Summary
This field-based study from 2020 investigates the relative importance of long-term fertilisation regimen versus plant species identity in shaping soil prokaryotic communities in agroecosystems. Using molecular profiling of bacterial and archaeal communities, the authors suggest that fertilisation history is a stronger driver of microbial community structure than the specific plant species grown, with implications for understanding how soil management shapes the microbial foundation of arable systems.
UK applicability
Findings are relevant to UK arable management, particularly for understanding how decades of different nutrient inputs (mineral versus organic, balanced versus imbalanced) reshape soil biology. However, the study was conducted under Russian conditions; UK soils, climate and management practices may show different thresholds or community responses.
Key measures
Prokaryotic community composition and structure in rhizosphere and bulk soil; effects of long-term fertilisation treatment and plant species identity on microbial taxa abundance
Outcomes reported
The study examined how long-term fertilisation regimens and plant species composition shape prokaryotic (bacterial and archaeal) community structure in both rhizosphere and bulk soil of agroecosystems. Microbial community composition was characterised using molecular techniques to determine relative contributions of management versus biological factors.
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