Incorporating amendments of industrial waste such as biochar and steel slag in cropland has been used to enhance the storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) while sustaining crop production. Short-term laboratory and field studies have identified important influences of biochar on active SOC fractions associated with soil microbial activity in paddy soils, but the long-term effects remain poorly understood. To address these knowledge gaps, we examined the effects of slag, biochar, and slag+biochar treatments on total SOC concentration, active SOC fractions and soil microbial communities in a paddy field two years after incorporation. Across both two seasons, the addition of slag, biochar, slag+biochar increased soil salinity by 26-80%, 1.3-37% and 42-79%, and also increased soil pH by 0.8-5.7%, 2.1-2.4% and 4.0-6.3%, respectively, relative to the control. SOC concentration was higher in the slag, biochar, and slag+biochar treatments across both rice seasons by 4.3-5%, 0.5-17% and 4.3-7%, respectively. Soil C-pool activity and C-pool management indices in the late paddy season were significantly lower in the slag+biochar treatment than the control by 26.3 and 21.3%, respectively, indicating that the amendments contributed to the stability of SOC. The C concentrations of the biochar and slag amendments affected bacterial abundance more than fungal abundance and affected C cycling. Our study suggests that combined slag and biochar amendments may increase bacterial abundance that may maintain SOC storage and reduce the abundances of potential SOC decomposers in key functional genera, indicating strong coupling relationships with changes of soil properties such as salinity, pH, and SOC concentration. These outcomes due to the amendments (e.g. slag+biochar) may increase microbial C-use efficiency and support the stability of active SOC fractions, with opportunities for long-term C sequestration.

Aggregates are the basis for the formation of a good soil structure. Soil fungi community plays an important role in soil nutrient transformation, soil aggregate formation and ecological balance of the plant-soil system. However, little is known about the multi-year response of soil aggregates, their carbon concentrations and fungal community structure to different exogenous agents in double cropping paddy fields in southern China. Therefore, we studied the changes of aggregates' carbon concentrations and stability and fungal community structure under the application of slag and biochar individually and mixed in paddy fields in southeastern China for two annual cycles. Geometric mean diameter in the 0-15 cm layer in the early paddy fields was 29.0% lower in the slag + biochar treatment than in the control. The percentage of soil carbon concentrations in aggregates <0.25 mm in the four treatments in the early paddy field was 35.5%, 38.6%, 45.8% and 51.2%, respectively, in the 0-15 cm layer and 36.1%, 33.8%, 54.9% and 50.9%, respectively, in the 15-30 cm layer. Thus, treatments including biochar increase aggregates carbon concentration probably due to carbon retained in the biochar. Amendments with biochar and slag affected the fungal community structure even 2 years after their application. The results of this study reveal the relationship between soil aggregates and their carbon concentration and fungal community structure in paddy fields under slag and biochar application. These findings provide a theoretical basis for sustainable agricultural applications.

We investigate whether slag and biochar applications have subsequent effects on greenhouse gas emissions from paddy fields by applying biochar (B), slag (S), and a biochar-slag mix (BS) to paddy fields in the Fuzhou Plain, China. Applications of the three treatments along with a control (CK) of no amendment were made in 2015 before early and late rice seedlings were transplanted. Two years later in 2017, the CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions in the different treatments and control were measured in the early and late rice growing seasons. The results showed that, in the rice growing season, the averaged CO2 emission in the control, biochar, slag, and mixed applications were (1723.66±194.56), (1245.52±155.05), (1140.29±79.68), and (1055.83±62.13) mg·(m2·h)-1, respectively. The CO2 emissions from the three treatments were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05), and the reduction ratios of each treatment to the control were 27.74%, 33.84%, and 38.75%, respectively. The averaged CH4 emissions in the control, biochar, slag, and mixed applications were (0.45±0.03), (0.40±0.05), (0.36±0.10), and (0.25±0.04) mg·(m2·h)-1, respectively, which were lower, but not significantly so (P>0.05), than the control. The ratios of CH4 emissions from each treatment to the control were 11.11%, 20.00%, and 44.44%, respectively. The averaged N2O emissions from the control, biochar, slag, and mixed applications were (62.47±27.00), (115.09±30.94), (79.75±24.98), and (112.68±23.59) μg·(m2·h)-1, respectively. In comparison to the control, the biochar, slag, and mixed treatments increased the N2O emissions by 84.23%, 27.66%, and 80.37%, respectively. The global comprehensive warming potential indicated that the application treatments increased the comprehensive warming potential of the early and late rice paddy ecosystems; after 2 years of applying slag and biochar treatments, their effect on the emission reductions were not obvious.

Aerobic methanotrophs in paddies serve as methane (CH4) filters and thereby reduce CH4 emissions. Amending soil with waste products can mitigate CH4 emissions in crops, but little is known about the impacts of amendments with steel slag and biochar on the populations and activities of aerobic methanotrophs in rice cropland. We used real-time quantitative PCR detecting system and high-throughput sequencing to determine the effects of slag and biochar amendments on CH4 emission, abundance, and community structure of methanotrophs, and the relationships between soil properties and the abundance and community composition of methanotrophs during the rice growing season in both early and late paddies. Soil salinity and pH were significantly higher for an amendment with both slag and biochar than the control in both the early and late paddies, and pH was significantly higher for a slag amendment in the late paddy. Cumulative CH4 emission was lower for the slag and slag + biochar amendments than the control in early paddy by-34.1%. Methanotrophic abundance was three- and sixfold higher for the slag + biochar amendment than the control in the early and late paddies (p < 0.05), respectively. The abundance of different groups of methanotrophs varied among the treatments. The relative abundance of Methylosarcina was higher for the slag amendment than the control, and the relative abundance of Methylomonas was lower for biochar, and slag + biochar amendments than the control. The relative abundance of Methylocystis was higher for the slag and slag + biochar amendments than the control in the early paddy, and the relative abundance of Methylocystis was higher for the slag, biochar, and slag + biochar amendments in the late paddy. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that the higher abundance of methanotrophic bacteria for the slag and slag + biochar amendments was correlated with soil pH, salinity, soil organic carbon, and C/N ratio, and the relative abundances of Methylocystis, Methylomonas, and Methylosarcina were associated with the effective mitigation of CH4 emission in the paddies. A discriminant general analysis indicated that the total population of methanotrophs was larger for the slag + biochar amendment than the control, and that this effect was only weakly correlated with changes in the soil properties, demonstrating that this effect on the size and species composition of methanotrophic soil populations was mostly associated with a direct effect of the slag + biochar amendment.

Waste amendments, such as steel slag and biochar, have been reported as a strategy for improving soil fertility, crop productivity, and carbon (C) sequestration in agricultural lands. However, information regarding the subsequent effects of steel slag and biochar on C cycling and the underlying microbial mechanisms in paddy soils remains limited. Hence, this study aimed to examine the effect of these waste amendments (applied in 2015-2017) on total soil CO2 emissions, total and active soil organic C (SOC) contents, and microbial communities in the early and late seasons in a subtropical paddy field. The results showed that despite the exogenous C input from these waste amendments (steel slag, biochar and slag + biochar), they significantly (P< 0.05) decreased total CO2 emissions (e.g., by 41.9-59.6% at the early season), compared to the control soil. These amendments also significantly (P< 0.001) increased soil salinity and pH. The increased soil pH had a negative effect (r -037, P< 0.05) on microbial biomass C (MBC). The biochar and slag + biochar treatments (cf control) significantly (P < 0.001) increased SOC contents in the both seasons. The amendments altered the soil microbial community structure that associated with soil C cycling: (1) all three amendments increased the relative abundance of Agromyces and Streptomyces, which was associated with higher soil pH (cf control); and (2) biochar and slag + biochar treatments caused a higher relative abundance of Sphingomonas, which was supported by high SOC contents under those amendments. Overall, this study demonstrated that the steel slag and biochar amendments altered microbial community composition due to changes in key soil properties, such as salinity, pH and SOC contents, with implications for increasing soil C stocks while mitigating CO2 emissions in the paddy field. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

稻田土壤微生物种类多、数量大,是土壤有机碳矿化的驱动者和有机碳库的固持者。以福州平原稻田为试验样地,分别施加生物炭、炉渣、生物炭+炉渣3种处理,测定分析不同处理对稻田土壤理化性质、微生物数量及有机碳含量的影响,旨在探究稻田土壤微生物在土壤碳库稳定方面的作用。结果表明:（1）炉渣与生物炭施加能够增加稻田土壤微生物数量,提高土壤真菌/细菌比值,有利于土壤碳库稳定性,其中混合施加效果更为显著。（2）3种施加处理均使早稻拔节期真菌数量及真菌/细菌比值显著升高,其中真菌/细菌比值分别提高0.016,0.015,0.018,同时使晚稻乳熟期厌氧细菌数量显著增加。生物炭单一施加及混施处理使晚稻拔节期好氧细菌数量显著升高。混施处理使早稻乳熟期好氧细菌数量显著升高（p＜0.05）。（3）炉渣施加处理显著提高了早稻乳熟期土壤DOC的含量,生物炭施加处理显著提高早稻乳熟期土壤SOC含量,混施处理使早稻拔节期土壤SOC含量显著升高,使晚稻拔节期土壤DOC显著升高（p＜0.05）,并且早、晚稻拔节期有机碳含量显著高于乳熟期。（4）稻田土壤理化性质、微生物数量及有机碳含量三者相互影响,早稻土壤pH与土壤MBC含量呈显著负相关,与真菌数量呈极显著正相关（p＜0.01）。晚稻土壤含水量与DOC、好氧细菌、厌氧细菌、真菌呈正相关。MBC与厌氧细菌呈显著负相关（p＜0.05）。

以福州平原稻田为实验区,在2015年早、晚稻秧苗移栽前,对稻田进行施加生物炭、炉渣、生物炭+炉渣（混施）处理,并以不施加处理作为对照。为了了解施加处理的后续效应,于2017年检测早、晚稻拔节期和成熟期土壤有机碳含量及真菌、细菌数量。结果表明:3种施加处理稻田土壤有机碳（SOC）含量均比对照组有显著提高（P＜0.05）,但溶解性有机碳（DOC）、易氧化碳（EOC）、土壤微生物量碳（MBC）含量各处理之间差异不显著（P＞0.05）。与对照组相比,各施加处理组在一定程度上提高了土壤中真菌和细菌数量,但差异不显著（P＞0.05）。细菌数量与DOC含量呈极显著负相关（P＜0.01）,与EOC含量呈显著负相关（P＜0.05）,与MBC含量呈显著正相关（P＜0.05）。真菌/细菌比值与真菌数量、DOC含量呈极显著正相关（P＜0.01）。说明炉渣和生物炭施加处理2年后,仍可提高稻田土壤的碳库稳定性,并增加土壤微生物数量。

为了探讨酸雨对稻田土壤细菌的影响,以福州平原某稻田为研究对象,测定和分析模拟不同酸度酸雨处理下早、晚稻土壤细菌群落组成及其丰度.结果表明:模拟酸雨处理提高了早稻土壤细菌的多样性,但却降低了晚稻土壤细菌的多样性;酸雨改变了稻田土壤细菌的丰度及群落结构,经模拟不同酸度的酸雨处理,稻田土壤细菌的优势菌属及其丰度并不一致;早稻pH3.5处理组与早稻对照组之间的物种多样性及群落结构差异最大,晚稻pH2.5处理组与晚稻对照组之间的物种多样性及群落结构差异最大;在酸雨作用下,溶杆菌属(Lysobacter)和产黄杆菌属(Rhodanobacter)的丰度明显升高,而马赛菌属(Massilia)的丰度则显著降低,说明溶杆菌属(Lysobacter)和产黄杆菌属(Rhodanobacter)为耐受酸雨的主要菌属,马赛菌属(Massilia)则为受酸雨影响最大的菌属;细菌属H16的相对丰度与土壤电导率(EC)呈极显著负相关(P＜0.0l),ysobacter的相对丰度与土壤pH值呈极显著负相关(P＜0.01),Arenimonas的相对丰度与土壤总有机碳(SOC)呈极显著正相关(P＜0.01).