Abstract
Financially profitable large-scale cultivation of oil palm monocultures in previously diverse tropical rain forest areas constitutes a major ecological crisis today. Not only is a large proportion of the aboveground diversity lost, but the belowground soil microbiome, which is important for the sustainability of soil function, is massively altered. Intermixing oil palms with native tree species promotes vegetation biodiversity and stand structural complexity in plantations, but the impact on soil fungi remains unknown. Here, we analyzed the diversity and community composition of soil fungi three years after tree diversity enrichment in an oil palm plantation in Sumatra (Indonesia). We tested the effects of tree diversity, stand structural complexity indices, and soil abiotic conditions on the diversity and community composition of soil fungi. We hypothesized that the enrichment experiment alters the taxonomic and functional community composition, promoting soil fungal diversity. Fungal community composition was affected by soil abiotic conditions (pH, N, and P), but not by tree diversity and stand structural complexity indices. These results suggest that intensive land use and abiotic filters are a legacy to fungal communities, overshadowing the structuring effects of the vegetation, at least in the initial years after enrichment plantings.
Highlights
There is a global increasing demand for vegetable oil
The research site is located in a commercial oil palm plantation (PT Humusindo Makmur Sejati, 01.95 south (S) and 103.25 east (E), 47 ± 11 m above sea level (a.s.l.)) on Sumatra (Indonesia)
We found a higher soil C/N ratio in control sites compared to tree enrichment plots, while no effects on other soil abiotic variables were observed (Table 1)
Summary
Oil palms have a superior yield potential compared to any alternative crops to meet market requirements [1,2]. A wide range of ecosystem services is massively impaired [14,15,16]. It is, crucial to find alternative management strategies suitable to maintain profitability, while at the same time sustaining local biodiversity and ecosystem functions [17,18]. Agroforestry systems with intermixed tree and crop species are a promising approach to find a balance between economic productivity and ecosystem functions of tropical systems [19,20,21,22,23]
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