RT Journal Article
T1 Perennial crops shape the soil microbial community and increase the soil carbon in the upper soil layer
A1 Li, Shoujiao
A1 Barreiro Buján, Ana
A1 Almeida, Juan Pablo
A1 Prade, Thomas
A1 Dimitrova Mårtensson, Linda-Maria
K1 Intermediate wheatgrass
K1 Microbial biomass
K1 Microbial community composition
K1 Perennial
K1 PLFA
K1 Soil total carbon
AB Soil biodiversity is threatened by intensive agriculture that relies on annual grain crop production, thus leading to a decline in soil functions and ecosystem services. Perennial grain crops have a positive impact on the soil microbial community, but the responsive microbial groups and the magnitude of their response remain uncertain. To elucidate this, we analysed soil microbial biomass and community composition, bacterial growth and soil total carbon in five crops: organic perennial intermediate wheatgrass (IWG, Thinopyrum intermedium, Kernza®), organic IWG-alfalfa intercrop, organic biennial grass-legume mixture, organic annual wheat or rye and conventional annual wheat. The analysis was carried out at three time points under two growing seasons at four different soil depths. Five years after establishment, IWG had greater amounts of soil total fungi and bacteria, and of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, saprotrophic fungi, gram-negative (G−) and gram-positive (G+) bacteria compared to annual wheat. Crop perenniality influenced the soil microbial community structure although precipitation, soil temperature and water content were the main drivers of the patterns of and temporal variations in the microbial community. Perennial crops, with reduced tillage and low nitrogen input management increased the proportions of fungi relative to bacteria, AM fungi to saprotrophic fungi, G− bacteria to G+ bacteria, and the growth rate of total bacteria. This resulted in a more active soil microbial community with higher microbial biomass than annual wheat and contributed to the increased soil total carbon storage in the 0–5 cm soil layer in a humid continental climate. The findings emphasize the importance of combining a no tillage strategy with long-term vegetation cover to increase soil quality.
PB Elsevier
YR 2024
FD 2024-10-13
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/46489
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/46489
LA eng
NO Li, S., Barreiro, A., Almeida, J. P., Prade, T., & Dimitrova Mårtensson, L.-M. (2025). Perennial crops shape the soil microbial community and increase the soil carbon in the upper soil layer. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 200. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SOILBIO.2024.109621
NO This research was performed within the scope of the collaborative project NAPERDIV, which was funded through the 2019-2020 BiodivERsA joint call for research proposals under the BiodivClim ERA-Net COFUND programme, and the Crafoord Foundation 20160622; it also received financial support from the Department of Biosystems and Technology.
DS Minerva
RD 21 may 2026