Divergence of nutrients, salt accumulation, bacterial community structure and diversity in soil after 8 years of flood irrigation with surface water and groundwater

Irrigation with saline groundwater has become necessary to overcome freshwater scarcity in the agricultural industry in arid areas. However, the effects of long-term saline groundwater irrigation on soil salinity and bacterial diversity have rarely been examined. In this study, a Lycium ruthenicum field was divided into two parts and subjected to flooding irrigation with saline groundwater (pH 7.81, total salinity 0.95 g L^-1) and surface water (pH 7.76, total salinity 0.36 g L^-1) for 8 years. After 8 years of irrigation, the soil salinity and salt ion content (i.e., Na⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Cl^- and CO₃^2-) in the groundwater irrigation group were significantly greater than those in the surface water irrigation group (p < 0.001), with notable accumulation in the topsoil (0-5 cm) (p < 0.01). The bacterial community structure differed between the surface water and groundwater irrigation groups. Salt-tolerant bacterial groups (e.g., Balneolaceae and Halomonadaceae) and species (e.g., the marine bacterium JK1007, the bacterium YC-LK-LKJ35, and Methylohalomonas lacus) dominated in the groundwater irrigation environment. Additionally, bacterial communities were associated primarily with soil salt ions (RV = 0.66, p < 0.001). The characteristic bacterial taxa in long-term groundwater irrigation soils were salt-tolerant species (e.g., the marine bacterium JK1007, the bacterium YC-LK-LKJ35, and Methylohalomonas lacus). These findings suggest that salinity is the key factor driving differences in bacterial community structure between long-term groundwater and surface water irrigation. The long-term use of surface water and groundwater for irrigation has different impacts on soil environments, with groundwater irrigation having a more pronounced negative effect. Highlights. The long-term effects of this practice on soil salt accumulation and bacterial diversity were examined. This study provides potential applications for sustainable land management in similar ecological contexts. Groundwater irrigation is characterized by saline-tolerant keystone species. Salinity filtering was used to determine the pattern of bacterial community construction.