scholarly journals Steering microbiomes by organic amendments towards climate-smart agricultural soils

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristof Brenzinger ◽  
Ohana Y. A. Costa ◽  
Adrian Ho ◽  
Guusje Koorneef ◽  
Bjorn Robroek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Soil Microbiome ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers

AbstractWe steered the soil microbiome via applications of organic residues (mix of cover crop residues, sewage sludge + compost, and digestate + compost) to enhance multiple ecosystem services in line with climate-smart agriculture. Our result highlights the potential to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from agricultural soils by the application of specific organic amendments (especially digestate + compost). Unexpectedly, also the addition of mineral fertilizer in our mesocosms led to similar combined GHG emissions than one of the specific organic amendments. However, the application of organic amendments has the potential to increase soil C, which is not the case when using mineral fertilizer. While GHG emissions from cover crop residues were significantly higher compared to mineral fertilizer and the other organic amendments, crop growth was promoted. Furthermore, all organic amendments induced a shift in the diversity and abundances of key microbial groups. We show that organic amendments have the potential to not only lower GHG emissions by modifying the microbial community abundance and composition, but also favour crop growth-promoting microorganisms. This modulation of the microbial community by organic amendments bears the potential to turn soils into more climate-smart soils in comparison to the more conventional use of mineral fertilizers.

scholarly journals Bio-Organic Mineral Fertilizer for Sustainable Agriculture: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1336
Author(s):  
Shameer Syed ◽  
Xingxing Wang ◽  
Tollamadugu N.V.K.V. Prasad ◽  
Bin Lian
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Plant Growth ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Mineral Weathering ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers ◽  
Microbial Culture ◽  
Organic Mineral ◽  
Synthetic Fertilizers

Chemical (synthetic) fertilizers used indiscriminately for improved production pose a major threat to long-term soil fertility, the soil environment, and its components. The soil microbial community, however, plays a major and important role in fostering soil health and plant growth. While the use of synthetic fertilizers has a profound impact on plant growth, it also significantly alters the makeup of the microbial community towards a detrimental low, especially N and P fertilizers. Sustainable farming practices can reduce the depletion of natural resources and maintain both productivity and soil fertility. The use of minerals that contain fertilizer nutrients in their native state is a very promising approach to reducing emissions associated with the processing chemical industries. Organic material from natural sources (food waste, manure from livestock, agricultural biomass, etc.) acts as a source of microbial culture and encourages the release of nutrients into the soil during mineral weathering. The combination of nutrient-bearing minerals and their biological weathering agents together with organic matter has the potential to remediate, restore, and sustain depleted agricultural soils. Therefore, in this review, we emphasize the significance of sustaining agricultural productivity and microbial diversity in the rhizosphere, the two vital aspects of modern agricultural systems, through bio-organic mineral fertilizers.

Do diverse mixtures of cover crop residues alter the soil microbial community and increase soil function?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Shu ◽  
Yiran Zou ◽  
Liz Shaw ◽  
Lindsay Todman ◽  
Mark Tibbett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Soil Microbial Community ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Function ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Quaternary Mixture

<p>Cover crops are a contemporary tool to sustainably manage agricultural soils by boosting fertility, suppressing weeds and disease, and benefiting cash crop yields, thus securing future food supply. Due to the different chemical composition of crop residues from different plant families, we hypothesised that a mixture of cover crop residues may have a greater potential to improve soil health than the sum of the parts. Our experiment focused on the impact of four cover crops (clover, sunflower, radish and buckwheat) and their quaternary mixture on soil respiration and the soil microbial community in an 84-day microcosm experiment. On average adding cover crop residues significantly (P < 0.001) increased soil respiration from 29 to 343 µg C g<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> and microbial biomass from 18 to 60 µg C g<sup>-1</sup>, compared to the unamended control during 84 days’ incubation. Cover crop addition resulted in a significant (P < 0.001) alteration of the soil microbial community structure compared to that of the control. The quaternary mixture of cover crop residues significantly (P = 0.011) increased soil respiration rate by 23.79 µg C g<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> during the period 30 to 84 days after residue incorporation, compared to the average of the four individual residues. However, no significant difference in the size of the microbial biomass was found between the mixture and the average of the four individuals, indicating the mixture may invest resources which transit dormant microbial species into a metabolically active state and thus boost microbial respiration. Analysis of similarity of microbial community composition (ANOSIM) demonstrated the mixture significantly (P = 0.001) shifted microbial community structure away from buckwheat (R = 0.847), clover (R = 0.688), radish (R = 0.285) and sunflower (R = 0.785), respectively. This implies cover crop residues provide a niche specialization and differentiation on a selection of microbial communities that favour certain plant compounds. While applying cover crop residues has positive impacts on soil function, we found that applying a mixture of cover crop residues may provide greater potential to select for microorganisms or activate dormant microbial species which result in higher soil function. The outcome of this study will help seed suppliers to design, and farmers to select, novel cover crop mixtures which enhance soil function synergistically, leading to a greater potential to sustainably improve soil health.</p>

scholarly journals Response of Microbial Activities in Soil to Various Organic and Mineral Amendments as an Indicator of Soil Quality

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Elbl ◽  
Jana Maková ◽  
Soňa Javoreková ◽  
Juraj Medo ◽  
Antonín Kintl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Basal Respiration ◽  
Organic Fertilizers ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Individual

The presented paper deals with the analysis of potential differences between organic waste compost (CBD), vermicompost (CVER) and mineral fertilizer (MF; 27% of N) applications affecting the quality of arable soil by influencing microbial activity therein. The selected types of compost represent alternatives to conventional organic fertilizers, which are, however, not available to Czech and Slovak farmers in sufficient amounts. Their mutual comparison and the comparison with organic fertilizers aim to provide farmers further information about their influence on arable land and thus to give them the possibility of deciding on the most suitable amendments. To demonstrate the effect of these amendments, six variants were prepared: one without the addition of fertilizers; two variants with the addition of 40 Mg/ha of CVER and CBD; one variant with the addition of double dosed CVER (80 Mg/ha), and the remaining two variants were fertilized only with MF (0.22 Mg/ha) and with the combination of CVER (0.20 Mg/ha) and MF (0.11 Mg/ha). Substrate induced respiration (SIR), basal respiration (BS), microbial carbon (Cmic) and enzymatic activities (hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate—FDA, dehydrogenase activity—DHA, and phosphatase activity—PA) were used to evaluate the effect of CBD, CVER and MF application on the soil quality. Both organic and mineral amendments affected BS and SIR. The highest BS and SIR rates were found in variants with compost application (CVER and CBD). All variants treated with the mineral fertilizer showed the lowest level of enzyme activities; lower by about 30% in comparison with variants where CVER, CBD and the combination of MF and CVER were applied. We found insignificant differences between the individual types of compost. More importantly, we compared the situation at the beginning of the experiment and after its end. It was found that the application of mineral fertilizers automatically led to the deterioration of all enzymatic parameters, on average by more than 25%, as compared with the situation at the beginning of the experiment. However, when the mineral fertilizer dose was supplemented with organic amendments (CVER), this negative effect was eliminated or significantly reduced. Furthermore, both composts (CVER and CBD) positively affected plant biomass production, which reached a level of production enhanced by the MF. Results clearly showed that the application of both compost types could be used to improve soil quality in agriculture.

scholarly journals Carbon Balance under Organic Amendments in the Wheat-Maize Cropping Systems of Sloppy Upland Soil

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2747
Author(s):  
Hamidou Bah ◽  
Minghua Zhou ◽  
Simon Kizito ◽  
Ren Xiao ◽  
Syed Turab Raza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Organic Amendment ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Organic Manure ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers ◽  
Pig Slurry ◽  
Upland Soil ◽  
Study Results

With an increasing interest in closing the nutrient loop in agroecosystems, organic amendments are highly recommended as a reliable resource for soil nutrient recycling. However, from a carbon sequestration perspective, not much has been reported on the contribution of different organic amendments to soil organic carbon (SOC), crop carbon (C) uptake, and soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in wheat-maize cropping systems of sloppy upland soil. To fill the knowledge gap, a two-year lysimeter-field plots experiment was conducted in a sloppy upland purplish soil under wheat-maize cropping systems. The experiments were arranged in a complete random block design with five treatment plots, namely; fresh pig slurry as organic manure (OM), crop residues (CR), conventional mineral fertilizers (NPK) as the control, organic manure plus mineral fertilizers (OMNPK), and crop residues plus mineral fertilizers (CRNPK). Our results showed the leaf photosynthesis rate was not significantly increased by organic amendment application treatments compared to NPK treatment, and was within a range of 4.8 to 45.3 µmol m−2 s−1 for the wheat season and −20.1 to 40.4 µmol m−2 s−1 for the maize season across the five treatments and the measured growth stages. The soil CO2 emissions for the maize season (in the range of 203 to 362 g C m−2) were higher than for the wheat season (in the range of 118 to 252 g C m−2) on average across the different experimental treatments over the two-year experiment. The organic amendment application increased annual cumulative CO2 emissions from 30% to 51% compared to NPK treatment. Over the two years, the average crop C uptake ranged from 174 to 378 g C m−2 and from 287 to 488 g C m−2 for the wheat and maize seasons, respectively, and the organic amendment application increased the crop C uptake by 4% to 23% compared to NPK treatment. In the organic amendment treatments, the C balance ranged from −160 to 460 g C m−2 and from −301 to 334 g C m−2 for the wheat and the maize seasons, respectively, which were greater than those in the NPK treatment. Overall, the present study results suggest incorporation of organic amendments could be an effective strategy for increasing C sequestration and sustaining crop productivity in sloppy upland soil.

scholarly journals Assessment of Recycling-derived Fertilizers as an Alternative to Mineral Fertilizers – Effects on the Soil Microbiome

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (7A) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Deinert ◽  
Israel Ikoyi ◽  
Achim Schmalenberger
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Soil Microbiome ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Pot Trial ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
The Impact

Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient for all living organisms and is applied as fertilizer in agroecosystems to improve crop growth. Recycling-derived fertilizers (RDFs) have been developed for nutrient recovery from Europe’s largest waste streams as a sustainable alternative to this finite resource. The impact of four RDFs (two ashes, two struvites) on the soil microbiome in comparison with a P-free control and triple super phosphate (TSP) as mineral fertilizer was investigated in a pot trial and a subsequent microcosm trial (subset of samples). For both experiments perennial ryegrass was cultivated for 54 days. The pot trial was conducted at P fertilization rates of 20 and 60 kg P ha-1 in quadruplicates. After the pot harvest the bulk soil was stored until the microcosm trial was conducted, using the control, TSP and the two ashes at 60 kg P ha-1 in six replicates. Pot trial results showed highest P bioavailability from struvites at high P rates, also resulting in higher biomass yield on average. Furthermore, P solubilization capabilities from tri-calcium phosphate was enhanced in the RDFs treatments, while the TSP treatments were negatively affected. For the microcosm trial, most probable number (MPN) analysis showed that phytate-utilizing bacterial abundance was significantly increased in one of the ashes and had also remained higher in the RDF treatments after storage. Understanding the effects of recycling-derived fertilizer application on the soil P cycle is vital for developing a more sustainable agriculture.

scholarly journals Filling gaps in models simulating carbon storage in agricultural soils: the role of cereal stubbles

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arezoo Taghizadeh-Toosi ◽  
Bent T. Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Allometric Functions ◽  
C Input

AbstractCarbon (C) input is a prerequisite for the formation of soil organic matter and thus for soil organic C (SOC) sequestration. Here we used the C-TOOL model to simulate SOC changes in a long-term field experiment (1932–2020) at Askov, Denmark, which involved four different levels of nutrients added in mineral fertilizer (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 NPK) and a four-crop rotation. The C input into soils consists of belowground and aboveground plant biomass and was estimated using allometric functions. The simulation showed that modelled SOC based on standard allometric functions of C input from crop residues did not adequately matched measured SOC contents. However, applying modified allometric functions based on current and the previously measured results for aboveground and belowground C inputs in winter wheat and grass clover in rotations provided much better match between simulated and measured SOC contents for fertilized treatments at normal and high level of fertilization. This improved indicators of C-TOOL model performance (e.g. yielding RMSE of 2.24 t C ha−1 and model efficiency of 0.73 in 1.5 NPK treatment). The results highlight that standard allometric functions greatly overestimates the amount of C in winter wheat stubble left after harvest in treatments dressed with NPK compared with modified functions. The results also highlight further needs for improvement of allometric functions used in simulation models for C-accounting in agroecosystems.

scholarly journals Application of organic fertilizers alter the physical and biogeochemical properties of agricultural topsoil and subsoil

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Neumeier ◽  
Julien Guigue ◽  
Yaser Ostovari ◽  
Andreas Muskolus ◽  
Henk Martens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Organic Amendments ◽  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Organic Fertilizers ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Biogas Digestate ◽  
Nitrogen Contents ◽  
Soc Stocks

<p>Sustainable agricultural practices aim to ensure the rebuilt of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and to sustain soil fertility. One of the levers is the use of carbon and nutrient inputs in the form of organic amendments, such as farmyard manure, slurry and biogas digestate. These organic fertilizers represent a promising alternative to the mineral fertilizers, which are mainly made from non-renewable resources. The use mineral fertilizers is indeed associated with an excessive use of natural resources and a loss of biodiversity. The effect of organic amendments compared with traditional mineral fertilizers on SOC stocks and soil fertility are uncertain in the longer-term. We aimed at investigating the effects of mineral and organic fertilizers (i.e., manure, pig slurry and biogas digestate) on topsoil and subsoil biogeochemistry, after eight years of application. For this purpose, we sampled soil cores down to a depth of one meter in a randomized field experiment in Germany, running since 2011. A full-profile assessment of the carbon and nitrogen distribution, stability and bioavailability was achieved using a combination of classical bulk physico-chemical analyses (e.g., SOC and nitrogen contents, texture, pH, bulk density) and state-of-the-art imaging techniques. Selected samples were analysed for aggregate size distribution, as well as organic carbon and nitrogen contents and allocation within these aggregates. Further, undisturbed core-samples were scanned using a hyperspectral camera in the Vis-NIR range to reveal hotspots of carbon storage at the soil profile scale. Soil carbon distribution was predicted as a function of spectral response, using a variety of machine learning approaches. The application of organic fertilizers (whatever their nature) resulted in higher SOC contents in the first 10 cm, as compared to the control and the mineral fertilizer treatments. The SOC stocks were + 21-33 % higher in the soil treated with organic fertilizers as compared to the control treatment. The application of mineral fertilizer or digestate, as compared to the control, resulted in higher relative amount of microaggregates (versus macroaggregates) (+ 19-40 %) in the soil down to 80 cm. These results will provide essential information to develop management strategies that increase nutrient recycling as well as SOC stocks.</p>

scholarly journals Cover crop residue diversity enhances microbial activity and biomass with additive effects on microbial structure

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Shu ◽  
Yiran Zou ◽  
Liz J. Shaw ◽  
Lindsay Todman ◽  
Mark Tibbett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Microbial Activity ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Residue ◽  
Soil Microbial Biomass ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Soil Functions ◽  
Soil Microbial

AbstractCover crops have been widely used in agroecosystems to improve soil fertility and environmental sustainability. The decomposition of cover crop residues can have further effects on belowground communities and their activity, which is important for a series of soil functions (e.g., nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition). We tested the effect of plant residues from a range of cover crop species on soil microbial activity and community assemblage. We predicted that cover crop residues would alter the soil microbial community and that a greater diversity of residues would enhance microbial decomposition. In an incubation study, we assessed the effect of crop residue diversity on microbial activity (soil respiration) and its consequent effects on microbial community composition (PLFA). We used either a biodiverse mixture of four cover crop residues (buckwheat, clover, sunflower and radish) or an equal mass of the residues of each of the individual species. The diverse mixture of cover crop residues had a significantly (P < 0.05) greater soil respiration rate, by 57.61 µg C g−1 h−1, than the average of the four individual residues, but did not have a significantly different soil microbial biomass or microbial community structure. This finding could be attributed to a greater diversity of organic resources increasing the number biochemical niches, and hence activating dormant microbial communities to increase microbial activity without affecting microbial biomass or community composition. Greater respiration from similar microbial biomasses suggests that microbial activity might be more efficient after a more diverse substrate input. This study confirms the positive impact of cover crop residues on soil microbial biomass and activity and highlights that mixtures of cover crop residues may deliver enhanced soil functions beyond the sum of individual cover crop residues.

scholarly journals TAXONOMIC AND FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES OF DARK GREY SOIL

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 43-51
Author(s):  
O. V. Sherstoboeva ◽  
O. S. Demianiuk
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Mineral Fertilizer ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Mineral Fertilizers ◽  
Taxonomic Structure ◽  
Hydrothermal Conditions ◽  
Fallow Soil ◽  
Fertilizer System ◽  
Correlation Pleiades

We analyzed the functional and taxonomic structure of microbial community of dark grey soil, depending on the effects of the weather and fertilizer systems. It was shown that fallow soil is characterized by integrated and more stable microbial community compared with agroecosystems soil. However, under the effect of such abiotic factors as increased average monthly temperatures and moisture deficiency, some imbalance of trophic interactions in microbiocenosis is observed. Agroecosystems are characterized by less stable functional and taxonomic structure of the soil, which is defined by the hydrothermal conditions of the growing season and types of fertilizers applied. This is supported by a smaller number of correlations and a simplified structure of correlation pleiades of the soil of agroecosystems during unfavourable periods of vegetation periods, especially in the soil without fertilizers and using only mineral fertilizers. The use of organic and mineral fertilizer system brings the state of the soil microbiocenosis of agroecosystems soil to that of fallow soil.

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