Dynamics and microbial characteristics of nitrogen and carbon in saline-alkali paddy soil under different fertilization

The expansion of saline-alkali paddy fields, coupled with the application of large amounts of nitrogen (N) fertilizers, has given rise to a host of environmental concerns. While N and carbon (C) are vital indicators for assessing soil fertility, their dynamic characteristics in saline-alkali paddy soil remain obscure. To address this knowledge gap, we established paddy mesocosms with five distinct N-fertilizer treatments: control without N-fertilizer (CK), urea (U), urea with inhibitors (UI), organic–inorganic compound fertilizer (OCF) and C-based slow-release fertilizer (CSF). The objective was to monitor the dynamic changes of various N and soil organic-C (SOC) during a 137-day rice growing season, and to clarify the microbiological characteristics. By the end of the rice growing season, soil ammonia-N (NH₄⁺-N) concentrations were UI > OCF > CSF > U > CK, and UI had a significant difference (p < 0.05) with all the other four treatments. Soil nitrate-N (NO₃⁻-N) concentrations in OCF and CSF treatments were 5.64 ± 1.25 mg kg⁻¹ and 6.81 ± 0.29 mg kg⁻¹, respectively, significantly (p < 0.05) higher than U and UI treatments. NH₄⁺-N showed a negative correlation with NO₃⁻-N regardless of the N-fertilizer types, and a significant (p < 0.01) positive relationship with alkali-hydrolyzable N (AHN). A significant (p < 0.01) positive relationship existed between total-N (TN) and Bacteria 16S rRNA gene. The SOC had a significant (p < 0.05) positive relationship with mcrA gene. During the entire rice growing season, CSF treatment had lower mean TN and SOC concentrations than all the other treatments, and exhibited the highest TN and total organic-C (TOC) content in rice. In summary, the UI can increase the residual NH₄⁺-N in saline-alkali paddy fields, and the CSF is a better choice for growing rice.