The Effect of Tillage System and Crop Rotation on Soil Microbial Diversity and Composition in a Subtropical Acrisol

Abstract

Agricultural management alters physical and chemical soil properties, which directly affects microbial life strategies and community composition. The microbial community drives important nutrient cycling processes that can influence soil quality, cropping productivity and environmental sustainability. In this research, a long-term agricultural experiment in a subtropical Acrisol was studied in south Brazil. The plots at this site represent two tillage systems, two nitrogen fertilization regimes and three crop rotation systems. Using Illumina high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, the archaeal and bacterial composition was determined from phylum to species level in the different plot treatments. The relative abundance of these taxes was correlated with measured soil properties. The P, Mg, total organic carbon, total N and mineral N were significantly higher in the no-tillage system. The microbial diversity was higher in the no-tillage system at order, family, genus and species level. In addition, overall microbial composition changed significantly between conventional tillage and no-tillage systems. Anaerobic bacteria, such as clostridia, dominate in no-tilled soil as well as anaerobic methanogenic archaea, which were detected only in the no-tillage system. Microbial diversity was higher in plots in which only cereals (oat and maize) were grown. Soil management influenced soil biodiversity on Acrisol by change of composition and abundance of individual species.

Keywords

• microbial community
• microbial diversity
• tillage system
• high-throughput sequencing
• 16S rRNA gene
• soil