Biological Indicators of Soil Condition on the Kabanyolo Experimental Field, Uganda

Anna Ivanova, Elizaveta Denisova, Patrick Musinguzi, Emmanuel Opolot, John Baptist Tumuhairwe, Lev Pozdnyakov, Natalia Manucharova, Igor Ilichev, Aleksey Stepanov and Pavel Krasilnikov
Additional contact information
Anna Ivanova: Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Elizaveta Denisova: Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Patrick Musinguzi: Department of Agricultural Production, School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda
Emmanuel Opolot: Department of Agricultural Production, School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda
John Baptist Tumuhairwe: Department of Agricultural Production, School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda
Lev Pozdnyakov: Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Natalia Manucharova: Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Igor Ilichev: Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Aleksey Stepanov: Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Pavel Krasilnikov: Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Building 12, 119991 Moscow, Russia

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Soil biological activity is an integral characteristic reflecting the state of soil fertility, biodiversity, and the activity of soil processes carried out by soil organisms. In Africa, studies of soil biological properties are few compared to the agrochemical research. In this paper, we present an assessment of multiple biochemical and microbiological properties of soil from an agricultural field located in the African tropical savanna. We determined basal respiration, substrate-induced respiration, C of microbial biomass, the potential activity of denitrification, nitrogen fixation activity, and estimated prokaryotic components in the soil microbial complex by quantitative PCR. Basal respiration of soils ranged from 0.77 ± 0.04 to 1.90 ± 0.23 μg C-CO 2 ·g −1 ·h −1 , and substrate-induced respiration ranged from 3.31 ± 0.17 to 7.84 ± 1.04 μg C-CO 2 ·g −1 ·h −1 . The C reserves of microbial biomass averaged 403.7 ± 121.6 μg C·g −1 of soil. The N 2 O emission from the upper layer on average amounted to 2.79 ng N-N 2 O·g −1 ·day −1 , and the potential denitrification activity reached 745 ± 98 ng N-N 2 O·g −1 ·h −1 . The number of copies of bacterial genes varied from (0.19 ± 0.02) × 10 8 to (3.52 ± 0.8) × 10 8 copies·g −1 , and of archaea—from (0.10 ± 0.01) × 10 7 to (0.29 ± 0.01) × 10 7 copies·g −1 of soil. These results were in good agreement with the studies in other seasonally wet tropical regions: the biological activity was relatively low. The difference between biological indicators of the experimental field and the reference profile were insignificant except for nitrogen loss, which was higher in the ploughed field. Biological indicators strongly varied in space; we explained their heterogeneity by non-uniform management practices in the course of agrochemical field experiments in the past. The use of organic fertilisers may cause the release of climatically active gases due to intensive microbial respiration and denitrification, but the intensity of emission would strongly depend on the cultivation and management method.

Keywords: carbon cycle; nitrogen cycle; microbial biomass; microbial diversity; fertilisers; soil health; tropical savanna (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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