Organic Fertilization in Traditional Mediterranean Grapevine Orchards Mediates Changes in Soil Microbial Community Structure and Enhances Soil Fertility
Soil microbial populations and their functions related to nutrient cycling contribute substantially to the regulation of soil fertility and the sustainability of agroecosystems. A field experiment was performed to assess the medium-term effect of a mineral fertilizer and two organic fertilization systems with different nitrogen sources on the soil microbial community biomass, structure, and composition (phospholipid fatty acids, pattern, and abundance), microbial activity (basal respiration, dehydrogenase, protease, urease, β-glucosidase, and total amount of phosphomonoesterase activities), and physical (aggregate stability) and chemical (total organic C, total N, available P and water-solu…
Changes in soil microbial community structure influenced by agricultural management practices in a mediterranean agro-ecosystem.
Agricultural practices have proven to be unsuitable in many cases, causing considerable reductions in soil quality. Land management practices can provide solutions to this problem and contribute to get a sustainable agriculture model. The main objective of this work was to assess the effect of different agricultural management practices on soil microbial community structure (evaluated as abundance of phospholipid fatty acids, PLFA). Five different treatments were selected, based on the most common practices used by farmers in the study area (eastern Spain): residual herbicides, tillage, tillage with oats and oats straw mulching; these agricultural practices were evaluated against an abandon…
Relationships between soil water repellency and microbial community composition under different plant species in a Mediterranean semiarid forest
Abstract Soil water repellency (SWR) can influence many hydrological soil properties, including water infiltration, uneven moisture distribution or water retention. In the current study we investigated how variable SWR persistence in the field is related to the soil microbial community under different plant species (P. halepensis, Q. rotundifolia, C. albidus and R. officinalis) in a Mediterranean forest. The soil microbial community was determined through phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). The relationships between microbiological community structure and the soil properties pH, Glomalin Related Soil Protein (GRSP) and soil organic matter (SOM) content were also studied. Different statistical …
Effect of land management on soil properties in flood irrigated citrus orchards in Eastern Spain
Abstract. Agricultural land management greatly affects soil properties. Microbial soil communities are the most sensitive and rapid indicators of perturbations in land use and soil enzyme activities are sensitive biological indicators of the effects of soil management practices. Citrus orchards frequently have degraded soils and this paper evaluates how land management in citrus orchards can improve soil quality. A field experiment was performed in an orchard of orange trees (Citrus Sinensis) in the Alcoleja Experimental Station (Eastern Spain) with clay-loam agricultural soils to assess the long-term effects of herbicides with inorganic fertilizers (H), intensive ploughing and inorganic fe…
Changes in soil microbial activity and physicochemical properties in agricultural soils in Eastern Spain
Agricultural land management greatly affects soil properties. Microbial soil communities are the most sensitive and rapid indicators of perturbations in land use and soil enzyme activities are sensitive biological indicators of the effects of soil management practices. Citrus orchards frequently have degraded soils and this paper evaluates how land management in citrus orchards can improve soil quality. A field experiment was performed in an orchard of orange trees (<em>Citrus Sinensis</em>) in the Alcoleja Experimental Station (Eastern Spain) with clay-loam agricultural soils to assess the long-term effects of herbicides with inorganic fertilizers (H), intensive ploughing and i…