Abstract
Vegetative filter strips (VFS) have long been promoted as a soil conservation practice that yields many additional environmental benefits. Most previous studies have focused primarily on the role of vegetation and/or soil physical properties in these ecosystem services. Few studies have investigated the soil microbial community of VFS. Therefore, we examined potential differences in soil microbial community characteristics of claypan soil planted to VFS with differing vegetation and a traditional row-crop system in a maize–soybean rotation. Samples were tested for soil microbial function and community structure using dehydrogenase and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis enzyme assays and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, respectively. The grass VFS soil exhibited the greatest dehydrogenase activity levels and FDA activity was greater in the grass and agroforestry (i.e., tree–grass) VFS soils relative to the cropland soil. The PLFA analysis revealed community structural differences underlying these functional differences. The agroforestry VFS soil was characterized by a greater proportion of total bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, anaerobic bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi than the cropland soil. The grass VFS soil shared some characteristics with the cropland soils; but the grass VFS supported greater mycorrhizal fungi and protozoa populations. This work highlights differences in soil microbial function and community structure in VFS relative to cropland soil 12 years post VFS establishment. It also enhances our fundamental knowledge regarding soil microorganisms in VFS, which may aid in explaining some ecosystem services provided by VFS (e.g., decomposition of organic agrichemicals).
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded through the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri under Cooperative Agreements 58-6227-9-059 with the USDA-ARS. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the USDA. The authors wish to thank Jeremy Hansen (USDA-ARS) for assistance with PLFA analyses, and Laura Gosen (University of Missouri) for assistance with enzyme assays.
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Unger, I.M., Goyne, K.W., Kremer, R.J. et al. Microbial community diversity in agroforestry and grass vegetative filter strips. Agroforest Syst 87, 395–402 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-012-9559-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-012-9559-8