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Gfeller V, Thoenen L, Erb M. Root-exuded benzoxazinoids can alleviate negative plant-soil feedbacks. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 241:2575-2588. [PMID: 38087806 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Plants can suppress the growth of other plants by modifying soil properties. These negative plant-soil feedbacks are often species-specific, suggesting that some plants possess resistance strategies. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated whether benzoxazinoids, a class of dominant secondary metabolites that are exuded into the soil by maize and other cereals, allow maize plants to cope with plant-soil feedbacks. We find that three out of five tested crop species reduce maize (Zea mays L.) performance via negative plant-soil feedbacks relative to the mean across species. This effect is partially alleviated by the capacity of maize plants to produce benzoxazinoids. Soil complementation with purified benzoxazinoids restores the protective effect for benzoxazinoid-deficient mutants. Sterilization and reinoculation experiments suggest that benzoxazinoid-mediated protection acts via changes in soil biota. Substantial variation of the protective effect between experiments and soil types illustrates context dependency. In conclusion, exuded plant secondary metabolites allow plants to cope with plant-soil feedbacks. These findings expand the functional repertoire of plant secondary metabolites and reveal a mechanism by which plants can resist negative effects of soil feedbacks. The uncovered phenomenon may represent a promising avenue to stabilize plant performance in crop rotations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Gfeller
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Crop Sciences, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), 5070, Frick, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Thoenen
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
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Silva FHR, Andrade EJA, Libânio M, Oliveira VES. Evaluating total nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations in a watershed impacted by diverse anthropic activities in a developing country. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2024; 196:195. [PMID: 38265509 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12326-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
This research aims to identify critical contamination points by nutrients, their possible origin (point and nonpoint sources), their spatial distribution, and possible attenuation by natural and anthropogenic processes. The study area is the Velhas River Basin, located in the Southeast Region of Brazil (17.0°-20.5° S; 43.5°-45.0°W). A historical series of water quality monitoring, land cover map, demographic and agricultural censuses, sewage treatment diagnostics, and local hydrographic networks were used to achieve the objectives. In addition, the regions were divided into incremental areas, enabling individualized analyses of each sub-basin. Descriptive statistics, seasonality, categorized data tests, agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis, and principal component analysis were used. There was a significant contribution of nutrients in the most important urban agglomeration of the basin, resulting in peak concentrations measured at that place. Although the values were reduced by the mouth (650 km), the percentage of legislation violations remained high. The effects of punctual contamination were intensified by the low percentage of treated sewage in the basin, the absence of adequate treatment technologies to remove nutrients, and the disorderly urbanization. Furthermore, it was estimated that the nutrient load from animal husbandry is approximately 75% of the load from domestic effluents due to the high number of cattle in the basin and the low percentage of forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- F H R Silva
- Department of Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, 6627 Antonio Carlos Avenue, Engineering Faculty, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
| | - E J A Andrade
- Department of Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, 6627 Antonio Carlos Avenue, Engineering Faculty, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Geological Survey of Brazil (SGB/CPRM), 1731 Brasil Avenue, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - M Libânio
- Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, 6627 Antonio Carlos Avenue, Engineering Faculty, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - V E S Oliveira
- Department of Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, 6627 Antonio Carlos Avenue, Engineering Faculty, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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Wang P, Xie W, Ding L, Zhuo Y, Gao Y, Li J, Zhao L. Effects of Maize-Crop Rotation on Soil Physicochemical Properties, Enzyme Activities, Microbial Biomass and Microbial Community Structure in Southwest China. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2621. [PMID: 38004632 PMCID: PMC10672910 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Introducing cover crops into maize rotation systems is widely practiced to increase crop productivity and achieve sustainable agricultural development, yet the potential for crop rotational diversity to contribute to environmental benefits in soils remains uncertain. Here, we investigated the effects of different crop rotation patterns on the physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in soils from field experiments. Crop rotation patterns included (i) pure maize monoculture (CC), (ii) maize-garlic (CG), (iii) maize-rape (CR) and (iv) maize-annual ryegrass for one year (Cir1), two years (Cir2) and three years (Cir3). Our results showed that soil physicochemical properties varied in all rotation patterns, with higher total and available phosphorus concentrations in CG and CR and lower soil organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations in the maize-ryegrass rotations compared to CC. Specifically, soil fertility was ranked as CG > Cir2 > CR > Cir3 > CC > Cir1. CG decreased enzyme activities but enhanced microbial biomass. Cir2 decreased carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) acquiring enzyme activities and soil microbial C and N concentrations, but increased phosphorus (P) acquiring enzyme activities and microbial biomass P concentrations compared to CC. Soil bacterial and fungal diversity (Shannon index) were lower in CG and Cir2 compared to CC, while the richness (Chao1 index) was lower in CG, CR, Cir1 and Cir2. Most maize rotations notably augmented the relative abundance of soil bacteria, including Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes and Rokubacteria, while not necessarily decreasing the abundance of soil fungi like Basidiomycota, Mortierellomycota and Anthophyta. Redundancy analysis indicated that nitrate-N, ammonium-N and microbial biomass N concentrations had a large impact on soil bacterial communities, whereas nitrate-N and ammonium-N, available P, soil organic C and microbial biomass C concentrations had a greater effect on soil fungal communities. In conclusion, maize rotations with garlic, rape and ryegrass distinctly modify soil properties and microbial compositions. Thus, we advocate for garlic and annual ryegrass as maize cover crops and recommend a two-year rotation for perennial ryegrass in Southwest China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Puchang Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China; (P.W.); (Y.G.); (J.L.)
| | - Wenhui Xie
- College of Animal Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China; (W.X.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Leilei Ding
- Guizhou Institute of Prataculture, Guiyang 550006, China;
| | - Yingping Zhuo
- College of Animal Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China; (W.X.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yang Gao
- School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China; (P.W.); (Y.G.); (J.L.)
| | - Junqin Li
- School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550025, China; (P.W.); (Y.G.); (J.L.)
| | - Lili Zhao
- College of Animal Science, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China; (W.X.); (Y.Z.)
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Ait Bessai S, Cruz J, Carril P, Melo J, Santana MM, Mouazen AM, Cruz C, Yadav AN, Dias T, Nabti EH. The Plant Growth-Promoting Potential of Halotolerant Bacteria Is Not Phylogenetically Determined: Evidence from Two Bacillus megaterium Strains Isolated from Saline Soils Used to Grow Wheat. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1687. [PMID: 37512860 PMCID: PMC10384442 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11071687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Increasing salinity, further potentiated by climate change and soil degradation, will jeopardize food security even more. Therefore, there is an urgent need for sustainable agricultural practices capable of maintaining high crop yields despite adverse conditions. Here, we tested if wheat, a salt-sensitive crop, could be a good reservoir for halotolerant bacteria with plant growth-promoting (PGP) capabilities. (2) Methods: We used two agricultural soils from Algeria, which differ in salinity but are both used to grow wheat. Soil halotolerant bacterial strains were isolated and screened for 12 PGP traits related to phytohormone production, improved nitrogen and phosphorus availability, nutrient cycling, and plant defence. The four 'most promising' halotolerant PGPB strains were tested hydroponically on wheat by measuring their effect on germination, survival, and biomass along a salinity gradient. (3) Results: Two halotolerant bacterial strains with PGP traits were isolated from the non-saline soil and were identified as Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens, and another two halotolerant bacterial strains with PGP traits were isolated from the saline soil and identified as B. megaterium. When grown under 250 mM of NaCl, only the inoculated wheat seedlings survived. The halotolerant bacterial strain that displayed all 12 PGP traits and promoted seed germination and plant growth the most was one of the B. megaterium strains isolated from the saline soil. Although they both belonged to the B. megaterium clade and displayed a remarkable halotolerance, the two bacterial strains isolated from the saline soil differed in two PGP traits and had different effects on plant performance, which clearly shows that PGP potential is not phylogenetically determined. (4) Conclusions: Our data highlight that salt-sensitive plants and non-saline soils can be reservoirs for halotolerant microbes with the potential to become effective and sustainable strategies to improve plant tolerance to salinity. However, these strains need to be tested under field conditions and with more crops before being considered biofertilizer candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylia Ait Bessai
- Laboratoire de Maitrise des Energies Renouvelables, Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Université de Bejaia, Bejaia 06000, Algeria
| | - Joana Cruz
- cE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
- Competence Centre for Molecular Biology, SGS Molecular, Polo Tecnológico de Lisboa, Rua Cesina Adães Bermudes, Lt 11, 1600-604 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Pablo Carril
- cE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Juliana Melo
- cE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Margarida M Santana
- cE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Abdul M Mouazen
- Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Cristina Cruz
- cE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Ajar Nath Yadav
- Department of Biotechnology, Dr. Khem Singh Gill Akal College of Agriculture, Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Sirmour 173101, India
| | - Teresa Dias
- cE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes and CHANGE-Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - El-Hafid Nabti
- Laboratoire de Maitrise des Energies Renouvelables, Faculté des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Université de Bejaia, Bejaia 06000, Algeria
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Carof M, Godinot O, Le Cadre E. Biodiversity-based cropping systems: A long-term perspective is necessary. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 838:156022. [PMID: 35588807 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Biodiversity-based cropping systems are an interesting option to address the many challenges that agriculture faces. However, benefits of these systems should not obscure the fact that creating biodiversity-based cropping systems represents a major change for farmers. To address this challenge, we argue that designing biodiversity-based cropping systems requires transforming ecological concepts into technical opportunities. Indeed, integrating ecological concepts such as plant-soil feedback and plant functional traits more strongly into cropping system design offers promising opportunities for the provision of ecosystem services, such as pest and disease control, crop production (including crop yield stability), climate regulation and regulation of soil quality. Accordingly, we demonstrate that designing biodiversity-based cropping systems requires considering not only the short term but also the long term. This would ensure that the expected ecosystem services have enough time to build up and provide their full effects, that the cropping systems are resilient and that they avoid the limitations of short-term assessments, which do not sufficiently consider multi-year effects. Considering long-term consequences of system change - induced by biodiversity - is essential to identify potential trade-offs between ecosystem services, as well as agricultural obstacles to and mechanisms of change. Including farmers and other food-chain actors in cropping system design would help find acceptable compromises that consider not only the provision of ecosystem services, but also other dimensions related to economic viability, workload or the technical feasibility of crops, which are identified as major obstacles to crop diversification. This strategy represents an exciting research front for the development of agroecological cropping systems.
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Jing J, Cong WF, Bezemer TM. Legacies at work: plant-soil-microbiome interactions underpinning agricultural sustainability. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 27:781-792. [PMID: 35701291 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2022.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Agricultural intensification has had long-lasting negative legacies largely because of excessive inputs of agrochemicals (e.g., fertilizers) and simplification of cropping systems (e.g., continuous monocropping). Conventional agricultural management focuses on suppressing these negative legacies. However, there is now increasing attention for creating positive above- and belowground legacies through selecting crop species/genotypes, optimizing temporal and spatial crop combinations, improving nutrient inputs, developing intelligent fertilizers, and applying soil or microbiome inoculations. This can lead to enhanced yields and reduced pest and disease pressure in cropping systems, and can also mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance carbon sequestration in soils. Strengthening positive legacies requires a deeper understanding of plant-soil-microbiome interactions and innovative crop, input, and soil management which can help to achieve agricultural sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingying Jing
- College of Grass Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, 100193 Beijing, China.
| | - Wen-Feng Cong
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development at Quzhou, China Agricultural University, 100193 Beijing, China.
| | - T Martijn Bezemer
- Institute of Biology, Above-Belowground Interactions Group, Leiden University, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Effects of the Preceding Crop on Soil N Availability, Biological Nitrogen Fixation, and Fresh Pod Yield of Organically Grown Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.). HORTICULTURAE 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/horticulturae8060496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
In the current study, the impact of the preceding crops on growth, fresh pod yield, nitrogen fixation efficiency, and nitrogen nutrition of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) was investigated for two years in both organic and conventional crops. As preceding crops served cabbage, pea, and faba bean. The pod number per plant (PN) and the total fresh pod yield (TFPY) were significantly lower with cabbage compared to pea and faba bean as preceding crops in both cropping systems and both experimental years. However, in the organic farming system, pea increased significantly in PN and TFPY compared to faba bean as a preceding crop, while in the conventional system, there was no significant difference between the two legumes. The greater yield performance with the two legumes as preceding crops was associated with higher soil NO3-N and total-N concentrations at the beginning of the subsequent faba bean crop. The higher soil N availability when the preceding crop was a legume resulted partly from the higher biomass of crop residues left by these crops on the field after harvest, compared to cabbage. However, it was also associated with a more extensive nodulation of the faba bean roots by rhizobia and a higher percentage of N derived from atmosphere (%Ndfa) in their plant tissues, as determined through the natural abundance of the 15N isotope, when the preceding crop was a legume. The cropping system had no impact on pod yield, but organic farming increased the %Ndfa in both years.
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