No-tillage systems promote bacterial photosynthetic gene expression in low carbon, semi-arid surface soils.

ABSTRACT: Managing soils in semi-arid agricultural croplands generally focuses on reducing wind erosion, increasing fertility, and storing carbon. Thus, converting conventionally tilled systems to no-tillage and cover-cropped systems are often the first steps towards a conservation management approach across the growing area of semi-arid croplands. From a soil biological perspective, introducing cover crops to semi-arid soils has been shown to alter microbial community structure, which may lead to changes in the biogeochemical pathways expressed in these soils. In this study, we examined the impact of single-species wheat cover cropping and no-tillage on microbial gene expression after 4 and 5 years of implementation. We sequenced the metatranscriptomes of three production systems with varying level

SUBMITTER: McDonald MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12016546 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature