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Fungicides have been used widely in order to control fungal diseases and increase crop production. However, the effects of fungicides on microorganisms other than fungi remain unclear. The modes of action of fungicides were never well classified and presented, making difficult to estimate their possible nontarget effects. In this paper, the action modes and effects of fungicides targeting cell membrane components, protein synthesis, signal transduction, respiration, cell mitosis, and nucleic acid synthesis were classified, and their effects on nontarget microorganisms were reviewed. Modes of action and potential non-target effects on soil microorganisms should be considered in the selection of fungicide in order to protect the biological functions of soil and optimize the benefits derived from fungicide use in agricultural systems.

Agriculture in rainfed dry areas is often challenged by inadequate water and nutrient supplies. Summerfallowing has been used to conserve rainwater and promote the release of nitrogen via the N mineralization of soil organic matter. However, summerfallowing leaves land without any crops planted for one entire growing season, creating lost production opportunity. Additionally, summerfallowing has serious environmental consequences. It is unknown whether alternative systems can be developed to retain the beneficial features of summerfallowing with little or no environmental impact. Here, we show that diversifying cropping systems with pulse crops can enhance soil water conservation, improve soil N availability, and increase system productivity. A 3-yr cropping sequence study, repeated for five cycles in Saskatchewan from 2005 to 2011, shows that both pulse- and summerfallow-based systems enhances soil N availability, but the pulse system employs biological fixation of atmospheric N2, whereas the summerfallow-system relies on ‘mining’ soil N with depleting soil organic matter. In a 3-yr cropping cycle, the pulse system increased total grain production by 35.5%, improved protein yield by 50.9%, and enhanced fertilizer-N use efficiency by 33.0% over the summerfallow system. Diversifying cropping systems with pulses can serve as an effective alternative to summerfallowing in rainfed dry areas.

Agroecosystems are dynamic systems that experience frequent chemical inputs and changes in plant cover. The objective of this study was to test whether abiotic (soil chemical properties and climate) and biotic (plant host identity) factors influence the spatial and temporal structuring of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities in a semi-arid prairie agroecosystem. 454 GS FLX+ high-throughput sequencing technology was successfully utilized to characterize the AMF communities based on long reads (mean length: 751.7 bp) and generated high-resolution data with excellent taxonomic coverage. The composition of the AMF community colonizing roots of the three crops (pea, lentil, and wheat) significantly differed, but plant host identity had a minimal effect on the composition of the AMF community in the soil. We observed a temporal shift in the composition of AMF communities in the roots and surrounding soil of the crops during the growing season. This temporal shift was particularly evident in the root-associated AMF community and was correlated with soil phosphate flux and climatic variables. In contrast, the spatial structuring of the AMF community in the site was correlated with soil pH and electrical conductivity. Individual AMF taxa were significantly correlated with pH, electrical conductivity, and phosphate flux, and these relationships were phylogenetically conserved at the genus level within the Glomeromycota.

International audienc

Soil function may be affected by cropping practices impacting the soil microbial community. The effect of different phosphorus (P) fertilization rates (0, 20, or 40 kg P(2)O(5) ha(-1)) on soil microbial diversity was studied in 8-year-old alfalfa monocultures. The hypothesis that P fertilization modifies soil microbial community was tested using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and phospholipids fatty acid (PLFA) profiling to describe soil bacteria, fungi, and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi diversity. Soil parameters related to fertility (soil phosphate flux, soluble P, moisture, phosphatase and dehydrogenase assays, and carbon and nitrogen content of the light fraction of soil organic matter) were also monitored and related to soil microbial ribotype profiles. Change in soil P fertility with the application of fertilizer had no effect on crop yield in 8 years, but on the year of this study was associated with shifts in the composition of fungal and bacterial communities without affecting their richness, as evidenced by the absence of effect on the average number of ribotypes detected. However, variation in soil P level created by a history of differential fertilization did not significantly influence AM fungi ribotype assemblages nor AM fungi biomass measured with the PLFA 16:1omega5. Fertilization increased P flux and soil soluble P level but reduced soil moisture and soil microbial activity, as revealed by dehydrogenase assay. Results suggest that soil P fertility management could influence soil processes involving soil microorganisms. Seasonal variations were also recorded in microbial activity, soil soluble P level as well as in the abundance of specific bacterial and fungal PLFA indicators of soil microbial biomass.