The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Soil microbial community structure in relation to vegetation management on former agricultural land

På svenska

Author

Summary, in English

Agricultural overproduction has led the European Union to encourage long-term abandonment of agricultural land. To enhance the transition of agricultural land to natural grasslands or forests different management practices in relation to vegetation can be used. The aim of this study was to understand the interactions between plant and associated soil microbial communities during the succession of agricultural land. A field experiment was established on newly abandoned agricultural land where the development of the soil microbial community was studied in plots after sowing a mixture of 15 plant species and in plots that were left to be naturally colonized by plants. The plants sown contained five species each of grasses, legumes and forbs representing three functional groups. A subset of these plots were inoculated with soil cores from a later successional stage. Adjacent soils with ongoing agricultural practices and deciduous beech forest were also studied. The microbial community composition and biomass were studied by determining fatty acid signatures (PLFA, NFLA) of soil microorganisms. The microbial community had changed within 2 years from that of the agricultural field diverging into one type present in sown plots and another in plots that were naturally colonized by plants. Sowing plant seed mixtures promoted growth of the bacterial community and sarophytic fungi. Respiration measurements showed higher microbial activity and biomass in sown plots. Bait plants for arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and NLFA 16:1omega5 showed that the biomass of AM-fungi was reduced when seed mixtures were sown, which also decreased the formation of mycorrhizal associations on plant roots. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Publishing year

2002

Language

English

Pages

1299-1307

Publication/Series

Soil Biology & Biochemistry

Volume

34

Issue

9

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Ecology

Status

Published

Research group

  • Soil Ecology

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0038-0717