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Do different densities of tree cover affect pasture biomass and soil microbial communities?

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Abstract

Soil biota is considered a crucial component of soil health. Currently, the soil microbiota and its genomic material (microbiome) have received increasing attention due to their role on sustainable nutrient availability. However, in agroforestry systems, little information is available on the effect of tree cover on natural microbial assemblies and its potential impact on soil health and production. From this perspective, we present the initial and novel results of the metagenomic-based characterization of microbial diversity in the soil of a Nothofagus-based silvopastoral system with three different shade conditions (open, semi open, and semi closed), that were obtained simultaneously by the massive sequencing of ribosomal genes for Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya, and of the ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS3-4) for Fungi. In the temperate SPS, the dominant bacteria phylum was Proteobacteria particularly from the order Rhizobiales, while the fungal community was dominated by Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. A low presence of archaea and eukaryotes was also observed. The semi open shade condition exhibited the highest diversity of microorganisms of all the treatments. This condition also promoted a greater specific production of grass. Our preliminary results not only represent the first multi-domain microbial inventory in the study area, but they also highlight the need to consider the microbial assemblies in the design and management of soil-based production systems, and the conservation of biodiversity in ecosystems.

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Fig. 1

Adapted from EPIC-Chile, 2020

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Data availability

Raw sequences were deposited in the NCBI sequence read archive under the project number PRJNA648654.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge Mr. Cristóbal Fredes, for providing us valuable data on pasture growth and yield. Also, CHC´s thanks to ANID/FONDECYT/POSTDOCTORADO N° 3180724.

Funding

This study was funded by the Native Forest Research Fund of the National Forestry Corporation, MINAGRI, Chile (FIBN-CONAF Project No. 001–2014) and VRID Multidisciplinary (UdeC) No. 219.142.040-M, Chile.

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Author notes

  1. Pablo Neira and Carlos Henríquez-Castillo contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Silvicultura, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Región de Bío Bío, Chile

    Pablo Neira, Juan Ortiz & Francis Dube

  2. Laboratorio de Fisiología Y Genética Marina, Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Zonas Áridas, Coquimbo,, Región de Coquimbo, Chile

    Carlos Henríquez-Castillo

  3. Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Católica del Norte, Coquimbo, Región de Coquimbo, Chile

    Carlos Henríquez-Castillo

  4. Departamento de Suelos Y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Concepción, Chillán,, Región de Ñuble, Chile

    Neal Stolpe

Authors
  1. Pablo Neira
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  2. Carlos Henríquez-Castillo
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  3. Juan Ortiz
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  4. Neal Stolpe
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  5. Francis Dube
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Contributions

FD and NS originally conceived the research topic, PN-CHC-JO performed the data analysis; PN-CHC wrote the paper with contributions from all the authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francis Dube.

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Neira, P., Henríquez-Castillo, C., Ortiz, J. et al. Do different densities of tree cover affect pasture biomass and soil microbial communities?. Agroforest Syst 95, 1465–1478 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-021-00653-3

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