Abstract
An active and diverse soil biota is important for maintaining crop productivity and quality, and preservation of these traits is a major goal of sustainable farming. This study aimed at unravelling the impact of different management practices on soil fungal and bacterial biodiversity in vineyards as a model for permanent crops. Species diversity was assessed using an amplicon sequencing approach in a long-term field experiment in the Rheingau wine region of Germany where integrated, organic and biodynamic management practices had been in place for 10 years. Fungal community composition under integrated management differed significantly from organic and biodynamic management, whereas fungal species richness remained unaffected. Soil under integrated management had a significantly reduced bacterial species richness compared to organic, but community composition was similar to organically and biodynamically managed soils. Highest fungal richness was obtained under cover crop between rows in topsoil, arising from cover cropping and organic carbon supply.
Highlights
The microbiome of a soil impacts on organic matter decomposition[1], nutrient cycling and buffering[2], soil structure[3], redox balance[2] and the degradation of pollutants[4]
With an average value of 1.25%, soil organic carbon content was highest in in-row topsoil, whereas values for subsoil samples were decreased by about 0.3%
We present a first comprehensive overview of the fungal and bacterial communities in a vineyard soil under different management practices based in the Rheingau wine region in Germany
Summary
The microbiome of a soil impacts on organic matter decomposition[1], nutrient cycling and buffering[2], soil structure[3], redox balance[2] and the degradation of pollutants[4]. Publications about the impact of management regimes on soil microbial diversity are only available for arable farming[22,23], whereas results for viticultural land use are lacking In this respect, traditional cultivation methods and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiling face a range of difficulties in evaluating the complete diversity of soil microflora[24], as substantial amounts of microbial organisms and their ecology still need to be investigated. Interaction effects like within the combined application of pesticides and herbicides or long-term effects like extinction debt could scarcely be detected[16] To overcome these constraints, and to improve future agricultural management towards the preservation of edaphic biodiversity, the goals of this study were. 1. to explore differences in fungal and bacterial populations between soils under integrated, organic and biodynamic vineyard management in a long-term field experiment, 2. to gain novel insights into the microbial biodiversity in a long-term vineyard soil in the Rheingau region in Western Germany, and
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