Impact of biocharon the nutrient cycling in the rhizosphere soil of Bidens pilosa L

LI Yi; GAO Li; QIN Xiao-xiao; FU Yi-yun; SHI Dong-yi; LAN Wei; TANG Ying-xuan; YU Fang-ming

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China Environmental Science ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (1) : 279-288.

Soil Pollution Control

Impact of biocharon the nutrient cycling in the rhizosphere soil of Bidens pilosa L

LI Yi^1,2, GAO Li¹, QIN Xiao-xiao¹, FU Yi-yun¹, SHI Dong-yi¹, LAN Wei¹, TANG Ying-xuan¹, YU Fang-ming^1,2

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Abstract

The influence of Fe-Ca layered double hydroxide-modified corn straw biochar (Fe-Ca LDH-CSB) on nutrient cycling processes in the rhizosphere soil of Bidens pilosa L. was investigated through controlled pot experiments. The application of Fe-Ca LDH-CSB was found to significantly increase the soil C/N ratio and organic matter content by 31.1~45.6% and 3.6~10.3%, respectively (P<0.05). Furthermore, the addition of biochar was observed to markedly upregulate functional genes involved in carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycling. At a 2% (mass ratio) amendment rate, the relative abundances of genes associated with C fixation (e.g., fbaA, korA, sucC, accD), N cycling (e.g., GDH2, nosZ, nifH, hao), and P cycling (e.g., ppk1, ppa, TC.PIT, pstB) were increased by 1.1~1.4-fold, 1.7~23.5-fold, and 1.1~1.2-fold, respectively, compared with the control. A significant positive correlation between available phosphorus and the abundance of C-, N-, and P-cycling genes (P<0.01) was revealed by Mantel test analysis. Sucrase activity was found to be positively correlated with C- and N-cycling genes (P<0.01) but negatively correlated with P-cycling genes (P<0.05). Partial least squares path modeling indicated that nutrient cycling was indirectly enhanced by Fe-Ca LDH-CSB through alterations in soil physicochemical properties and the reshaping of functional microbial taxa, thereby promoting the expression of nutrient-cycling genes. Taxonomic annotation revealed that Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Chloroflexi were the dominant microbial hosts harboring key C-, N-, and P-cycling genes. Collectively, these findings demonstrated that the application of Fe-Ca LDH-CSB improved rhizosphere soil conditions and microbial community structure, thereby strengthening the biogeochemical cycling of C, N, and P in the rhizosphere of Bidens pilosa L.

Key words

Bidens pilosa L. / layered double hydroxidebiochar / nutrient cycling / metagenomics / rhizosphere microorganisms

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LI Yi, GAO Li, QIN Xiao-xiao, FU Yi-yun, SHI Dong-yi, LAN Wei, TANG Ying-xuan, YU Fang-ming. Impact of biocharon the nutrient cycling in the rhizosphere soil of Bidens pilosa L[J]. China Environmental Science. 2026, 46(1): 279-288

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