Effects of Nostoc flagelliforme on Soil Physical-Chemical Properties and Microbial Community

Abstract

The free-living Nostoc flagelliforme was inoculated into desert soil and ecologic effects of N. flagelliforme were studied in this paper. Results showed that the water permeability of soil decreased while the water holding capacity of soil increased as the growth of N. flagelliforme. The soil respiration and enzyme activity were markedly increased by the growth of N. flagelliforme. The CO₂ release quantity was 0.29 mg·g^-1·h^-1 in the soil sample which 361ml of N. flagelliforme inoculated in, which was 2.0 times than that of control. The activity of urease, dehydrogenase, phosphatase and polyphenoloxidaze increased also because of the growth of N. flagelliforme. The maximum activities of these four enzymes were 6.03 mg·g^-1·d^-1, 0.45 mg·g^-1·d^-1, 11.66 mg·g^-1·d^-1 and 1.77 mg·g^-1·d^-1 respectively, which were 2.2 times, 2.1 times, 1.3 times and 1.2 times respectively than those of control. According to the DGGE result, microbial diversity of soil increased with the growth of N. flagelliforme. Four species of bacteria appear in the samples which N. flagelliforme was inoculated in. The results indicated that the N. flagelliforme had a significant effect on the soil physical-chemical properties and microbial community.