Table 3 Soil microbial biomass within aggregates in different fertilization treatments (mean with standard error in parentheses, n = 3).

From: Effect of long-term combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers on soil nematode communities within aggregates

Microbial

groups

Fertilization

treatments

Aggregate size

Effects

>2 mm

1–2 mm

0.25–1 mm

<0.25 mm

F

As

F*As

Total PLFA

CK

17.42 (0.95)D

17.39 (2.00)C

16.57 (2.49)C

14.89 (0.71)C

**

**

**

(nmol g−1)

NPK

25.40 (1.18)C

27.49 (3.10)B

22.26 (1.85)C

23.31 (2.52)B

   
 

NPKM

40.70 (3.16)A

41.70 (1.45)A

30.17 (1.19)B

34.84 (1.23)A

   
 

NPKS

35.01 (1.48)B

38.10 (4.08)A

40.64 (5.72)A

37.84 (1.72)A

   
  

ab

a

b

b

   

Bacteria

CK

11.71 (0.37)D

11.60 (0.80)C

11.21 (0.95)C

10.15 (0.25)C

**

**

**

(nmol g−1)

NPK

17.23 (0.44)C

18.51 (1.26)B

15.08 (0.87)C

16.33 (1.08)B

   
 

NPKM

27.89 (1.18)A

28.66 (0.50)A

20.40 (0.74)B

24.47 (0.38)A

   
 

NPKS

23.59 (0.66)B

25.88 (1.68)A

27.66 (2.21)A

26.38 (0.55)A

   
  

ab

a

b

ab

   

Fungi

CK

0.33 (0.02)B

0.32 (0.03)C

0.30 (0.04)B

0.25 (0.01)C

**

ns

**

(nmol g−1)

NPK

0.38 (0.02)B

0.44 (0.07)BC

0.33 (0.02)B

0.34 (0.03)C

   
 

NPKM

0.66 (0.03)A

0.68 (0.03)AB

0.43 (0.05)B

0.58 (0.01)B

   
 

NPKS

0.62 (0.04)A

0.70 (0.06)A

0.76 (0.09)A

0.75 (0.03)A

   
  

ab

a

b

ab

   
  1. F, fertilization; As, aggregate size. **P < 0.01; *P < 0.05; ns, no significant difference. Different capital letters (ABC) represent significant differences among fertilization treatments within the same aggregate fraction and different lowercase letter (ab) indicate significant differences among aggregate fractions in the wheat season, as determined by Tukey’s honestly significant difference test, P < 0.05.
Back to article page