Impacts of green manure amendment on detritus micro-food web in a double-rice cropping system

Chinese milk vetch (CMV) is widely used as a green manure due to its efficiency for nutrient preservation and soil fertility improvement, as well for providing more organic substances for soil organisms. Detritus micro-food web drives carbon and nutrient cycling and maintains ecosystem productivity. The effects of CMV amendment on detritus micro-food web were investigated in a six-year field experiment. Compared to the mineral fertilizers (NPK) alone, the fertilizers combined with CMV (NPK + CMV) increased soil organic carbon content, and thus enhanced the biomass of microorganisms, as well as protozoa abundance, while did not change micro-feeding nematode abundance (MN). This indicates a substrate-driven bottom-up effect. However, the green manure application increased omnivores-predators (OP) abundance and the OP/MN ratio, suggesting a top-down effect. Higher F/B ratio indicates a shift of the food web energy structure towards to fungi-dominated channel in the manured soil. Here, the green manure amendment should be encouraged to improve soil detritus micro-food web.