Dataset Information

Soil resilience and recovery: rapid community responses to management changes.

ABSTRACT: Background and aims:Soil degradation is a major global problem; to investigate the potential for recovery of soil biota and associated key functions, soils were monitored during the early years of conversion between permanent grassland, arable cropping and bare fallow (maintained by regular tilling). Distinct differences in soil properties had become apparent 50 years after a previous conversion. Methods:Subplots on previously permanent grassland, arable and bare fallow soil were converted to the two alternatives, generating 9 treatments. Soil properties (soil organic carbon, mesofauna, microbial community structure and activity) were measured. Results:After 2 years, mesofauna and microbial abundance increased where plants were grown on previously bare fallow soils and declined where grassland was converted to bare fallow treatment. Overall prokaryote community composition remained more similar to the previous treatments of the converted plots than to the new treatments but there were significant changes in the relative abundance of some groups and functional genes. Four years after conversion, SOC in arable and bare fallow soils converted to grassland had increased significantly. Conclusions:Conversion to permanent grassland effectively replenished C in previously degraded soil; the soil microbiome showed significant conversion-related changes; plant-driven recovery was quicker than C loss in the absence of plants.

SUBMITTER: Hirsch PR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7045894 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Soil resilience and recovery: rapid community responses to management changes.

Hirsch Penny R PR Jhurreea Deveraj D Williams Jennifer K JK Murray Philip J PJ Scott Tony T Misselbrook Tom H TH Goulding Keith W T KWT Clark Ian M IM

Plant and soil 20160930 1

<h4>Background and aims</h4>Soil degradation is a major global problem; to investigate the potential for recovery of soil biota and associated key functions, soils were monitored during the early years of conversion between permanent grassland, arable cropping and bare fallow (maintained by regular tilling). Distinct differences in soil properties had become apparent 50 years after a previous conversion.<h4>Methods</h4>Subplots on previously permanent grassland, arable and bare fallow soil were ...[more]

PMID: 32165771

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Project description:Land-use change is considered likely to be one of main drivers of biodiversity changes in grassland ecosystems. To gain insight into the impact of land use on the underlying soil bacterial communities, we aimed at determining the effects of agricultural management, along with seasonal variations, on soil bacterial community in a Mediterranean ecosystem where different land-use and plant cover types led to the creation of a soil and vegetation gradient. A set of soils subjected to different anthropogenic impact in a typical Mediterranean landscape, dominated by Quercus suber L., was examined in spring and autumn: a natural cork-oak forest, a pasture, a managed meadow, and two vineyards (ploughed and grass covered). Land uses affected the chemical and structural composition of the most stabilised fractions of soil organic matter and reduced soil C stocks and labile organic matter at both sampling season. A significant effect of land uses on bacterial community structure as well as an interaction effect between land uses and season was revealed by the EP index. Cluster analysis of culture-dependent DGGE patterns showed a different seasonal distribution of soil bacterial populations with subgroups associated to different land uses, in agreement with culture-independent T-RFLP results. Soils subjected to low human inputs (cork-oak forest and pasture) showed a more stable bacterial community than those with high human input (vineyards and managed meadow). Phylogenetic analysis revealed the predominance of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes phyla with differences in class composition across the site, suggesting that the microbial composition changes in response to land uses. Taken altogether, our data suggest that soil bacterial communities were seasonally distinct and exhibited compositional shifts that tracked with changes in land use and soil management. These findings may contribute to future searches for bacterial bio-indicators of soil health and sustainable productivity.

Dataset Information

Soil resilience and recovery: rapid community responses to management changes.

Publications

Soil resilience and recovery: rapid community responses to management changes.

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