Summary
This ecological field study examined how persistent pesticide residues influence soil microbiome composition under realistic agricultural conditions across 60 fields managed conventionally, under no-tillage, or organically. Whilst environmental factors were the leading drivers of microbiome traits, pesticide residues showed the strongest associations with soil microbiome composition amongst management factors, with positive associations for most bacterial and fungal taxa identified as pesticide degraders, but negative associations with bacterial diversity and nifH gene abundance. The findings suggest that accumulated pesticide residues alter soil microbiome structure with potential long-term implications for agricultural soil functioning.
UK applicability
The findings are relevant to UK arable farming where pesticide use is widespread across conventional systems. However, the study was conducted in Switzerland; UK-specific validation would be needed to account for differences in pesticide use patterns, soil types, climate, and cropping practices, particularly in relation to organic and no-tillage management uptake in British farming.
Key measures
Occurrence of 48 pesticides in soil; soil microbiome composition (bacterial and fungal community structure, diversity, and abundance); relative abundance of 243 bacterial and fungal taxa; nifH gene abundance (biological nitrogen fixation); soil characteristics including climate, geography, and management type
Outcomes reported
The study assessed pesticide residues (48 widely-used compounds) and soil microbiome traits across 60 fields under different management systems. It identified associations between pesticide residue concentrations and the relative abundance and diversity of bacterial and fungal taxa.
Topic tags
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