Regulatory effect of the amendment with vermicompost and coconut-shell biochar on microbial ecology in coastal saline soil
Abstract
Soil salinization is a major challenge in soil management, and remediating saline soils is crucial for sustainable soil resource development. Although vermicompost and biochar are frequently employed as soil amendments, their micro-ecological remediation mechanism for acid saline soils needs further verification. This study aimed to investigate whether vermicompost co-applied with coconut-shell biochar exerts a synergistic positive impact on coastal saline soil micro-ecology. A pot experiment was conducted to examine the micro-ecological regulation effect of vermicompost co-applied with coconut-shell biochar on coastal saline soil. The study revealed that applying the amendment containing vermicompost and coconut-shell biochar significantly improved the quality of coastal saline soils by reducing soil salinity, increasing the soil pH and organic matter (OM), and enhancing nutrient availability and enzyme activity. The soil salinity changed from moderate to mild, and total water-soluble salts (TS) significantly decreased by 72.8%. The soil pH raised significantly by 6.5%. The contents of OM, alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK) increased by 20.8%, 50.4%, 80.9%, and 41.6%, respectively. Moreover, the three enzyme activities of urease (UE), acid phosphatase (ACP), and catalase (CAT) increased by 835%, 17.1%, and 130%, respectively. Additionally, vermicompost co-applied with coconut-shell biochar significantly impacted bacterial diversity and community composition. Notably, vermicompost co-applied with coconut-shell biochar boosted the growth of key salt-tolerant bacterial groups. Specifically, the relative abundance of Acidobacteriota, Gemmatimonadetes, Actinobacteria, and Chloroflexi increased by 167%, 888%, 86.7%, and 123%, respectively. Redundancy analysis showed that vermicompost co-applied with coconut-shell biochar could reduce TS by increasing pH, available nutrients, bacterial diversity, and enzyme activities in coastal soils. To sum up, vermicompost co-applied with coconut-shell biochar played a crucial role in positively influencing the soil micro-ecological environment. It effectively reduced soil salinity and would hold great potential for improving saline soil conditions.
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