Effects of living cover on the soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions of hazelnut orchard

Abstract Background: Living covers are an important management measure for orchards in China, which has a certain influence on soil properties, microorganisms and micro-ecological environment. However, there are few studies on the effects of living covers on the soil changes in hazelnut orchard. In this study, we compared living cover treatment by Vulpia myuros and no cover treatment, and analyzed the changes on the soil properties, microorganisms and microbial function by using high-throughput ITS rDNA and 16S rRNA gene Illumina sequencing. Results: The consequences demonstrated that the total organic carbon content of living cover treatment in the 20-40 cm soils increased by 32.87 % and 14.82 % respectively in May and July compared with no cover treatment, and living cover treatment by Vulpia myuros can also significantly increased the contents of total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) in the soil samples. Moreover, the influence of seasons is not as significant as that of soil depth. The living cover treatment significantly improved the soil enzymes activity levels. Among the four kind of soil enzymes, the soil invertase activity of living cover treatment was 50.94 % greater than that of no cover treatment in 0-20 cm soils and 52.17 % in 20-40 cm soils in May. The consequences demonstrated that Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota and Basidiomycota were the dominant fungal phylum in all samples, while Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes and Chloroflexi were the dominant bacterial phylum, but different treatments impacted the composition of fungal and bacterial communities. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that living cover with Vulpia myuros significantly changed the soil fungal community structure whereas the bacterial community structure may be more sensitive to seasonal changes. At the microbial functional level, the pathotrophs, saprotrophs and symbiotrophs accounted for approximately 36.69 %, 49.80 % and 2.59 % of no cover treatment fungal OTUs respectively whereas in living cover treatment was 19.76 %, 41.51 % and 6.89 %. Conclusions: According to this study, we believe that the living cover with Vulpia myuros has a favorable regulating influence on soil properties, microbial community and microbial function, and can be considered as a management measure for hazelnut orchards management.

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Effects of Living Cover on the Soil Microbial Communities and Ecosystem Functions of Hazelnut Orchards

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.652493 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Wenxu Ma ◽

Zhen Yang ◽

Sihao Hou ◽

Qinghua Ma ◽

Lisong Liang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Organic Carbon Content ◽

Community Structures ◽

Management Measure

Living cover is an important management measure for orchards in China, and has certain influences on soil properties, microorganisms, and the micro-ecological environment. However, there are few studies on the effects of living cover on the soil changes in hazelnut orchards. In this study, we compared the soils of living cover treatments with Vulpia myuros and the soils of no cover treatments, and analyzed the observed changes in soil properties, microorganisms, and microbial functions by using high-throughput ITS rDNA and 16S rRNA gene Illumina sequencing. The results demonstrated that the total organic carbon content in the 20–40 cm deep soils under the living cover treatments increased by 32.87 and 14.82% in May and July, respectively, compared with those under the no cover treatments. The living cover treatment with V. myuros also significantly increased the contents of total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK) in the soil samples. Moreover, the influence of seasons was not as significant as that of soil depth. The living cover treatment also significantly improved the soil enzyme activity levels. The results demonstrated that Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota and Basidiomycota were the dominant fungal phyla in all samples, while Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi were the dominant bacterial phyla, but the different treatments impacted the compositions of fungal and bacterial communities. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that living cover with V. myuros significantly changed the soil fungal community structures whereas the bacterial community structures may be more sensitive to seasonal changes. At the microbial functional level, the living cover treatment increased the fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of symbiotrophs and decreased that of pathotrophs. According to this study, we believe that the application of a living cover with V. myuros has a favorable regulating influence on soil properties, microbial communities and microbial function. This treatment can also reduce the use of herbicides, reduce the cost of orchard management, and store more carbon underground to achieve sustainable intensification of production in hazelnut orchards, so it can be considered as a management measure for hazelnut orchards.

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Distinct bacterial community structure and composition along different cowpea producing ecoregions in Northeastern Brazil

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-80840-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Luciana de Sousa Lopes ◽

Lucas William Mendes ◽

Jadson Emanuel Lopes Antunes ◽

Louise Melo de Souza Oliveira ◽

Vania Maria Maciel Melo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Bacterial Community ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Growth Promotion ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Soil Microbiome ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Soil Factors ◽

Organic C

AbstractSoil microbial communities represent the largest biodiversity on Earth, holding an important role in promoting plant growth and productivity. However, the knowledge about how soil factors modulate the bacteria community structure and distribution in tropical regions remain poorly understood, mainly in different cowpea producing ecoregions belonging to Northeastern Brazil. This study addressed the bacterial community along three different ecoregions (Mata, Sertão, and Agreste) through the16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed that soil factors, such as Al3+, sand, Na+, cation exchange excel, and total organic C, influenced the bacterial community and could be a predictor of the distinct performance of cowpea production. Also, the bacterial community changed between different ecoregions, and some keystone groups related to plant-growth promotion, such as Bradyrhizobium, Bacillales, Rhizobiales, and Solibacillus, were correlated to cowpea yield, so revealing that the soil microbiome has a primordial role in plant productivity. Here, we provide evidence that bacterial groups related to nutrient cycling can help us to increase cowpea efficiency and we suggest that a better microbiome knowledge can contribute to improving the agricultural performance.

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The Impacts of Different Green Manure on Soil Microbial Communities and Crop Health

10.20944/preprints201609.0056.v1 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hongwu Yang ◽

Jiaojiao Niu ◽

Jiemeng Tao ◽

Yabing Gu ◽

Chao Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Soil Nutrients ◽

Green Manure ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Disease Rate ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Tobacco Disease ◽

Crop Health

Green manure could improve soil nutrients and crop production, playing a significant role in sustainable agriculture. However, the impacts of green manure on crop health and the roles soil microbial communities play in the process haven’t been clarified clearly yet. In this study, we investigated soil microbial community composition and structure in four tobacco farmlands, which were treated with different green manure (control, ryegrass, pea and rape), using 16S rRNA gene amplicons sequencing. Results showed that green manure had significant impacts on soil properties, microbial communities and tobacco health. First, soil total C, N and Ca content increased significantly in groups treated with green manure than control. Second, soil community diversity was significantly higher in groups treated with green manure. Third, green manure especially ryegrass, decreased tobacco disease (bacterial wilt) rate dramatically, and the process might be mediated by soil microbial communities. On the one hand, several microbial populations were found to be potentially disease inducible or suppressive. For example, the abundances of Dokdonella and Rhodanobacter were positively correlated to tobacco disease rate, while Acidobacteira_Gp4 and Gp6 had negative correlations with tobacco disease. On the other hand, soil microbial communities were shaped by soil properties (e.g., pH, C and N content). In conclusion, our research showed that green manure could increase soil nutrients directly, and further improve tobacco health mediated by soil microorganisms, which may shed light on revealing interactions among soil properties, microorganisms and plants.

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Soil-terrain modelling and erosion analysis at field scale level, a case study

Soil and Water Research ◽

10.17221/45/2008-swr ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 4 (No. 2) ◽

pp. 84-90

Author(s):

T. Zádorová ◽

L. Brodský ◽

M. Rohošková

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Structure Prediction ◽

Soil Cover ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Digital Terrain Model ◽

Organic Carbon Content ◽

Topographic Wetness Index ◽

Study Plot ◽

Geological Conditions ◽

Soil Cover Structure

Pedometrical methods and digital soil mapping represent a progressive approach to the evaluation of various terrain-related soil processes. A detailed digital terrain model was used for the analysis of erosion – sedimentation situation and description of specific soil properties at meso-relief scale. A study plot in Central Bohemia (area 4 ha) with highly diversified geological conditions was chosen for the study combining digital modelling with a detailed terrain survey and laboratory analysis. The curvature and topographic wetness index values were the main features for the accumulation and soil loss areas evaluation. The terrain survey and DTM results corresponded in the case of the soil cover structure and soil depth, showing a vast impact of accelerated water erosion and direct tillage erosion on the soil redistribution. In the concave and base slope positions, colluvial soils were identified, while Regosols with A–C profile stratigraphy form in the upper convex parts of the study plot. Particular soil properties distribution (pH, organic carbon content, texture) is, besides erosion, significantly influenced by parent rock variation and the relation to the terrain characteristics is less distinctive. The study showed a significant impact of the terrain properties on the general material redistribution and the possibility of soil cover structure prediction in areas with complicated geological conditions.

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Variation of soil bacterial communities along a chronosequence of Eucalyptus plantation

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.5648 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e5648 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jiayu Li ◽

Jiayi Lin ◽

Chenyu Pei ◽

Kaitao Lai ◽

Thomas C. Jeffries ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Secondary Forest ◽

Microbial Community Composition ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Phosphorus Concentration ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Metabolic Potential ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Local Soil

Eucalyptus is harvested for wood and fiber production in many tropical and sub-tropical habitats globally. Plantation has been controversial because of its influence on the surrounding environment, however, the influence of massive Eucalyptus planting on soil microbial communities is unclear. Here we applied high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to assess the microbial community composition and diversity of planting chronosequences, involving two, five and ten years of Eucalyptus plantation, comparing to that of secondary-forest in South China. We found that significant changes in the composition of soil bacteria occurred when the forests were converted from secondary-forest to Eucalyptus. The bacterial community structure was clearly distinct from control and five year samples after Eucalyptus was grown for 2 and 10 years, highlighting the influence of this plantation on local soil microbial communities. These groupings indicated a cycle of impact (2 and 10 year plantations) and low impact (5-year plantations) in this chronosequence of Eucalyptus plantation. Community patterns were underpinned by shifts in soil properties such as pH and phosphorus concentration. Concurrently, key soil taxonomic groups such as Actinobacteria showed abundance shifts, increasing in impacted plantations and decreasing in low impacted samples. Shifts in taxonomy were reflected in a shift in metabolic potential, including pathways for nutrient cycles such as carbon fixation, which changed in abundance over time following Eucalyptus plantation. Combined these results confirm that Eucalyptus plantation can change the community structure and diversity of soil microorganisms with strong implications for land-management and maintaining the health of these ecosystems.

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Microbial Community Structure and Denitrification in a Wetland Mitigation Bank

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.02977-09 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 76 (13) ◽

pp. 4207-4215 ◽

Cited By ~ 83

Author(s):

Ariane L. Peralta ◽

Jeffrey W. Matthews ◽

Angela D. Kent

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Bacterial Community ◽

Microbial Community Structure ◽

Wetland Mitigation ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Potential Denitrification ◽

Microbial Function ◽

Reference Wetlands ◽

Mitigation Bank

ABSTRACT Wetland mitigation is implemented to replace ecosystem functions provided by wetlands; however, restoration efforts frequently fail to establish equivalent levels of ecosystem services. Delivery of microbially mediated ecosystem functions, such as denitrification, is influenced by both the structure and activity of the microbial community. The objective of this study was to compare the relationship between soil and vegetation factors and microbial community structure and function in restored and reference wetlands within a mitigation bank. Microbial community composition was assessed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism targeting the 16S rRNA gene (total bacteria) and the nosZ gene (denitrifiers). Comparisons of microbial function were based on potential denitrification rates. Bacterial community structures differed significantly between restored and reference wetlands; denitrifier community assemblages were similar among reference sites but highly variable among restored sites throughout the mitigation bank. Potential denitrification was highest in the reference wetland sites. These data demonstrate that wetland restoration efforts in this mitigation bank have not successfully restored denitrification and that differences in potential denitrification rates may be due to distinct microbial assemblages observed in restored and reference (natural) wetlands. Further, we have identified gradients in soil moisture and soil fertility that were associated with differences in microbial community structure. Microbial function was influenced by bacterial community composition and soil fertility. Identifying soil factors that are primary ecological drivers of soil bacterial communities, especially denitrifying populations, can potentially aid the development of predictive models for restoration of biogeochemical transformations and enhance the success of wetland restoration efforts.

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Soil microbial community variation with time and soil depth in Eurasian Steppe (Inner Mongolia, China)

Annals of Microbiology ◽

10.1186/s13213-021-01633-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hongbin Zhao ◽

Wenling Zheng ◽

Shengwei Zhang ◽

Wenlong Gao ◽

Yueyue Fan

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Soil Microbial Diversity ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Temporal And Spatial ◽

Time Of Year ◽

Bacteria And Fungi ◽

The Impact

Abstract Purpose Soil microorganisms play an indispensable role in the material and energy cycle of grassland ecosystems. The abundance of these organisms vary according to environmental factors, such as time of year and soil depth. There have been few studies on the transformation of soil microbial communities in degraded typical steppe according to these temporal and spatial changes. In this study, we analyze the community structure and diversity of soil bacteria and fungi, and the impact of these changing temporal and spatial factors upon the community structure. Methods From May to September 2018, we collected 90 soil samples from different depths (10, 20, and 30 cm) from the typical degraded steppe area of Xilingol. We carried out studies on soil physical and chemical properties and soil microbial diversity using high-throughput sequencing technology. Results We found that depth significantly affected abundance and diversity of bacteria and fungi. Bacteria and fungi diversity at 10 cm was higher than that at 20 cm and 30 cm. The abundance of Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, Actinomycetes, Ascomycetes, and Basidiomycetes varies significantly with depth. In addition, soil pH increased significantly with increasing depth, while soil organic matter (SOM), available nitrogen (AN), volume water content of soil (VWC), and soil temperature (ST) decreased significantly with increasing depth. Finally, the depth, total organic carbon (TOC), and AN had a significant impact on the bacterial and fungal communities’ abundance (p < 0.05). Conclusions Spatial heterogeneity (in soil depth) is more significant than the time of year (month) in predicting changes in microbial community composition and soil properties. SOM, VWC, and the abundance of Proteobacteria and Actinomycetes positively correlate with soil depth, while pH and the abundance of Acidobacteria, Ascomycetes, and Basidiomycetes negatively correlate with soil depth. We speculate that SOM and VWC account for the variations in the abundance of Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria, while pH causes variations in the abundance of Actinomycetes, Ascomycetes and Basidiomycota.

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The effects of soil depth on the structure of microbial communities in agricultural soils in Iowa, USA

10.1101/2020.03.31.018416 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jingjie Hao ◽

Yen Ning Chai ◽

Raziel A. Ordóñez ◽

Emily E. Wright ◽

Sotirios Archontoulis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Bacterial Community ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Community Composition ◽

Microbial Community Structure ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Bacterial Community Composition ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Soil Microbial

AbstractThe determination of how microbial community structure changes within the soil profile, will be beneficial to understanding the long-term health of agricultural soil ecosystems and will provide a first step towards elucidating how deep soil microbial communities contribute to carbon sequestration. This study aimed to investigate the differences in the microbial community abundance, composition and diversity throughout from the surface layers down to deep soils in corn and soybean fields in Iowa, USA. We used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of soil samples to characterize the change in microbial community structure. Our results revealed decreased richness and diversity in bacterial community structure with increasing soil depth. We also observed distinct distribution patterns of bacterial community composition along soil profiles. Soil and root data at different depths enabled us to demonstrate that the soil organic matter, soil bulk density and plant water availability were all significant factors in explaining the variation in soil microbial community composition. Our findings provide valuable insights in the changes in microbial community structure to depths of 180 cm in one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This knowledge will be important for future management and productivity of agroecosystems in the face of increasing demand for food and climate change.

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Effects of biodegradable plastic film mulching on soil microbial communities in two agroecosystems

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.9015 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e9015 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sreejata Bandopadhyay ◽

Henry Y. Sintim ◽

Jennifer M. DeBruyn

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Crop Production ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Biodegradable Plastic ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Plastic Mulch ◽

Soil Microbial Community Structure ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Mulch Films

Plastic mulch films are used globally in crop production but incur considerable disposal and environmental pollution issues. Biodegradable plastic mulch films (BDMs), an alternative to polyethylene (PE)-based films, are designed to be tilled into the soil where they are expected to be mineralized to carbon dioxide, water and microbial biomass. However, insufficient research regarding the impacts of repeated soil incorporation of BDMs on soil microbial communities has partly contributed to limited adoption of BDMs. In this study, we evaluated the effects of BDM incorporation on soil microbial community structure and function over two years in two geographical locations: Knoxville, TN, and in Mount Vernon, WA, USA. Treatments included four plastic BDMs (three commercially available and one experimental film), a biodegradable cellulose paper mulch, a non-biodegradable PE mulch and a no mulch plot. Bacterial community structure determined using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed significant differences by location and season. Differences in bacterial communities by mulch treatment were not significant for any season in either location, except for Fall 2015 in WA where differences were observed between BDMs and no-mulch plots. Extracellular enzyme assays were used to characterize communities functionally, revealing significant differences by location and sampling season in both TN and WA but minimal differences between BDMs and PE treatments. Overall, BDMs had comparable influences on soil microbial communities to PE mulch films.

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Functional redundancy in local spatial scale microbial communities suggests stochastic processes at an urban wilderness preserve in Austin, TX, USA

FEMS Microbiology Letters ◽

10.1093/femsle/fnab010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 368 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Justin D. Stewart ◽

Amy Ontai ◽

Kizil Yusoof ◽

Kelly S. Ramirez ◽

Teresa Bilinski

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Bacterial Community ◽

Structure Function ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Carbon Metabolism ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Functional Redundancy ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Edaphic Properties

ABSTRACT Empirical evidence supports selection of soil microbial communities by edaphic properties across large spatial scales; however, less is known at smaller spatial scales. The goal of this research was to evaluate relationships between ecosystem characteristics and bacterial community structure/function at broad taxonomic resolutions in soils across small spatial scales. We employed 16S rRNA gene sequencing, community-level physiological profiling and soil chemical analysis to address this goal. We found weak relationships between gradients in soil characteristics and community structure/function. Specific operational taxonomic units did not respond to edaphic variation, but Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Nitrospirae shifted their relative abundances. High metabolic diversity within the bacterial communities was observed despite general preference of Tween 40/80. Carbon metabolism patterns suggest dominance of functional specialists at our times of measurement. Pairwise comparison of carbon metabolism patterns indicates high levels of functional redundancy. Lastly, at broad taxonomic scales, community structure and function weakly covary with edaphic properties. This evidence suggests that stochasticity or unmeasured environmental gradients may be influential in bacterial community assembly in soils at small spatial scales.

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