Can the Biological Activity of Abandoned Soils Be Changed by the Growth of Paulownia elongata × Paulownia fortunei ?—Preliminary Study on a Young Tree Plantation

Małgorzata Woźniak, Anna Gałązka, Grzegorz Siebielec and Magdalena Frąc
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Małgorzata Woźniak: Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland
Anna Gałązka: Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland
Grzegorz Siebielec: Department of Soil Science Erosion and Land Protection, Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute, Czartoryskich 8, 24-100 Puławy, Poland
Magdalena Frąc: Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Doświadczalna 4, 20-290 Lublin, Poland

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: Bioenergy crops play an ecologically and economically fundamental role as an alternative to agri-food productions and as renewable energy sources. Thus far, less attention has been given to assessing microbiological indicators of soil quality in bioenergy crops on abandoned land. The current study assessed microbial and biochemical properties of two soils with different textures in agroforestry plantations of Paulownia elongata × Paulownia fortunei , with regard to the analysis of potential for the reclamation and redevelopment of abandoned lands. The soil samples were characterised by measuring microbial biomass C and N, key enzyme activities, and determining the community-level physiological profiles (CLPP) using Biolog EcoPlates. Soil texture, sampling time (June and October), and distance of sampling (0.1 m and 1 m from a tree) had significant effects on microbiological properties. Moreover, dehydrogenases and acid phosphatase activities as well as microbial biomass C and N decreased with distance from the trees, and were significantly higher in the October than in the June. The community-level physiological profiles (CLPP) and diversity indices showed a similar trend to other parameters of biological activity. The results showed that there were significant differences in the AWCD (average well-colour development) of all carbon sources among the Paulownia microbial communities ( p < 0.05). In summary, already after one year of tree planting, a statistically significant increase in microbial activity was found, regardless of soil texture, when evaluated by various methods. This proves the value of the Paulownia as fast-growing plant for recultivation and improvement of soil quality on abandoned land.

Keywords: Paulownia; abandoned land; metabolic diversity; microbiological activity; soil quality (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: 2022
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