ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Terrestrial Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1534505
This article is part of the Research TopicMicroorganisms in Agricultural Soil: Advances and Challenges of Biological HealthView all 11 articles
Effects of γ-PGA application on soil physical and chemical properties, rhizosphere microbial community structure and metabolic function of urban abandoned land
Provisionally accepted
- 1College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 2Key Laboratory of the Evaluation and Monitoring of Southwest Land Resources (Ministry of Education), Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- 3Chengdu Zenith Chenxi biotechnology development company, Chengdu, China
- 4Chengdu Jinguancheng Flower and Tree Horticulture Company, Chengdu, China
- 5The Faculty of Geography and Resources Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
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China's rapid urbanization has converted large areas of farmland on the urban fringes into nongrain uses, intensifying the shortage of arable land resources. Reclaiming these lands offers an effective solution, but many of these abandoned or underutilized areas contain construction debris, and their soil quality is uneven, making them unsuitable for crop cultivation. To investigate the effects of γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) on improving such soils, a six-month field experiment was conducted on green spaces with mixed construction waste in Chengdu's urban ring. The study analyzed the impact of γ-PGA on soil bacterial communities, metabolites, and physicochemical properties during different wheat growth stages (tillering, jointing, flowering, and maturity).Results showed that γ-PGA significantly increased soil organic matter, total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, while boosting enzyme activities such as urease, sucrase, and alkaline phosphatase. Soil mechanical structure improved, with increases in clay, sand, and macroaggregates. As wheat grew, fractal dimensions of soil volume and infiltration performance increased, and bulk density decreased, indicating enhanced water retention and gas exchange. Beneficial microorganisms like Actinobacteria and Devosia increased in abundance, promoting soil fertility. Metabolomics analysis revealed that γ-PGA enriched pathways involved in carbohydrate digestion, starch metabolism, and nucleotide processes, creating a more favorable environment for plant growth. This research highlights the key role of γ-PGA in soil restoration and fertility enhancement, providing valuable insights for reclaiming non-grain farmland.
Keywords: urban abandoned land, reclamation, γ-Polyglutamic acid, soil properties, microbial community, metabolomics analysis 1.Introduction
Received: 26 Nov 2024; Accepted: 05 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tu, Ge, Xu, Sun, Xie, Ren, Du, Chu, Xu and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Fanglan Ge, College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
Wei Li, College of Life Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
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