Soil Microbial Communities on Roughs, Fairways, and Putting Greens of Cool‐Season Golf Courses

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe microbial communities of golf courses provide many ecosystem functions and could be leveraged to provide better N fertility, biocontrol, and thatch degradation. However, little is known about soil bacterial and fungal communities on golf courses or how management affects them. We used metagenomics to identify the soil‐inhabiting bacteria and fungi among three management areas receiving few (roughs), moderate (fairways), and high (putting greens) inputs on three golf courses to determine how management intensity affects these organisms. Based on β diversity estimates, microbial communities on putting greens were more similar to each other than to the other areas of the golf courses. There were few significant differences in pathogens, biocontrol organisms, xenobiotic detoxifiers, or N‐cycling bacteria among management areas, suggesting soil turf bacteria are resilient to changes from management inputs. Fungal abundance, diversity, and pathogens were significantly affected by management areas, suggesting these organisms respond more drastically to management inputs. This is the first report using metagenomics to describe microbial communities on all three management areas of golf courses, including those managed organically. Our results provide insight on microbial community composition on golf courses, adding to a better understanding of perennial turf phytobiomes and how management intensity affects overall community composition.