Lu, P.; Zhao, C.; Yin, W.; Hu, F.; Fan, Z.; Yu, A.; Fan, H. Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage. Agronomy2023, 13, 2707.
Lu, P.; Zhao, C.; Yin, W.; Hu, F.; Fan, Z.; Yu, A.; Fan, H. Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage. Agronomy 2023, 13, 2707.
Lu, P.; Zhao, C.; Yin, W.; Hu, F.; Fan, Z.; Yu, A.; Fan, H. Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage. Agronomy2023, 13, 2707.
Lu, P.; Zhao, C.; Yin, W.; Hu, F.; Fan, Z.; Yu, A.; Fan, H. Microbial Community Shifts with Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities in Inter-/Mono-Cropping Systems in Response to Tillage. Agronomy 2023, 13, 2707.
Abstract
No-till and cereal-legume intercropping have been recognized as favorable cropping practices to increase crop yields while maintaining soil quality in arid and semiarid environment, but the bio-logical mechanisms are poorly understood. The present study was to determine the response of soil properties, enzyme activities, and microbial community diversity and composition in mono- and inter-cropping under conventional and no-tillage conditions. We initiated a field experiment in Wuwei, a typical arid area of China, in 2014. Soil was sampled in August 2022 and, yields, soil properties, enzyme activities, and the microbial community diversity and composition were de-termined in the maize and pea strips in inter- and mono-cropping systems. Results revealed that the maize and pea strips in the no-till intercropping significantly increased yields, total and or-ganic carbon stocks, decreased NO3--N, and obtained the highest total and organic P in the soil. The α- and β-diversity of archaea and eukaryotes were significantly affected by planting patterns, while α- and β-diversity of the bacterial community were significantly affected by tillage practices. Both no-tillage and intercropped maize significantly increased the abundance of archaea phylum Thaumarchaeota and bacterial phylum Nitrospirae, benefiting nitrogen fixation of intercropped pea from the atmosphere under the no-tillage cereal/legume intercropping. No-till intercropping was conducive to the accumulation of organic carbon, while decreasing the abundance of Prote-obacteria, Acidobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. Limited soil enzyme activities (ACP, ALP, DP, NAG, BG, AG, CB) led to decreases in organic carbon turnover and utilization. Intercropping al-tered soil microbial community diversity and composition due to changes in soil properties and enzyme activities. These findings suggest that no-tilled cereal-legume intercropping is a sustaina-ble cropping practice for improving soil properties and enhancing microbial (archaea, bacterial, Eukaryota) diversity, but the long-term persistence is not conducive to rapid turnover of soil nu-trients due to limited enzyme activities.
Biology and Life Sciences, Agricultural Science and Agronomy
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