Soil Quality: The Role of Microorganisms

Smith, Jeffrey L.

doi:10.1002/0471263397.env095

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…In fact, our data suggest that some genes are more affected by management on fine-textured soils (Supplementary Figure S1). A key question in soil microbiology is whether perturbations of microbial biomass such as the repeated use of fumigation affect microbial diversity and soil processes (Smith, 2002). The answer may depend on the cause and severity of the perturbation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of soil type and farm management on soil ecological functional genes and microbial activities

et al. 2010

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Relationships between soil microbial diversity and soil function are the subject of much debate. Process-level analyses have shown that microbial function varies with soil type and responds to soil management. However, such measurements cannot determine the role of community structure and diversity in soil function. The goal of this study was to investigate the role of gene frequency and diversity, measured by microarray analysis, on soil processes. The study was conducted in an agro-ecosystem characterized by contrasting management practices and soil types. Eight pairs of adjacent commercial organic and conventional strawberry fields were matched for soil type, strawberry variety, and all other environmental conditions. Soil physical, chemical and biological analyses were conducted including functional gene microarrays (FGA). Soil physical and chemical characteristics were primarily determined by soil textural type (coarse vs fine-textured), but biological and FGA measures were more influenced by management (organic vs conventional). Organically managed soils consistently showed greater functional activity as well as FGA signal intensity (SI) and diversity. Overall FGA SI and diversity were correlated to total soil microbial biomass. Functional gene group SI and/or diversity were correlated to related soil chemical and biological measures such as microbial biomass, cellulose, dehydrogenase, ammonium and sulfur. Management was the dominant determinant of soil biology as measured by microbial gene frequency and diversity, which paralleled measured microbial processes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of soil type and farm management on soil ecological functional genes and microbial activities

et al. 2010

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“…The natural temporal or spatial scales of some soil functions will likely not correspond to the scale of management. Highly variable, but biologically important, soil parameters such as soil moisture, temperature, mineralization rates, and pools of labile C and N may be most useful for understanding short term, localized patterns of soil functions but their relatively high spatial and temporal heterogeneity hamper meaningful measurement and limit their use for determining prescriptive management activities at the field scale [210]. Moreover, parameters with variable tendencies may not adequately detect baseline shifts in key soil biological activities without a robust temporal and spatial historical dataset.…”

Section: Development Of Improved Indicators Of Soil Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One challenge to understanding the relationships between management and soil function, whether under different management options, combinations of soil climate, or scenarios of change, is to move beyond descriptive soil biology towards mechanistic characterizations of community composition and activities that are directly related to productivity or sustainability and are amenable to management [210]. Productivity is relatively easy to measure but sustainability is more complicated given our imprecise understanding of how the communities of soil biota link to ecosystem functions and how they can respond to change, whether planned or stochastic.…”

Section: Development Of Improved Indicators Of Soil Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding and Enhancing Soil Biological Health: The Solution for Reversing Soil Degradation

et al. 2015

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Our objective is to provide an optimistic strategy for reversing soil degradation by increasing public and private research efforts to understand the role of soil biology, particularly microbiology, on the health of our world's soils. We begin by defining soil quality/soil health (which we consider to be interchangeable terms), characterizing healthy soil resources, and relating the significance of soil health to agroecosystems and their functions. We examine how soil biology influences soil health and how biological properties and processes contribute to sustainability of agriculture and ecosystem services. We continue by examining what can be done to manipulate soil biology to: (i) increase nutrient availability for production of high yielding, high quality crops; (ii) protect crops from pests, pathogens, weeds; and (iii) manage other factors limiting production, provision of ecosystem services, and resilience to stresses like droughts. Next we look to the future by asking what needs to be known about soil biology that is not currently recognized or fully understood and how these needs could be addressed using emerging research tools. We conclude, based on our perceptions of how new knowledge regarding soil biology will help make agriculture more sustainable and productive, by recommending research emphases that should receive first priority through enhanced public and private research in order to reverse the trajectory toward global soil degradation.

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“…The microbial metabolic quotient of NP was <50% of the qCO 2 of the agricultural sites (Table 5). This suggests a more stable microbial population and a greater microbial effi ciency in utilizing C substrates under NP than under the agricultural sites (Smith, 2002). Conversion of NP to agriculture can result Table 5.…”

Section: Soil Organic Carbon Mineralization and Microbial Metabolic Qmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Sequestration in Native Prairie, Perennial Grass, No‐Till, and Cultivated Palouse Silt Loam

Purakayastha

Huggins²,

Smith³

2008

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Comparative assessments for evaluating soil organic C (SOC) and its characteristics were made at different soil (Palouse silt loam) depths (0-5, 5-10, 10-20, and 0-20 cm) among sites with seven contrasting management histories: conventional inversion tillage (CT) followed by no-till (NT) for 4 (NT4) and 28 (NT28) yr; bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) seed production for 9 yr followed by NT for 4 yr (BGNT4); a sequence of 10 yr NT, 3 yr CT, and 1 yr NT (NTR); CT followed by 11 yr perennial grass under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP); long-term >100 yr CT; and native prairie (NP). Overall ranking of SOC, particlulate organic C (POC), and microbial biomass C (MBC) at 0 to 20 cm was NP > NTR > NT4 = NT28 > CRP > BGNT4 = CT. Greater SOC, POC, and MBC in NTR than NT28 indicated that tillage rotation could result in more soil C sequestration, primarily by increasing C stocks in 5-to 20-cm depths. The POC was labile in nature as it highly correlated with C min (r = 0.69, P < 0.01) and MBC (r = 0.86, P < 0.01) as well as SOC (r = 0.89, P < 0.01). We concluded that: (i) neither NT nor conversion to perennial vegetation would attain the SOC found in NP over 10 to 30 yr; and (ii) medium duration of NT (10 yr) combined with short intervals of CT (3 yr) followed by NT might increase SOC compared with continuous long-term NT under annual cropping.

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Soil Quality: The Role of Microorganisms

Abstract: Soil Quality The Metabolic State of Microorganisms and Soil Quality

Cited by 3 publications

References 91 publications

Effects of soil type and farm management on soil ecological functional genes and microbial activities

Effects of soil type and farm management on soil ecological functional genes and microbial activities

Understanding and Enhancing Soil Biological Health: The Solution for Reversing Soil Degradation

Carbon Sequestration in Native Prairie, Perennial Grass, No‐Till, and Cultivated Palouse Silt Loam

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