Microbial deterioration and restoration in greenhouse-based intensive vegetable production systems

Abstract

Soil microbial community and diversity are key in sustaining soil ecosystem health. In recent years, the health of soil ecosystems has been severely threatened by the large input of synthetic fertilizers and the continuous monocropping in greenhouse-based intensive production systems. As a result, the N utilization efficiency has significantly decreased, which has had adverse impacts on soil, water, and the atmosphere. Additionally, soil-borne plant diseases are more frequent in greenhouse-based intensive vegetable systems. Shifts in the microbial community structure and diversity largely account for these continuous cropping problems in vegetable agricultural soils. In this review, soil microbial deterioration, including microbial activities, C source utilization patterns, nitrification, microbial community composition, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are summarized. Soil microbial deterioration is due to the excessive use of fertilizers, which have caused soil secondary salinization and acidification, pollutants brought on by intensive vegetable agriculture, and principally continuous cropping of same or similar vegetable species. Therefore, measures must be taken to restore soil microbial communities, including rational fertilization, rotation or intercropping, cultivation of catch or cover crops, and reductive soil disinfestation. Rational fertilization, such as the reduction in chemical N fertilization levels, substitution of chemical fertilizer by organic manure, and the use of bio-fertilizer and bio-organic fertilizer, is of decisive importance. This review provides a better understanding of ecosystem health in vegetable agricultural soils and recommends effective measures to improve the health of these ecosystems.