Soil abiotic parameters
Soil samples used to measure soil abiotic characteristics were dried at
40 °C and sieved through a 2 mm sieve. Approximately three grams of
dried soil was mixed with 30 ml of 0.01 M CaCl2. The
mixture was shaken for 2 h on a mechanical shaker with linear movement
at 250 rpm. The samples were centrifuged for 5 m at 3000 rpm. Then, 15
mL of the supernatant was filtered through a Whatman Puradisc Aqua 30
syringe filter with cellulose acetate membrane. Subsequently, 12.87 mL
of the filtrate and 130 μL HNO3 were mixed in a clean 15
mL tube. The sample was mixed using a vortex and analyzed for soil
extractable micronutrients (Fe, K, Mg, P, S, Zn) using an inductively
coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES, Thermo
Scientific iCAP 6500 Duo Instrument with axial and radial view and CID
detector microwave digestion system). The remaining part of the filtrate
was transferred to a 15 mL tube to measure soil pH,
NO2+NO3 and NH4. After
recording the pH (inoLab pH 7310), the soil extracts were analyzed on a
QuAAtro Autoanalyzer (Seal Analytical, Mequon, Wisconsin, USA).