Multivariate analysis of chemical and microbial properties in histosols as influenced by land-use types

The histosols of the Everglades agricultural area in South Florida, USA, were drained in early 1900s and converted from wetlands to agricultural use, which subsequently increased soil oxidation and altered soil properties. The objectives of this study were to determine land-use effects on integrated soil chemical properties and how their discriminations regulate microbial community composition and function using multivariate analytical methods. Soil was collected from sugarcane, cypress, and uncultivated sites. Cluster analysis (CA) and discriminant analysis (DA) were applied to determine differences in soil chemistry and microbial community structure and function, while principal components analysis (PCA) was used to reduce variables. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) evaluated dependent relationships between soil chemical and microbial parameters. Soils under different land-uses were perfectly clustered into their own groups, which was distinguished by labile inorganic P and total P. Discriminations on integrated soil microbial characteristics were significant. Microbial biomass C and N, community-level physiological profile components, and potentially mineralizable N contributed most to such differentiations. Canonical correlations between soil chemical and microbial indexes were significant on both canonical variates (R1 = 0.91, p = 0.0006; R2 = 0.65, p = 0.03). Cumulatively, 63% of the variances in microbial indices were explained by chemical canonical variates. Agricultural management, especially historic P fertilization, altered soil nutrient availability and consequently modified the microbial community composition and function. Future land-use changes and management should consider the role of labile P on the functioning of microbial communities and their control of nutrient cycling since this parameter had the most influence on changing soil properties.

[1]  L. Verchot,et al.  Soil Microbial Community Response to Land Use Change in an Agricultural Landscape of Western Kenya , 2005, Microbial Ecology.

[2]  R. Poppi,et al.  Discrimination of management effects on soil parameters by using principal component analysis: a multivariate analysis case study , 2002 .

[3]  L. Jackson,et al.  Nematode diversity, food web condition, and chemical and physical properties in different soil habitats of an organic farm , 2008, Biology and Fertility of Soils.

[4]  Marcelo M. Sena,et al.  Avaliação do uso de métodos quimiométricos em análise de solos , 2000 .

[5]  F. A. Rutigliano,et al.  Soil microbial metabolism and nutrient status in a Mediterranean area as affected by plant cover , 2004 .

[6]  G. Bollero,et al.  Soil Quality Assessment of Tillage Impacts in Illinois , 1999 .

[7]  M. V. Gil,et al.  Assessing the agronomic and environmental effects of the application of cattle manure compost on soil by multivariate methods. , 2008, Bioresource technology.

[8]  K. Reddy,et al.  Land‐Use Effects on Soil Nutrient Cycling and Microbial Community Dynamics in the Everglades Agricultural Area, Florida , 2009 .

[9]  K. Reddy,et al.  Sulfur-induced changes in phosphorus distribution in Everglades Agricultural Area soils , 2010, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[10]  K. Reddy,et al.  Influence of Selected Inorganic Electron Acceptors on Organic Nitrogen Mineralization in Everglades Soils , 2001 .

[11]  D. Reicosky,et al.  Oxidation Potentials of Soil Organic Matter in Histosols under Different Tillage Methods , 2004 .

[12]  R. Corstanje,et al.  Patterns of heterotrophic microbial activity in eutrophic and oligotrophic peatlands. , 2009 .

[13]  J. Garland.  Analytical approaches to the characterization of samples of microbial communities using patterns of potential C source utilization , 1996 .

[14]  C. D. Clegg,et al.  Assessing shifts in microbial community structure across a range of grasslands of differing management intensity using CLPP, PLFA and community DNA techniques , 2004 .

[15]  Bland J. Finlay,et al.  Microbial diversity and ecosystem function , 1997 .

[16]  K. Reddy,et al.  Catabolic diversity of periphyton and detritus microbial communities in a subtropical wetland , 2008 .

[17]  P. Green,et al.  Analyzing multivariate data , 1978 .

[18]  R. Armstrong,et al.  Tillage system affects phosphorus form and depth distribution in three contrasting Victorian soils , 2009 .

[19]  K. Reddy,et al.  Microbial Enzyme Activities in a Freshwater Marsh after Cessation of Nutrient Loading , 2004 .

[20]  K. Reddy,et al.  Loss‐on‐Ignition Method to Assess Soil Organic Carbon in Calcareous Everglades Wetlands , 2008 .

[21]  K. Reddy,et al.  Phosphorus Loading Effects on Extracellular Enzyme Activity in Everglades Wetland Soils , 2001 .

[22]  Tiangang Luan,et al.  Structure and function of microbial communities during the early stages of revegetation of barren soils in the vicinity of a Pb/Zn Smelter , 2006 .

[23]  J. Garland.  Analysis and interpretation of community-level physiological profiles in microbial ecology , 1997 .

[24]  K. Reddy,et al.  Influence of phosphorus loading on organic nitrogen mineralization of Everglades soils , 2000 .

[25]  Benjamin L Turner,et al.  Changes in enzyme activities and soil microbial community composition along carbon and nutrient gradients at the Franz Josef chronosequence, New Zealand , 2007 .

[26]  J. Sánchez,et al.  Discrimination of Lithogenic and Anthropogenic Metals in Calcareous Agricultural Soils: A Case Study of the Lower Vinalopó Region (SE Spain) , 2008 .

[27]  G. Andrade,et al.  Promising indicators for assessment of agroecosystems alteration among natural, reforested and agricultural land use in southern Brazil , 2006 .

[28]  N. Banning,et al.  Effect of heat-induced disturbance on microbial biomass and activity in forest soil and the relationship between disturbance effects and microbial community structure , 2008 .

[29]  D. Murphy,et al.  Controls on soil nitrogen cycling and microbial community composition across land use and incubation temperature , 2007 .

[30]  M. Castillo,et al.  Soil phosphorus pools for Histosols under sugarcane and pasture in the Everglades, USA , 2008 .

[31]  R. Corstanje,et al.  Soil microbial eco-physiological response to nutrient enrichment in a sub-tropical wetland , 2007 .

[32]  J. Schoenau,et al.  Influence of cultivation and fertilization on total organic carbon and carbon fractions in soils from the Loess Plateau of China , 2004 .

[33]  S. Ito,et al.  Structure of soil microbial communities in sugi plantations and semi-natural broad-leaved forests with different land use history * , 2006 .