| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Bresciani, Luana
;
Freitas, Caio Cesar Gomes
;
Barros, Felipe Martins do Rego
;
Andreote, Fernando Dini
;
Dini-Andreote, Francisco
Total Authors: 5
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY; v. 195, p. 9-pg., 2024-01-13. |
| Abstract | |
Conservation farming and crop diversity increase soil health, organic matter content, and soil microbial activity. However, the design and implementation of sustainable practices often lack a detailed understanding of their impacts on microbial communities in soil. Here, we studied the effects of an Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) - Brachiaria (Urochloa spp.) intercropping system on soil microbial properties by partitioning at the centimeterscale the topsoil layers. In particular, we collected and analyzed four soil layers in a vertical stratification gradient of 0-2.5 cm (layer 1), 2.5-5.0 cm (layer 2), 5-10 cm (layer 3), and 10-15 cm (layer 4). Soil samples were subjected to chemical analysis, bacterial community profiling, and quantification of microbial enzymatic activity for beta-glucosidase and acid-phosphatase, in addition to the quantification of N-fixation and P-solubilization gene abundances. We found that intercropping increased acid-phosphatase activity at layer 1, beta-glucosidase activity at layers 2 and 3, and the amount of soil organic matter and total magnesium at layers 2 and 3. Intercropping increased the relative abundance of the N-fixation gene at layer 3 and bacterial diversity at layers 1 and 3. Overall, intercropping significantly changed the soil bacterial community structure and resulted in a more interconnected co-occurrence network (i.e., greater node connectivity, network density, and lower edges average path length). Taken together, this study provides evidence for the positive impact of intercropping in the soil at a centimeter-scale vertical stratification. It corroborates the notion that plant diversity stimulates microbial activity and species interactions in soil. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 19/03712-8 - The interaction between the soil microbiome and the use of agrochemicals: an ecological approach |
| Grantee: | Fernando Dini Andreote |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |