Green manuring combined with nitrogen reduction sustained rice productivity and expanded soil organic nitrogen pool via promoting coordinated rhizosphere metabolite–microbiome interactions
- 1Agricultural Resources and Environmental Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Guangxi Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation , , ,
- 2College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University , ,
- 3State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China, the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences , ,
Abstract
Green manuring can improve soil fertility and sustain rice productivity, yet its effects on rhizosphere metabolite–microbiome interactions regulating soil nitrogen pools remain unclear. Based on a six-year field experiment in the green manure-rice rotation system, we investigated how green manure combined with reduced nitrogen fertilization regulated soil nitrogen pool, enzyme activities, rhizosphere metabolites and microbial communities along the soil–root continuum. Green manuring combined with 20% reduction of nitrogen fertilizer (GM2) increased rice yield by approximately 8.7% and effectively expanded soil organic nitrogen pool. In contrast, green manuring without nitrogen reduction (GM3) enhanced inorganic nitrogen accumulation but accelerated organic nitrogen depletion. GM2 promoted the accumulation of soil amino sugar nitrogen, amino acid nitrogen and the activities of organic nitrogen-hydrolyzing enzymes (protease, leucine aminopeptidase and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase), indicating accelerated organic nitrogen depolymerization and turnover. Green manuring (GM) exerts an increasing influence on microbial community assembly along the soil–root continuum and promotes nitrogen-cycling functional potentials, most notably in the root endosphere of GM3. GM treatments enriched amino acids and signaling-related metabolites of rice rhizosphere soil, including L-isoleucine, sarcosine, 3-[(2-chloro-1,3-thiazol-5-yl) methyl]-5-methyl-1,3,5-oxadiazin-4-imine, and N-sulfo-D-glucosamine, all of which showed significant positive associations with nitrogen-cycling related bacterial taxa and saprotrophic fungi. Path modeling further demonstrated that metabolite-driven bacterial pathways dominated soil organic nitrogen accumulation. Overall, moderate nitrogen reduction under green manuring promoted coordinated rhizosphere metabolite–microbiome interactions that simultaneously sustained rice productivity and improved soil nitrogen stability.
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BibTeX
@article{liang2026green,
title = {{Green manuring combined with nitrogen reduction sustained rice productivity and expanded soil organic nitrogen pool via promoting coordinated rhizosphere metabolite–microbiome interactions}},
author = {Hai Liang and Zhongyi Li and Caihui Wei and Hongqin Tang and Wenbin Dong and Yuefeng Yu and Yuning Wang and Yongcheng Mo and Songjuan Gao and Weidong Cao and Tieguang He},
journal = {Frontiers in plant science},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1966893},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662682},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Green manuring combined with nitrogen reduction sustained rice productivity and expanded soil organic nitrogen pool via promoting coordinated rhizosphere metabolite–microbiome interactions
AU - Hai Liang
AU - Zhongyi Li
AU - Caihui Wei
AU - Hongqin Tang
AU - Wenbin Dong
AU - Yuefeng Yu
AU - Yuning Wang
AU - Yongcheng Mo
AU - Songjuan Gao
AU - Weidong Cao
AU - Tieguang He
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Frontiers in plant science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1966893
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13662682
AB - Green manuring can improve soil fertility and sustain rice productivity, yet its effects on rhizosphere metabolite–microbiome interactions regulating soil nitrogen pools remain unclear. Based on a six-year field experiment in the green manure-rice rotation system, we investigated how green manure combined with reduced nitrogen fertilization regulated soil nitrogen pool, enzyme activities, rhizosphere metabolites and microbial communities along the soil–root continuum. Green manuring combined with 20% reduction of nitrogen fertilizer (GM2) increased rice yield by approximately 8.7% and effectively expanded soil organic nitrogen pool. In contrast, green manuring without nitrogen reduction (GM3) enhanced inorganic nitrogen accumulation but accelerated organic nitrogen depletion. GM2 promoted the accumulation of soil amino sugar nitrogen, amino acid nitrogen and the activities of organic nitrogen-hydrolyzing enzymes (protease, leucine aminopeptidase and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase), indicating accelerated organic nitrogen depolymerization and turnover. Green manuring (GM) exerts an increasing influence on microbial community assembly along the soil–root continuum and promotes nitrogen-cycling functional potentials, most notably in the root endosphere of GM3. GM treatments enriched amino acids and signaling-related metabolites of rice rhizosphere soil, including L-isoleucine, sarcosine, 3-[(2-chloro-1,3-thiazol-5-yl) methyl]-5-methyl-1,3,5-oxadiazin-4-imine, and N-sulfo-D-glucosamine, all of which showed significant positive associations with nitrogen-cycling related bacterial taxa and saprotrophic fungi. Path modeling further demonstrated that metabolite-driven bacterial pathways dominated soil organic nitrogen accumulation. Overall, moderate nitrogen reduction under green manuring promoted coordinated rhizosphere metabolite–microbiome interactions that simultaneously sustained rice productivity and improved soil nitrogen stability.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -