Structural and functional microbial diversity of sandy soil under cropland and grassland

Abstract

Background Land use change significantly alters soil organic carbon content and the microbial community. Therefore, in the present study, the effect of changing cropland to grassland on structural and functional soil microbial diversity was evaluated. The specific aims were (i) to identify the most prominent members of the fungal communities and their relevant ecological guild groups; (ii) to assess changes in the diversity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea; (iii) to determine the relationships between microbial diversity and selected physical and chemical properties. Methods We investigated microbial diversity and activity indicators, bulk density and the water-holding capacity of sandy soil under both cropland and 25-year-old grassland (formerly cropland) in Trzebieszów, in the Podlasie Region, Poland. Microbial diversity was assessed by: the relative abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea, fungal community composition and functional diversity. Microbial activity was assessed by soil enzyme (dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase) and respiration tests. Results It was shown that compared to cropland, grassland has a higher soil organic carbon content, microbial biomass, basal respiration, rate of enzyme activity, richness and diversity of the microbial community, water holding capacity and the structure of the fungal and ammonia-oxidizing archaea communities was also altered. The implications of these results for soil quality and soil health are also discussed. The results suggest that grassland can have a significant phytosanitary capacity with regard to ecosystem services, due to the prominent presence of beneficial and antagonistic microbes. Moreover, the results also suggest that grassland use may improve the status of soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics, thereby increasing the relative abundance of fungi and ammonia-oxidizing archaea.

Mortierella Species as the Plant Growth-Promoting Fungi Present in the Agricultural Soils

“…Mortierella species, representing plant growth-promoting abilities (Figure 1) are isolated from the agricultural soils (bulk soil, rhizosphere soil) (Table 1). Recent studies of rhizosphere soils or endophytes of various plant species proved that the presence of Mortierella provides a higher resistance at soil-borne pathogens or/and improve plant growth (Table 2) [9,33,64,65]. Recent studies of rhizosphere soils or endophytes of various plant species proved that the presence of Mortierella provides a higher resistance at soil-borne pathogens or/and improve plant growth (Table 2) [9,33,64,65].…”

Effect of Fungicides on Bayberry Decline Disease by Modulating Rhizosphere Soil Properties, Microflora, and Metabolites

“…Microbes can help to maintain the fertility of soil and in the decomposition of organic matter, and the addition of beneficial bacteria into soil ecosystems will enhance the resistance of plants to disease [8,9]. The microbial community is one of the key factors affecting the growth of plants.…”

Inconsistent effects of agricultural practices on soil fungal communities across 12 European long‐term experiments

“…Many factors are known to affect soil fungal community structure and function. It has been suggested that the soil fungal community composition at both global and regional scales is mainly driven by abiotic factors such as soil C:N ratio (Lauber, Strickland, Bradford, & Fierer, 2008;Thomson et al, 2015), pH (Dumbrell, Nelson, Helgason, Dytham, & Fitter, 2010;Sun et al, 2016;Tedersoo et al, 2015), soil organic carbon content, soil texture, overall climatic conditions, and land use (Creamer et al, 2016;Frac, Jerzy, Bogusław, Karolina, & Małgorzata, 2020;Sun et al, 2016;Thomson et al, 2015). Additionally, at more local scales, plant species identity (Hannula, Ma, Pérez-Jaramillo, Pineda, & Bezemer, 2020) and agricultural practices (Bender, Wagg, & van der Heijden, 2016;Frąc et al, 2018;Oehl, Laczko, Oberholzer, Jansa, & Egli, 2017;Rillig et al, 2016) have been identified as important factors affecting fungi.…”