Heavy-Textured Rhizosphere Soils Enhance Microbial Nitrogen Fixation in a Desert Shrub Ecosystem.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the relationships between nitrogen (N) fixation and soil texture and between soil and plants is important for the management of desert regions. The aim of this study is to compare the responses of N₂ fixation and microbial communities to N deficiency in two soils with contrasting textures from the same desert region. We investigated heavy-textured soils dominated by Reaumuria soongorica shrubs and sandy soils dominated by Haloxylon ammodendron shrubs in the Gurbantünggüt Desert. We induced a N-deficient environment by introducing excess glucose into the soils and then conducted closed soil cultures using ¹⁵N-labeled N₂ and compared them with glucose-free treatments. The driving mechanism of N fixation in soil has also been estima

SUBMITTER: Li C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11981880 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature