Effects of long-term fertilization on nematode community

In order to study effects of long-term fertilization on soil nematode community, a long-term field experiment of four fertilization treatments, i. e. EM (effective microorganism) compost, traditional compost, chemical fertilizer and control (no fertilization) was carried out in the Quzhou Experimental Station, China Agricultural University. Results show that 39 genera of nematodes, belonging to 19 family and 7 order, were identified, including 15 genera of bacterivores, 4 of fungivores, 14 of plant-parasites, and 6 of onmivores-predators. The plant-parasitic nematodes were the dominant trophic group, and Rhabditis, Helicotylerichus and Rotylerichus were the dominant faunas. In terms of total populations of soil nematodes and bacterivorous nematodes, the four treatments followed the order of EM compost > traditional compost > control > chemical fertilizer. So, soil nematodes community could be used as bioindicator of soil ecosystem health.