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Agriculture
Volume 16
Issue 3
10.3390/agriculture16030300
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Impact of Long-Term Inhibitors and Organic Materials Addition on Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in a Corn Field

by
Yue Meng
1,2,†,
Kaikuo Wu
1,3,†,
Wei Bai
4,
Na Li
4,
Shiyu Zhang
5,
Yan Xue
1,
Ping Gong
1,
Yuchao Song
1,
Zhijie Wu
1 and
Lili Zhang
1,*
1
Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
2
School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Liaoning Institute of Science and Technology, Benxi 117004, China
3
CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
4
Institute of Tillage and Cultivation, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang 110161, China
5
College of Resources, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Agriculture 2026, 16(3), 300; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16030300
Submission received: 26 December 2025 / Revised: 16 January 2026 / Accepted: 22 January 2026 / Published: 23 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Agricultural Soils)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The addition of inhibitors and organic materials in corn fields is an important measure to ensure yield and improve soil fertility. Understanding the effects of the addition of inhibitors and organic material on soil microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and microbial mechanisms is crucial for promoting carbon (C) sequestration in agricultural systems. This study explored the effects of the addition of inhibitors (N-(nbutyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP)) and organic materials (corn stalks and pig manure (PM)) on soil microbial CUE through a field experiment with the continuous addition of inhibitors, corn stalks, and PM incorn fieldss for 7 years. Overall, the application of inhibitors reduced soil microbial CUE by 39.20% by reducing microbial immobilization C and promoting microbial respiration, but did not affect the microbial community structure. Under inhibitor application conditions, the addition of PM improved soil microbial CUE by 37.38%, which was mainly achieved by increasing microbial immobilization C, fungal, and bacterial copies. Long-term addition of organic materials and fertilizers was beneficial to the increase in soil microbial CUE, because the input of nutrients stimulates microbial growth. Although high soil microbial CUE was beneficial to soil C sequestration, it also required appropriate exogenous organic matter addition to ensure soil organic carbon (SOC) increase. In this study, when fertilizer-containing inhibitors were used, combined application with PM was beneficial to improve soil microbial CUE and promote SOC sequestration.
Keywords: soil microbial carbon use efficiency; inhibitors; corn stalks; pig manure soil microbial carbon use efficiency; inhibitors; corn stalks; pig manure

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Meng, Y.; Wu, K.; Bai, W.; Li, N.; Zhang, S.; Xue, Y.; Gong, P.; Song, Y.; Wu, Z.; Zhang, L. Impact of Long-Term Inhibitors and Organic Materials Addition on Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in a Corn Field. Agriculture 2026, 16, 300. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16030300

AMA Style

Meng Y, Wu K, Bai W, Li N, Zhang S, Xue Y, Gong P, Song Y, Wu Z, Zhang L. Impact of Long-Term Inhibitors and Organic Materials Addition on Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in a Corn Field. Agriculture. 2026; 16(3):300. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16030300

Chicago/Turabian Style

Meng, Yue, Kaikuo Wu, Wei Bai, Na Li, Shiyu Zhang, Yan Xue, Ping Gong, Yuchao Song, Zhijie Wu, and Lili Zhang. 2026. "Impact of Long-Term Inhibitors and Organic Materials Addition on Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in a Corn Field" Agriculture 16, no. 3: 300. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16030300

APA Style

Meng, Y., Wu, K., Bai, W., Li, N., Zhang, S., Xue, Y., Gong, P., Song, Y., Wu, Z., & Zhang, L. (2026). Impact of Long-Term Inhibitors and Organic Materials Addition on Soil Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in a Corn Field. Agriculture, 16(3), 300. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16030300

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