Land use intensity differently affects soil microbial functional communities in arable fields

Summary

Land use intensification can influence soil microbial communities and their functional potential. However, the impacts of different aspects of land use intensification on functional groups of soil microbes remain insufficiently elucidated in agroecosystems. This study investigated soil microbial groups and their functional potential in arable fields embedded in a gradient of land use intensity (LUI), integrating multiple agricultural practices in the Netherlands. The results reveal changes in soil bacterial and fungal functional groups along the LUI gradient, with a strong negative relationship between LUI and the diversity of many fungal functional groups. Changes in LUI also led to significant changes in the composition of both bacterial and fungal functional communities. Specifically, i