A long-term field experiment demonstrates the influence of tillage on the bacterial potential to produce soil structure-stabilizing agents such as exopolysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Stable soil aggregates are essential for optimal crop growth and preventing soil erosion. However, tillage is often used in agriculture to loosen the soil, which disrupts the integrity of these aggregates. Soil aggregation can be enhanced by bacteria through their ability to produce exopolysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides. These compounds stabilize soil aggregates by "gluing" soil particles together. However, it has yet to be shown how tillage influences the bacterial potential to produce aggregate-stabilizing agents. Therefore, we sampled conventional and reduced tillage treatments at 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-50 cm from a long-term field trial in Frick, Switzerland. We compared the stable aggregate fraction of the soil and the bacterial potential to produce exopolysa

SUBMITTER: Cania B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7989815 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature