Impact of long-term continuous soybean cropping on ammonia oxidizing bacteria communities in the rhizosphere of soybean in Northeast China

Continuous cropping can be a serious problem in Chinese soybean production. This can result in yield reduction, root diseases, and changes in microbial community structure. We studied community structure, clone libraries, and abundance of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in soybean fields there were in continuous soybean production for up to 17 years (SC17). Results showed that the potential nitrification rate (PNR) and amo A gene abundance of soybean in continuous cultivation for seven years (SC7) was 0.34 µg NO ₃⁻ g ⁻¹ and 4.71 × 10 ⁻⁵amo A gene copies/g dry soil, respectively. These values were lower than other treatments. Phylogenetic affiliation analysis based on blast results of amo A gene clone sequencing showed that the sequences belonged to seven clusters: Cluster 1, Cluster 3b, Cluster 3a.1, Cluster 3a.2, Cluster 9, Cluster 10, and Cluster 4. Correlation of AOB community compositions with environmental factors was performed using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Results indicated that the composition of AOB communities in maize–soybean (MS) rotation and continuous cropping of soybean for two years (SC2) were positively related to the PNR of soil, soil moisture, and soil total nitrogen content. Soybean fields continuously cropped for 11 years (SC11) and SC7 fields had AOB community compositions that were negatively related to these factors. The AOB community composition of SC17 was positively correlated to the soil total carbon content of soil. The results in this study indicate that the potential activity and abundance of AOB community in soil significantly changed after seven years continuous cropping compared to other continuous cropping intervals. Cropping systems have important effect on the diversity of functional microorganisms and associated nitrogen cycles.