Response of soil organic matter fractions and composition of microbial community to long-term organic and mineral fertilization

The effects of organic and mineral fertilization on four soil organic matter (SOM) fractions (non-protected, physically protected, chemically protected, and biochemically protected) and microbial community composition were investigated by sampling soil of a 35-year-long fertilization experiment. The SOM fractions were investigated by combined physical and chemical approaches, while microbial community composition was determined by phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA). Organic C (SOC) was primarily distributed within the microaggregate-protected particulate organic matter (iPOM) and the hydrolysable and non-hydrolysable silt-sized (H-Silt, NH-Silt) fractions, which accounted for 11.6–16.9, 23.4–28.9, and 25.4–30.6% of the total SOC content, respectively. The contributions of these “slow” fractions (iPOM, H-Silt, NH-Silt) to the increased SOC were 178–293, 118–209, and 85–109% higher after long-term sole manure or manure in combination with inorganic N fertilization compared with unfertilized soil (control). The combination of manure and mineral fertilizers increased the coarse and fine non-protected C (cPOM and fPOM) contents much more (34.1–60.7%) than did manure alone. PLFAs, bacteria, G (+) bacteria, and actinomycete abundances were the highest in soil with manure, followed by soil treated with manure combined with mineral N. The addition of inorganic and organic fertilization both altered the microbial community composition compared with the control. All SOM fractions contributed to 81.1% of the variance of the PLFAs-related microbial community composition by direct and indirect effects. The change in coarse unprotected particulate organic matter (cPOM) was the major factor affecting soil microbial community composition (p < 0.001). Our study indicates that physical, chemical, and biochemical protection mechanisms are important in maintaining high SOC level after the addition of manure. A close linkage between soil microbial community composition and cPOM suggests that C availability is an important factor for influencing microbial composition after long-term inorganic and organic fertilization.