 4％,13％,24％ and 40％ clay,respectively) were leached using combinations of 1 mol L-1 NaC1 and 1 mol L-1 CaC12 stock solutions,resulting in EC (1:5 soil:water ratio) between 0.4 and 5.0 dS m-1 with two levels of sodicity (sodium absorption ratio (SAR) ＜ 3 (non-sodic) and 20 (sodic),1:5 soil:water ratio).Adjusting the water content to levels optimal for microbial activity,which differed among the soils,resulted in four ranges of OP in all the soils:from-0.06 to--0.24 (controls,without salt added),-0.55 to-0.92,-1.25 to-1.62 and-2.77 to-3.00 Mpa.Finely ground mature wheat straw (20 g kg-1) was added to stimulate microbial activity.At a given EC,cumulative soil respiration was lower in the lighter-textured soils (S-4 and S-13) than in the heavier-textured soils (S-24 and S-40).Cumulative soil respiration decreased with decreasing OP to a similar extent in all the soils,with a greater decrease on Day 40 than on Day 10.Cumulative soil respiration was greater at SAR =20 than at SAR ＜ 3 only at the OP levels between-0.62 and-1.62 MPa on Day 40.In all the soils and at both sampling times,concentrations of dissolved organic C and N were higher at the lowest OP levels (from-2.74 to-3.0 MPa) than in the controls (from-0.06 to-0.24 MPa).Thus,OP is a better parameter than EC to evaluate the effect of salinity on dissolved organic matter and microbial activity in different textured soils.     

Dynamics of soil fauna after plantation of perennial energy crops on polluted soils

Growing demand for alternative energy sources has led to an increased production of biomass crops. In order to limit the use of fertile agricultural land for producing bioenergy, low quality agricultural land, as well as degraded or drastically disturbed soils have been proposed for the cropping of bioenergy cultivars. Our work aimed at assessing the dynamics of soil invertebrate diversity after plantation of perennial energy crops on metal polluted soils. The results were compared with invertebrate diversity dynamics in soils of other plots, representative either for the dominant land occupancies in the study area, or for unpolluted soil situations. We investigated taxonomic, compositional and functional dimensions of diversity in soil- and surface-dwelling communities. Changes in land use from annual crops to perennial energy crops led to a higher number of individuals in soil. No or few changes in taxonomic richness were recorded with an increasing age of energy cropping. Regarding functional diversity, the proportions of resident invertebrates tended to vary with the age of energy cropping, but neither the trophic composition nor the body spectra were modified. Our findings highlighted an increase of soil carrying capacity after perennial energy crop plantation on metal polluted soils, but effects on invertebrate diversity were limited.     

Microbial and Enzyme Activities of Saline and Sodic Soils

Salinization and sodication are abiotic soil factors, important hazards to soil fertility and consequently affect the crop production. Soil salinization is of great concern for irrigated agriculture in arid and semi‐arid regions of the world; sodicity is characterized by an excessively high concentration of sodium (Na) in their cation exchange system. In recent times, attention has been turned to study the impacts of these factors (salinity and sodicity) on soil microbial activities. Microbial activities play central role in degradation and decomposition of soil organic matter, mineralization of nutrients and stabilization of soil aggregates. To understand the ecology of soil system, therefore, it is important to be conversant with the soil microbial activities, which show quick response to little change in the soil environment. Microbial activities (generally measured as C–N dynamics, soil respiration–basal respiration, or CO₂ emission), microbial abundance, microbial biomass, quotients (microbial and metabolic) and microbial community structure, and soil enzymes have been considered as potential indicators to assess the severity of the land degradation and the effectiveness of land use management. Therefore, it is important to synthesize the available information regarding microbial activities in use and management of salt‐affected soils. The reclamation and management of such soils and their physico‐chemical properties have been reviewed well in the literature. In this review, an attempt has been made to compile the current knowledge about the effects of soil salinization and sodication on microbial and enzyme activities and identify research gaps for future research. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同利用方式下红壤微生物生物量及代谢功能多样性的变化

研究了不同农林利用方式下红壤微生物生物量和代谢功能多样性等土壤质量指标的变化.结果表明:不同利用方式对土壤质量各指标造成了显著的影响;稻田的微生物生物量碳、氮最高,林地和草地微生物生物量次之,旱地的微生物生物量碳、氮最低(分别是稻田利用方式的4.3% 和 13.7%);稻田的微生物代谢功能多样性最高,旱地、林地和草地的细菌代谢功能多样性较低,旱地的真菌代谢功能多样性最低;微生物生物量和代谢功能多样性可以作为反映土壤质量变化的早期敏感的指标,用来衡量管理措施的改变对土壤质量造成的影响.     

代谢指纹评估苯噻草胺对水稻土微生物群落的短期影响

本文探讨了酰胺类除草剂苯噻草胺对水稻土微生物群落功能多样性的短期影响。本研究采用微生物群落基质利用潜力测定（Biolog法）评估生物群落。结果表明，苯噻草胺污染引起了水稻田微生物群落功能多样性的下降，降低了微生物对单-碳源底物的利用能力，但这种影响是短暂的，在试验最终没有导致土壤微生物群落功能多样性下降。多食鞘氨醇杆菌Y1（Sphingobacterium multiuorum）的添加有利于提高水稻土微生物群落的功能多样性。3个处理土壤的群落代谢剖面值与培养时间之间呈非线性关系，其变化过程符合微生物种群生长动态模型（S形）。模型模拟分析表明，动力学参数a和x0能更灵敏地表征苯噻草胺和Y1菌株处理对水稻土微生物群落功能多样性的影响。在本实验研究中，多样性指标指数Shannon（H）能灵敏而有效地指示污染环境的微生物学变化，但群落丰富度指标颜色变化孔数（S）提供的信息较片面。     

绰墩山遗址古水稻土的一些微生物学特性研究

在江苏绰墩山遗址考古发掘中,发现了在剖面不同深度埋藏的距今约6 500 a的史前古水稻田土层(100~200 cm)和距今约3 320 a的商周时期的古水稻田土层(42~100 cm)。本研究为了解古水稻土的生物学性状及其与现代水稻土的差别,以土壤剖面P-01(包含史前古水稻土和商周时期古水稻土)与P-03(仅含商周时期古水稻土)为对象,利用土壤厌氧培养、Biolog分析和广古生菌界16S rDNA的V3区的PCR-DGGE分析,初步研究了不同土层厌氧微生物多样性、产甲烷潜势以及产甲烷古菌群落多样性的变化。结果表明,史前古水稻土仍有较多厌氧微生物存活,可达7.0×105cfu g-1干土,并且其单一碳源利用能力和多样性也显著高于其湖相沉积母质和相同时期的非水稻土(黄土母质)。与现代水稻土相比,古水稻土仅存留了很微弱的产甲烷潜势。但史前古水稻土比同期非水稻土和商周时期古水稻土的产甲烷潜势较高。PCR-DGGE结果显示,水稻土层都有其区别于非水稻土层的产甲烷古菌群落结构,而现代水稻土、商周时期古水稻土和史前古水稻土也各有不同的优势产甲烷古菌种群,不同时期的水稻耕作方式是造成这种差异的可能的重要原因之一。     

多氯联苯污染土壤的紫云英–根瘤菌联合修复效应

选用紫云英(Astragalus sinicus L.)作为宿主植物,通过盆栽试验研究了接种紫云英根瘤菌(Rhizobium huakuii)对多氯联苯污染土壤的修复效应。结果表明,经过100天的修复作用后,单接种根瘤菌、种植紫云英以及紫云英接种根瘤菌处理土壤中多氯联苯的去除率分别为20.5%、23.0%、53.1%,均显著高于对照处理(P<0.01)。而且发现接种根瘤菌显著增加了紫云英根际土壤的微生物生物量碳、氮,明显增强了土壤微生物群落的碳源利用能力,从而改善了微生物群落功能多样性。可见,紫云英–根瘤菌共生体对多氯联苯污染土壤表现出较好的修复潜力。     

氯氰菊酯与铜复合污染对土壤微生物群落的影响

采用常规手段研究了土壤在受氯氰菊酯、铜及二者复合污染后土壤呼吸率及微生物量碳的变化,采用了分离效果较好的双变性梯度凝胶电泳（DG—DGGE）技术研究微生物群落的变化。结果表明,低浓度的铜与高浓度的氯氰菊酯复合污染更能促进微生物量碳及土壤呼吸率的增加,微生物的群落结构也会受到明显影响。而两种污染物分别单独作用时,铜对微生物的胁迫更大,有铜组和无铜组在DGGE条带上差异较大,Shannon指数上也有明显不同。当铜的浓度较高时,加入高浓度的氯氰菊酯在较长的时间后（60d）对土壤呼吸作用、微生物量碳有一定影响,可能高浓度氯氰菊酯的加入在一定程度上减弱了高浓度铜对微生物的胁迫,而微生物群落并无显著的变化。     

Influence of heavy metals on the functional diversity of soil microbial communities

Three soil types-Calcaric Phaeozem, Eutric Cambisol and Dystric Lithosol-in large container pots were experimentally contaminated with heavy metals at four different levels (light pollution: 300 ppm Zn, 100 ppm Cu, 50 ppm Ni, 50 ppm V and 3 ppm Cd; medium pollution: twofold concentrations; heavy pollution: threefold concentrations; uncontaminated control). We investigated the prognostic potential of 16 soil microbial properties (microbial biomass, respiration, N-mineralization, 13 soil enzymes involved in cycling of C, N, P and S) with regard to their ability to differentiate the four contamination levels. Microbial biomass and enzyme activities decreased with increasing heavy metal pollution, but the amount of decrease differed among the enzymes. Enzymes involved in the C-cycling were least affected, whereas vartous enzyme activities related to the cycling of N, P and S showed a considerable decrease in activity. In particular, arylsulfatase and phosphatase activities were dramatically affected. Their activity decreased to a level of a few percent of their activities in the corresponding unpolluted controls. The data suggest that aside from the loss of rare biochemical capabilities-such as the growth of organisms at the expense of aromatics (Reber 1992)-heavy metal contaminated soils lose very common biochemical propertities which are necessary for the functioning of the ecosystem. Cluster analysis as well as discriminant analysis underline the similarity of the enzyme activity pattern among the controls and among the polluted soils. The trend toward a significant functional diversity loss becomes obvious already at the lowest pollution level. This implies that concentrations of heavy metals in soils near the current EC limits will most probably lead to a considerable reduction in decomposition and nutrient cycling rates. We conclude that heavy metal pollution severely decreases the functional diversity of the soil microbial community and impairs specific pathways of nutrient cycling.Dedicated to Professor J. C. G. Ottow on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

长期施肥对红壤性水稻土微生物生物量与活性的影响

土壤微生物及其活性是指示土壤增肥过程和土壤环境变化的灵敏指标.本文研究了红壤荒地开垦为水田后不同施肥制度定位施肥 16 年后水稻土的微生物生物量与活性特征,结果表明:经 16 年水稻耕植,不同施肥措施下土壤的微生物生物量和活性还处于较低水平.施肥制度显著影响了水稻土的微生物生物量 C 和基质诱导呼吸,但对基础呼吸的影响还不明显.只施用 N、K 肥对提高土壤微生物生物量和活性没有显著效果,在不施肥或施用化肥的基础上配合有机循环可以显著提高土壤微生物的生物量、代谢活性和微生物呼吸的温度敏感性,N、P、K 肥配合有机循环的施肥制度对提高土壤微生物生物量和代谢活性的作用最好.     

Microbial community composition affects soil organic carbon turnover in mineral soils

Soil organic carbon (SOC) turnover is the most ubiquitous and ecologically fundamental process in soils. It is generally assumed that SOC is utilised by functionally redundant soil-specific microbial communities which do not differ in their capability to mineralise soil organic matter. To challenge this assumption, incubation experiments were conducted to analyse the community-specific effects on SOC turnover for six mineral soils under different land-use. Comparisons of respiration by a native soil community and an alien community both inoculated to sterilised soils revealed 29 ± 18% higher respiration by the native community (‘home-field advantage’). Increased soil microbial community diversity, as generated by mixing several microbial inoculants, did not result in increased mineralisation rates. Even under impaired conditions, in the presence of aged engine oil as a less decomposable substance, communities with higher diversity did not show higher respiration rates. Also, in non-sterilised soils, we detected the influence of the microbial community composition on respiration rates: Investigations on the effect of mixing two communities in a 50:50 untreated soil mixture showed declining respiration in three out of six cases (by 23.9 ± 5.9%) and increased respiration in one case (by 57%) compared to the mean respiration of the two unmixed soils. These effects were highly related to the microbial community capability, with only communities with low capability profiting from mixing with a second community. Our results question the assumption of redundancy of microbial community’s functionality for SOC mineralisation in soils.     

The influence of different types of urban land use on soil microbial biomass and functional diversity in Beijing,China

Soil microbes in urban ecosystems are affected by a variety of abiotic and biotic factors resulting from changes in land use. However, the influence of different types of land use on soil microbial properties and soil quality in urban areas remains largely unknown. Here, by comparing five types of land use: natural forest, park, agriculture, street green and roadside trees, we examined the effects of different land uses on soil microbial biomass and microbial functional diversity in Beijing, China. We found that soil properties varied with land uses in urban environments. Compared to natural forest, soil nutrients under the other four types of urban land use were markedly depleted, and accumulation of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd was apparent. Importantly, under these four types of land use, there was less microbial biomass, but it had greater functional diversity, particularly in the roadside‐tree soils. Furthermore, there were significant correlations between the microbial characteristics and physicochemical properties, such as organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorus (P < 0.05), suggesting that lack of nutrients was the major reason for the decrease in microbial biomass. In addition, the larger C/N ratio, Ni concentration and pool of organic matter together with a higher pH contributed to the increase in microbial functional diversity in urban soils. We concluded that different land uses have indirect effects on soil microbial biomass and microbial community functional diversity through their influence on soil physicochemical properties, especially nutrient availability and heavy metal content.     

Response of soil microbial community and diversity to increasing water salinity and nitrogen fertilization rate in an arid soil

The scarcity of fresh water has forced farmers to use saline water (SW) for irrigation. It is important to understand the response of the soil microbial community and diversity to saline irrigation water. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of irrigation water salinity and nitrogen fertilization rates on soil physicochemical properties, microbial activity, microbial biomass, and microbial functional diversity. The field experiment consisted of a factorial design with three levels of irrigation water salinity (electrical conductivities (ECs) of 0.35, 4.61 or 8.04?dS?m^?1) and two nitrogen rates (0 and 360?kg?N?ha^?1). The results showed that the 4.61 and 8.04?dS?m^?1 treatments both reduced soil microbial biomass C (MBC), microbial biomass N (MBN), basal respiration, total phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA), bacterial PLFA, fungal PLFA, and fungal:bacterial ratios. In contrast, the SW treatments increased the MBC:MBN ratio. Nitrogen fertilization increased soil MBC, MBN, basal respiration, total PLFA, bacterial PLFA, and gram-negative bacterial PLFA. In contrast, N fertilization decreased gram-positive bacterial PLFA, fungal PLFA, and fungal:bacterial ratios. Average well color development, Richness, and Shannon's Index were always lowest in the 8.04?dS?m^?1 treatment. Carbon utilization patterns in the 8.04?dS?m^?1 treatment were different from those in the 0.35?dS?m^?1 treatment. In conclusion, five years of irrigation with brackish or SW reduced the soil microbial biomass, activity, and functional diversity, which may cause the deterioration of soil quality. Thus, the high-salinity water (EC?>?4.61?dS?m^?1) is not appropriate as a single irrigation water resource. Proper N fertilizer input may overcome some of the negative effects of salinity on soil microbial.