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International audienceBiocontrol strategies using organic substrates such as wood fibers and biocontrol agents such as Trichoderma are currently developed to control soil pathogens such as Fusarium oxysporum. Nonetheless, such biocontrol methods give discording results, notably because microbial communities of organic substrates actually are not taken into account. Therefore, there is a lack of information concerning the variability of microbial composition related to the organic substrate type. Here we studied peat, wood and coir fibers, that are substrates known for their different biocontrol efficiency against Fusarium wilt of cucumber. We analyzed in microcosms the microbial composition of wood fibers, coir fibers and peat, incubated up to 60 days, by using an amplicon-sequencing approach based on 16S rRNA gene for bacteria and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) for fungi. Diversity was assessed by sequencing the 16S rRNA for bacteria and ITS2 region for fungi. Results showed that bacterial richness was threefold higher for coir fiber and peat than for wood fiber. Fungal richness was three times higher for wood and coir fibers compared to peat. Bacterial and fungal patterns showed a dominance of α- and γ- Proteobacteria and Sordariomycetes for coir fiber; β- and γ-Proteobacteria and Eurotiomycetes for wood fibers; Flavobacteria, Leotiomycetes and Sordariomycetes for peat. In conclusion, results show that substrates have different microbial composition. Finally, for a proper use of a biocontrol strategy is important to take into account the type of substrate

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In urban conditions, the widescale availability of organic matter to be recycled and the necessity for soil reconstitution (Technosol) has led to the input of very large quantities of organic matter (up to 50% v/v). The long‐term degradation of these large quantities of organic matter in the soil is not well known. We monitored, over a 60‐month period, the total carbon (C) content and the particulate and biochemical fractions of reconstituted soils placed in 600‐litre boxes under natural conditions. The top layer was a sandy loam amended with 20 or 40% of sphagnum peat or organic compost (sewage sludge, wood chip compost or green waste compost) lying on a layer of sandy loam. We measured C mineralization over time under controlled conditions and built a long‐term model to simulate carbon dynamics where exogenous organic carbon (EOC) was divided into two biodegradable compartments. The model yielded the proportions of EOC that either resisted degradation or contributed to soil organic C storage by mineralization and/or humification. Organic matter degradation was linked to its maturity and to its contents in certain particulate and biochemical fractions but was independent of how much of a given organic matter was introduced. We found a good correlation between the degradable organic compartment and the lignin and cutin‐like, hemicellulose and cellulose‐like fractions larger than 1 mm. The model showed that a large part of initial EOC was still present in the soil after 5 years in a potentially biodegradable but resistant compartment. The degradation of that compartment by mineralization or humification is therefore expected to take longer.

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