Effects of rape/common vetch intercropping on biomass, soil characteristics, and microbial community diversity

Abstract

Legume–brassica intercropping is widely used to increase productivity in modern, sustainable agricultural systems. However, few studies have assessed the linkages between soil properties and soil microorganisms. Soil microorganisms play a key role in soil nutrient turnover and plant community composition. To elucidate the responses of soil microbial community diversity and structure to intercropping, we conducted a 2-year experiment based on common vetch (CV) monoculture, rape (R) monoculture, and common vetch–rape intercropping (IRCV) with phosphorus (P) addition in alkaline soil. The microbial communities of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere soil were examined based on high-throughput sequencing targeting the 16S rRNA and ITS genes, respectively. In addition, we analyzed changes in soil properties and enzyme activities. Intercropping significantly increased dry matter (up to 98.86% and 81.48%, respectively dry matter is the aboveground biomass.) compared with common vetch monoculture. Intercropping decreased soil bulk density and pH and enhanced soil available phosphorus (AP) by 14.54–34.38%, 7.25–22.67%, soil organic matter (SOM) by 15.57–22.85, 6.82–15.57%, soil sucrase (Suc.) by 13.69–16.10%, 35.57–40.24% compared to monoculture common vetch and rape, respectively. However, bacterial alpha diversity was higher under rape monoculture than IRCV. In addition, the dominant soil bacterial phyla Proteobacteria (1.25–3.60%), Gemmatimonadetes (7.88–15.16%), Bacteroidetes (9.39–11.76%), and Rokubacteria (0.49–5.69%) were present at greater abundance with IRCV relative to those with CV and R, but phyla Chloroflexi was significantly decreased by 11.56–12.94% with IRCV compared with the other two treatments. The redundant analysis showed that SOM and AP were positively correlated with the dominant bacterial and fungal flora. Common vetch–rape intercropping resulted in increased biomass and altered soil microbial community composition as well as soil properties. Our results showed that intercropping systems positively improve soil microbial activity; this strategy could help in the cultivation of multiple crops and improve soil properties through sustainable production.

Effect of intercropping with legumes at different rates on the yield and soil physicochemical properties of Cyperus esculentus L. in arid land

“…Intercropping with legumes notably increased the concentrations of microbial C and N in the soil. This finding aligns with that of Qu et al. (2022) , who revealed significant increases in MBC and MBN under intercropping, directly proving the notion that enhanced stimulation of the microbial community can be achieved through intercropping.…”

“…Intercropping with legumes notably increased the concentrations of microbial C and N in the soil. This finding aligns with that of Qu et al (2022), who revealed significant increases in MBC and MBN under intercropping, directly proving the notion that enhanced stimulation of the microbial community can be achieved through intercropping. This enhancement may stem from the strong correlation observed between total microbial biomass and soil C concentration (Goyal et al, 1993;Elfstrand et al, 2007).…”

“…Intercropping, especially with legumes, confers substantial advantages in crop yield compared with monocropping ( Qu et al., 2022 ; Lan et al., 2023 ; Parvin et al., 2023 ). This finding aligns with that of the present study, demonstrating higher C. esculentus biomass in intercropping treatments than in MC.…”

“…This agricultural practice mitigates the adverse environmental impacts associated with modern farming methods while simultaneously optimizing soil nutrient, water, and resource utilization (Chen et al, 2017). Various common species can be utilized for intercropping (Qu et al, 2023), and studies have demonstrated notable advantages when legumes are included-for instance, Qu et al (2022) revealed that rape with common vetch significantly increased biomass, reduced soil pH, and increased soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil available phosphorus (AP). Similarly, Huang et al (2022) demonstrated that the intercropping of tea plant with both soybean and zoysia significantly increased SOC, total nitrogen (TN), and tea quality.…”

The life state of smooth vetch regulates the seasonal dynamics of microbial nutrient limitations in citrus orchards

“…Crops cover could directly change the abundance of microorganisms in the rhizosphere soil. For example, crops cover significantly reduces microbial biomass (Qu et al, 2022) and changes the richness of N‐fixing bacteria in rhizosphere soil (Hao et al, 2021; Xie et al, 2022). Differences in soil nutrients and microbial communities may further lead to differences in microbial metabolism between rhizosphere and bulk soils (Cui et al, 2022).…”