Effects of rhizosphere and long-term fertilisation practices on the activity and community structure of ammonia oxidisers under double-cropping rice field

The potential nitrification activity (PNA), population size and composition of AOB and AOA communities in both rhizosphere and bulk soil from a long-term (32 year) fertiliser field experiment conducted during early rice and late rice seasons were investigated by using the shaken slurry method and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The experiment begins in 1986, and including five treatments: without fertiliser input, chemical fertiliser alone, rice straw residue and chemical fertiliser, low organic manure rate and chemical fertiliser and high organic manure rate and chemical fertiliser. The results showed that the application of chemical fertiliser greatly enhanced PNA and AOB abundance, while application of rice straw residue and organic manure increased AOA abundance. Moreover, the results showed that the PNA and population sizes of AOB and AOA were higher in the rhizosphere than in the bulk soil. Cluster and redundancy analyses further indicated that the rhizosphere effect play a more important role in shaping AOA community structure than long-term fertilization. In summary, the results indicated that AOB rather than AOA functionally dominate ammonia oxidation in the double-cropping rice paddy soils, and that rhizosphere effect and fertiliser regime play different roles in the activity and community structures of AOB and AOA.