Microbial mechanisms underlying the shift of net global warming potential in a maize field under organic amendments
5 affiliations
- 1Institute of Plant Nutrition, Resources and Environment, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences
- 2Beijing Engineering Technology Research Center for Slow/Controlled-Release Fertilizer
- 3National Meteorological Centre
- 4Beijing Bihaiyuan Ecological Agriculture Sightseeing Co., Ltd.
- 5SDIC Xinjiang Luobupo Postash Co., Ltd.
Abstract
While organic amendments are promoted for enhancing soil quality, their impacts on the net global warming potential (GWP) and the underlying microbial mechanisms in the maize system remain elusive. By using a long-term field experiment established in 2007 under a winter wheat-summer maize rotation system, a field study was conducted to investigate the effects of different organic-amended treatments (manure application and straw return coupled with conventional or no tillage) on greenhouse gas (i.e., nitrous oxide [N ₂ O] and carbon dioxide [CO ₂ ]) emissions, soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and functional genes governing soil C and N cycling during the 2021 and 2022 maize growing seasons. Compared to conventional N fertilization (CN), long-term organic amendments, particularly manure application, significantly enhanced SOC stocks by 16.7–46.2% while reducing cumulative N ₂ O emissions by 22.9–30.2%, respectively. Although a 22.6–44.5% increase in CO ₂ emissions were observed under organic amendments relative to CN, the concurrent SOC gains and N ₂ O mitigation shifted the field-scale net GWP from positive to negative. Multivariate analyses implied that enhanced SOC sequestration under organic amendments was mainly associated with greater exogenous organic matter inputs and enriched C fixation genes, and lower N ₂ O emissions were accompanied by lower bacterial amoA and higher nosZ gene abundances, suggesting that reduced nitrification and enhanced N ₂ O reduction potential may have contributed to N ₂ O mitigation. Therefore, long-term manure application is a viable strategy to achieve climate-smart maize production by enhancing SOC sequestration, mitigating N ₂ O emissions and maintaining yield without additional chemical N input.
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BibTeX
@article{fan2026microbial,
title = {{Microbial mechanisms underlying the shift of net global warming potential in a maize field under organic amendments}},
author = {Daijia Fan and Wentao Xue and Ling Zhang and Liang He and Guoyuan Zou and Xingjian Zhang and Xiaohang Zhao and Chunxiao Han and Wentian He},
journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.1966738},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1966738/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Microbial mechanisms underlying the shift of net global warming potential in a maize field under organic amendments
AU - Daijia Fan
AU - Wentao Xue
AU - Ling Zhang
AU - Liang He
AU - Guoyuan Zou
AU - Xingjian Zhang
AU - Xiaohang Zhao
AU - Chunxiao Han
AU - Wentian He
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1966738
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.1966738/full
AB - While organic amendments are promoted for enhancing soil quality, their impacts on the net global warming potential (GWP) and the underlying microbial mechanisms in the maize system remain elusive. By using a long-term field experiment established in 2007 under a winter wheat-summer maize rotation system, a field study was conducted to investigate the effects of different organic-amended treatments (manure application and straw return coupled with conventional or no tillage) on greenhouse gas (i.e., nitrous oxide [N ₂ O] and carbon dioxide [CO ₂ ]) emissions, soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and functional genes governing soil C and N cycling during the 2021 and 2022 maize growing seasons. Compared to conventional N fertilization (CN), long-term organic amendments, particularly manure application, significantly enhanced SOC stocks by 16.7–46.2% while reducing cumulative N ₂ O emissions by 22.9–30.2%, respectively. Although a 22.6–44.5% increase in CO ₂ emissions were observed under organic amendments relative to CN, the concurrent SOC gains and N ₂ O mitigation shifted the field-scale net GWP from positive to negative. Multivariate analyses implied that enhanced SOC sequestration under organic amendments was mainly associated with greater exogenous organic matter inputs and enriched C fixation genes, and lower N ₂ O emissions were accompanied by lower bacterial amoA and higher nosZ gene abundances, suggesting that reduced nitrification and enhanced N ₂ O reduction potential may have contributed to N ₂ O mitigation. Therefore, long-term manure application is a viable strategy to achieve climate-smart maize production by enhancing SOC sequestration, mitigating N ₂ O emissions and maintaining yield without additional chemical N input.
SN - 1664-302X
ER -