13This study investigates microbial communities in soil from sites under different land use in 14 Kenya. We sampled natural forest, forest plantations, agricultural fields of agroforestry farms,
15agricultural fields with traditional farming and eroded soil on the slopes of Mount Elgon,
16Kenya. We hypothesised that microbial decomposition capacity, biomass and diversity 1) 17 decreases with intensified cultivation; and 2) can be restored by soil and land management in All 31 substrates were metabolised in all studied soil types, i.e. functional diversity did 22 not differ. However, both the substrate utilisation rates and the microbial biomass decreased
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