Young maize plants impact the bacterial community in Australian cotton-sown vertisol more than agricultural practices.

ABSTRACT: Changes in soil characteristics due to varying farming practices can modify the structure of bacterial communities. However, it remains uncertain whether bacterial groups that break down organic material are similarly impacted. We examined changes in the bacterial community by pyrosequencing the 16S rRNA gene when young maize plants, their neutral detergent fibre fraction, or urea were applied to an Australian Vertisol. This soil was managed with either conventional tillage with continuous cotton, minimum tillage with continuous cotton, or a wheat-cotton rotation. The soil organic carbon content was 1.4 times higher in the wheat-cotton rotation than in the conventional tillage with continuous cotton treatment. Approximately 41.6% of the organic carbon was added with maize plants, and 13.1%

SUBMITTER: Dendooven L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12041893 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature