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Title: Influence of corn, switchgrass, and prairie cropping systems on soil microbial communities in the upper Midwest of the United States

Abstract

Because soil microbes drive many of the processes underpinning ecosystem services provided by soils, understanding how cropping systems affect soil microbial communities is important for productive and sustainable management. We characterized and compared soil microbial communities under restored prairie and three potential cellulosic biomass crops (corn, switchgrass, and mixed prairie grasses) in two spatial experimental designs – side-by-side plots where plant communities were in their second year since establishment (i.e., intensive sites) and regionally distributed fields where plant communities had been in place for at least 10 years (i.e., extensive sites). We assessed microbial community structure and composition using lipid analysis, pyrosequencing of rRNA genes (targeting fungi, bacteria, archaea, and lower eukaryotes), and targeted metagenomics of nifH genes. For the more recently established intensive sites, soil type was more important than plant community in determining microbial community structure, while plant community was the more important driver of soil microbial communities for the older extensive sites where microbial communities under corn were clearly differentiated from those under switchgrass and restored prairie. Bacterial and fungal biomasses, especially biomass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, were higher under perennial grasses and restored prairie, suggesting a more active carbon pool and greater microbial processing potential, whichmore » should be beneficial for plant acquisition and ecosystem retention of carbon, water, and nutrients.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [3]
  1. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Embrapa Agrobiologia, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
  2. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang (China)
  3. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
  4. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON (Canada)
  5. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
OSTI Identifier:
1363928
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1401146; OSTI ID: 1438217
Grant/Contract Number:  
FC02-07ER64494; DE‐FC02‐07ER64494
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Global Change Biology. Bioenergy
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 8; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 1757-1693
Publisher:
Wiley
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
09 BIOMASS FUELS; 60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; bacterial communities; biofuel crops; fungal communities; lipid analysis; nifH; pyrosequencing

Citation Formats

Jesus, Ederson da C., Liang, Chao, Quensen, John F., Susilawati, Endang, Jackson, Randall D., Balser, Teresa C., and Tiedje, James M. Influence of corn, switchgrass, and prairie cropping systems on soil microbial communities in the upper Midwest of the United States. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1111/gcbb.12289.
Jesus, Ederson da C., Liang, Chao, Quensen, John F., Susilawati, Endang, Jackson, Randall D., Balser, Teresa C., & Tiedje, James M. Influence of corn, switchgrass, and prairie cropping systems on soil microbial communities in the upper Midwest of the United States. United States. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12289
Jesus, Ederson da C., Liang, Chao, Quensen, John F., Susilawati, Endang, Jackson, Randall D., Balser, Teresa C., and Tiedje, James M. Sun . "Influence of corn, switchgrass, and prairie cropping systems on soil microbial communities in the upper Midwest of the United States". United States. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12289. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1363928.
@article{osti_1363928,
title = {Influence of corn, switchgrass, and prairie cropping systems on soil microbial communities in the upper Midwest of the United States},
author = {Jesus, Ederson da C. and Liang, Chao and Quensen, John F. and Susilawati, Endang and Jackson, Randall D. and Balser, Teresa C. and Tiedje, James M.},
abstractNote = {Because soil microbes drive many of the processes underpinning ecosystem services provided by soils, understanding how cropping systems affect soil microbial communities is important for productive and sustainable management. We characterized and compared soil microbial communities under restored prairie and three potential cellulosic biomass crops (corn, switchgrass, and mixed prairie grasses) in two spatial experimental designs – side-by-side plots where plant communities were in their second year since establishment (i.e., intensive sites) and regionally distributed fields where plant communities had been in place for at least 10 years (i.e., extensive sites). We assessed microbial community structure and composition using lipid analysis, pyrosequencing of rRNA genes (targeting fungi, bacteria, archaea, and lower eukaryotes), and targeted metagenomics of nifH genes. For the more recently established intensive sites, soil type was more important than plant community in determining microbial community structure, while plant community was the more important driver of soil microbial communities for the older extensive sites where microbial communities under corn were clearly differentiated from those under switchgrass and restored prairie. Bacterial and fungal biomasses, especially biomass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, were higher under perennial grasses and restored prairie, suggesting a more active carbon pool and greater microbial processing potential, which should be beneficial for plant acquisition and ecosystem retention of carbon, water, and nutrients.},
doi = {10.1111/gcbb.12289},
journal = {Global Change Biology. Bioenergy},
number = 2,
volume = 8,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Jun 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Sun Jun 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}

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