Impact of cover crop and mulching on soil physical properties and soil nutrients in a citrus orchard.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Cover crops and mulching can ameliorate soil porosity and nutrient availability, but their effects on the physical characteristics and nutrients in the raised bed soils are unclear.Methods
The field experiment was conducted in a pomelo orchard from 2019 to 2021, with an area of 1,500 m2. The treatments included control (no cover crop), non-legume cover crop (Commelina communis L.), legume cover crop (Arachis pintoi Krabov & W.C. Gregory), and rice straw mulching (Oryza sativa L.). At the end of each year (2019, 2020, and 2021), soil samples were collected at four different layers (0-10, 10-20, 20-30, and 30-40 cm) in each treatment. Soil bulk density, soil porosity, and the concentration of nutrients in the soil were investigated.Results
The results revealed that soil bulk density at two depths, 0-10 and 10-20 cm, was reduced by 0.07 and 0.08 g cm-3 by rice straw mulch and a leguminous cover crop, thus, increasing soil porosity by ~2.74% and ~3.01%, respectively. Soil nutrients (Ca, K, Fe, and Zn) at topsoil (0-10 cm) and subsoil (10-20 cm) layers were not significantly different in the first year, but those nutrients (Ca, K, Fe, and Zn) improved greatly in the second and third years.Conclusions
Legume cover crops and straw mulch enhanced soil porosity and plant nutrient availability (Ca, K, Fe, and Zn). These conservation practices best benefit fruit orchards cultivated in the raised bed soils.
SUBMITTER: Dung TV
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9547584 | biostudies-literature | 2022
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Impact of cover crop and mulching on soil physical properties and soil nutrients in a citrus orchard.
Dung Tran Van TV Ngoc Ngo Phuong NP Dang Le Van LV Hung Ngo Ngoc NN
PeerJ 20221005
<h4>Background</h4>Cover crops and mulching can ameliorate soil porosity and nutrient availability, but their effects on the physical characteristics and nutrients in the raised bed soils are unclear.<h4>Methods</h4>The field experiment was conducted in a pomelo orchard from 2019 to 2021, with an area of 1,500 m<sup>2</sup>. The treatments included control (no cover crop), non-legume cover crop (<i>Commelina communis</i> L.), legume cover crop (<i>Arachis pintoi</i> Krabov & W.C. Gregory), and r ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:Increasing the use of cover crops (CCs) is a necessity in sustainable viticulture, although it might clash with possible excessive competition towards vines. Especially in a climate-change scenario, the latter feature should be minimized while maintaining ecosystem services. Aimed at identifying CCs for vineyard floor management, the trial characterized several species according to their evapotranspiration (ET) rates, root growth patterns, and soil aggregate stability potential. The study was performed in 2020 in Piacenza (Northern Italy) on 15 CC species grown in pots kept outdoor and classified as grasses (GR), legumes (LE) and creeping (CR). Together with bare soil (control), they were arranged in a complete randomized block design. CCs ET was assessed through a gravimetric method, starting before mowing and then repeated 2, 8, 17 and 25 days thereafter. Above-ground dry biomass (ADW), root length density (RLD), root dry weight (RDW) and root diameter class length (DCL) were measured, and mean weight diameter (MWD) was calculated within 0-20 cm depth. Before mowing, ET was the highest in LE (18.6 mm day-1) and the lowest in CR (8.1 mm day-1) the latter being even lower than the control (8.5 mm day-1). The high ET rates shown by LE were mainly related to very fast development after sowing, rather than to a higher transpiration per unit of leaf area. After mowing, the 15 species' ET reduction (%) plotted vs leaf area index (LAI, m2 m-2) yielded a very close fit (R2 = 0.94), suggesting that (i) a linear decrease in water use is expected anytime starting with an initial LAI of 5-6, (ii) a saturation effect seems to be reached beyond this limit. Selection of cover crop species to be used in the vineyard was mainly based on diurnal and seasonal water use rates as well as dynamic and extent of root growth patterns. Among GR, Festuca ovina stood out as the one with the lowest ET due to its "dwarfing" characteristics, making it suitable for a permanent inter-row covering. CR species confirmed their potential for under-vine grassing, assuring rapid soil coverage, lowest ET rates, and shallow root colonization.
| S-EPMC9839681 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCover cropping is an agricultural practice that uses secondary crops to support the growth of primary crops through various mechanisms including erosion control, weed suppression, nutrient management, and enhanced biodiversity. Cover crops may elicit some of these ecosystem services through chemical interactions with the soil microbiome via root exudation, or the release of plant metabolites from roots. Phytohormones are one metabolite type exuded by plants that activate the rhizosphere microbiome, yet managing this chemical interaction remains an untapped mechanism for optimizing plant-soil-microbiome interactions. Currently, there is limited understanding on the diversity of cover crop phytohormone root exudation patterns and our aim was to understand how phytochemical signals selectively enrich specific microbial taxa and functionalities in agricultural soils.ResultsHere, we link variability in cover crop root exudate composition to changes in soil microbiome functionality. Exudate chemical profiles from 4 cover crop species (Sorghum bicolor, Vicia villosa, Brassica napus, and Secale cereal) were used as the chemical inputs to decipher microbial responses. These distinct exudate profiles, along with a no exudate control, were amended to agricultural soil microcosms with microbial responses tracked over time using metabolomes and genome-resolved metatranscriptomes. Our findings illustrated microbial metabolic patterns were unique in response to cover crop exudate inputs over time, particularly by sorghum and cereal rye amended microcosms. In these microcosms, we identify novel microbial members (at the genera and family level) who produced IAA and GA4 over time. Additionally, we identified cover crop exudates exclusively enriched for bacterial nitrite oxidizers, while control microcosms were discriminated for nitrogen transport, mineralization, and assimilation, highlighting distinct changes in microbial nitrogen cycling in response to chemical inputs.ConclusionsWe highlight that root exudate amendments alter microbial community function (i.e., N cycling) and microbial phytohormone metabolisms, particularly in response to root exudates isolated from cereal rye and sorghum plants. Additionally, we constructed a soil microbial genomic catalog of microorganisms responding to commonly used cover crops, a public resource for agriculturally relevant microbes. Many of our exudate-stimulated microorganisms are representatives from poorly characterized or novel taxa, revealing the yet to be discovered metabolic reservoir harbored in agricultural soils. Our findings emphasize the tractability of high-resolution multi-omics approaches to investigate processes relevant for agricultural soils, opening the possibility of targeting specific soil biogeochemical outcomes through biological precision agricultural practices that use cover crops and the microbiome as levers for enhanced crop production. Video Abstract.
| S-EPMC11439266 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCover cropping is an agricultural practice that uses secondary crops to support the growth of primary crops through various mechanisms including erosion control, weed suppression, nutrient management, and enhanced biodiversity. Cover crops may elicit some of these ecosystem services through chemical interactions with the soil microbiome via root exudation, or the release of plant metabolites from roots. Phytohormones are one metabolite type exuded by plants that activate the rhizosphere microbiome, yet managing this chemical interaction remains an untapped mechanism for optimizing plant-soil microbiome interactions. Currently, there is limited understanding on the diversity of cover crop phytohormone root exudation patterns and how these chemical messages selectively enrich specific microbial taxa and functionalities in agricultural soils.ResultsHere, we link variability in cover crop root exudate composition to changes in soil microbiome functionality. Exudate chemical profiles from 4 cover crop species (Sorghum bicolor, Vicia villosa, Brassica napus, and Secale cereal) were used as the chemical inputs to decipher microbial responses. These distinct exudate profiles, along with a no exudate control, were amended to agricultural soil microcosms with microbial responses tracked over time using metabolomes and genome-resolved metatranscriptomes. Our findings illustrated microbial metabolic patterns were unique in response to cover crop exudate inputs over time, particularly by sorghum and cereal rye amended microcosms where we identify novel microbial members (at the genera and family level) who produced IAA and GA4 over time. We also identify broad changes in microbial nitrogen cycling in response chemical inputs.ConclusionsWe highlight that root exudate amendments alter microbial community function and phytohormone metabolisms, particularly in response to root exudates isolated from cereal rye and sorghum plants. Additionally, we constructed a soil microbial genomic catalog of microorganisms responding to commonly used cover crops, a public resource for agriculturally-relevant microbes. Many of our exudate-stimulated microorganisms are representatives from poorly characterized or novel taxa, highlighting the yet to be discovered metabolic reservoir harbored in agricultural soils. Our findings emphasize the tractability of high-resolution multiomics approaches to investigate processes relevant for agricultural soils, opening the possibility of targeting specific soil biogeochemical outcomes through biological precision agricultural practices that use cover crops and the microbiome as levers for enhanced crop production.
| S-EPMC10896397 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The dataset presented here supports the research paper entitled "A calculator to quantify cover crop effects on soil health and productivity". Soil health (sometimes used synonymously with soil quality) is a concept that describes soil as a living system to sustain plants, animals, and human. Soil physical, chemical, and biological properties, along with their interactions, are required to quantify soil health. The use of cover crops in agricultural rotations may enhance soil health, yet there has been little progress in understanding how external factors such as climate, soil type, and agronomic practices affect soil and cash crop responses. In response, this dataset compiles measurements from 281 studies and provides an analysis of field-measured changes in 38 soil health indicators due to cover crop usage. Environmental and background indicators were also compiled to assess how climatic and management practices affect soil and cash crop responses to cover crops, with specific categories including climate type (tropical, arid, temperate, and continental), soil texture (coarse, medium, and fine), cover crop type (legume, grass, multi-species mixture, and other), and cash crop type (corn, soybean, wheat, vegetable, corn-soybean rotation, corn-soybean-wheat rotation, and other). An unbalanced analysis of variation was used to determine the hierarchy of most to least important factors that affected responsiveness of each soil health indicator. Based on the hierarchy structure, a soil health calculator was then developed to quantify the response of 13 parameters - erosion, runoff, weed suppression, soil aggregate stability, leaching, infiltration, microbial biomass carbon, soil bulk density, soil organic carbon, soil nitrogen, microbial biomass nitrogen, cash crop yield, and saturated hydraulic conductivity - to cover crops. The presented data in the calculator report the mean change in parameter values based on all combinations of climate, soil texture, cover crop type, and cash crop type.
| S-EPMC7078303 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In order to investigate the carbon sequestration potential of biochar on soil, citrus orchard soils with a forest age of 5 years was taken as the research object, citrus peel biochar (OBC) and magnesium-modified citrus peel biochar (OBC-mg) were selected as additive materials, and organic carbon mineralization experiments were carried out in citrus orchard soil. OBC and OBC-Mg were applied to citrus orchard soils at four application rates (0, 1, 2, and 4%), and incubated at a constant temperature for 100 days. Compared with CK, the cumulative mineralization of soil organic carbon decreased by 5.11% with 1% OBC and 2.14% with 1% OBC-Mg. The application of OBC and OBC-Mg significantly increased the content of soil organic carbon fraction, while the content of soil organic carbon fraction was higher in OBC-Mg treated soil than in OBC treated soil. Meanwhile, the cumulative mineralization of soil organic carbon was significantly and positively correlated with the activities of soil catalase, urease and sucrase. The enzyme activities increased with the cumulative mineralization of organic carbon, and the enzyme activities of the OBC-Mg treated soil were significantly higher than those of the OBC treated soil. The results indicated that the OBC-Mg treatment inhibited the organic carbon mineralization in citrus orchard soils and was more favorable to the increase of soil organic carbon fraction. The Mg-modified approach improved the carbon sequestration potential of biochar for citrus orchard soils and provided favorable support for the theory of soil carbon sink in orchards.
| S-EPMC9911438 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Soil biodiversity plays an important role in both agricultural productivity and ecosystem functions. Cover crop species influence the primary productivity of the ecosystem and basal resources. However, it remains poorly understood how different cover crop treatments influence the community of soil nematodes in an orchard ecosystem. In this study, field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of cover crop treatments with different species numbers, i.e., no cover crop (CK), two cover crop species (C2), four cover crop species (C4), and eight cover crop species (C8), on weed biomass, together with composition, abundance, and metabolic footprint of soil nematode community in a kiwifruit orchard. As compared to the CK group, the groups of cover crop treatments had lower weed biomass, which decreased with the increase of the cover crop diversity. Moreover, for the abundance of total nematodes, fungivores exhibited higher levels in C4 and C8 treatments than that in CK, bacterivores had a higher abundance in C4 treatment, and plant parasites had a higher abundance in C2 and C8 treatments. Cover crop treatments also changed the structure of nematode community and enhanced the nematode interactions and complexity of nematode community network. In addition, C4 increased the Wasilewska index but decreased the plant-parasite index. The metabolic footprints of fungivores were higher in cover crop treatments compared with CK, and C4 and C8 also increased the functional metabolic footprint of nematode. Soil nematode faunal analysis based on nematode metabolic footprints showed that C8 improved the soil nutrient status and food wed stability. Mantel test and redundancy analysis showed that soil microbial biomass nitrogen and carbon, organic carbon, nitrate nitrogen, moisture content, pH, and cover crop biomass were the main factors that affect soil nematode community. In conclusion, cover crop treatments with four or eight plant species displayed a positive role in weed control, improvement of soil health, and promotion of energy flow in the soil food web through the increase in the metabolic footprints of nematodes in kiwifruit orchard.
| S-EPMC10435974 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Soil microbes play a crucial role in ecosystem function. Here, the effects of soil and water conservation measures on soil microbial community structures, biodiversity, and co-occurrence networks are investigated and compared. We sampled soils at three different depths (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-40 cm) in a citrus orchard that uses long-term soil and water conservation measures, which includes Bermuda grass strip intercropping (BS), Bermuda grass full coverage (BF), Radish-soybean crop rotation strip intercropping (RS) and clear tillage orchards (CT). Results demonstrated that BS and BF yields a significant increase in bacterial richness and diversity of fungal in soils, while BF contains more beneficial microbial taxa, especially those with degrading and nutrient cycling capabilities. Microbial community structures differed significantly among the applied measures. In addition, co-occurrence networks under BS, BF and RS were more complex and robust than that of CT, and the stability of the network in BF was the highest. Microbial interactive stability and potential interactions in bacterial networks were stronger than those of fungi. The distribution of dominant phyla showed that Chloroflexi and Ascomycota dominated the different soil and water conservation measures. Proteobacteria and Ascomycota are revealed to be keystone species in bacterial networks and fungal networks, respectively, while Proteobacteria was the keystone species in microbial networks. Though the relative abundance of Chloroflexi turned out to have increased among the four measures, the relative abundance for Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria all decreased along the soil profile, with Acidobacteria under BS to be an exception. Soils under BS and BF had higher total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon and organic carbon than CT and RS. Organic carbon(C) and total nitrogen(N) in soil were the major drivers of these bacterial community patterns, while there was no significant correlation between them and fungi. Overall, BF increases soil nutrients and microbial diversity, and also promotes ecological stability and interrelations among microbial taxa that collectively improve soil quality in the citrus orchard studied. Therefore, we recommended BF to be an ideal application for citrus orchards of southeast China.
| S-EPMC7913868 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mulching management has been used in many places all over the world to improve agricultural sustainability. However, the cycling of carbon in the soil under applications of mulch on sloping arable land is not yet fully understood. A four-year field experiment was carried out in Xiaofuling watershed of Danjiangkou reservoir in China. The object was to evaluate the effects of the application of straw mulch (ST) and grass mulch (GT) on dynamic changes in soil organic carbon and its fractions. Results showed that mulch applied on the soil surface increased the contents of SOC and its active fractions in the soil. Compared to the control without cover (CK), ST and GT treatments increased the contents of SOC, LOC, DOC, POC and EOC by 14.73%, 16.5%, 22.5%, 41.5% and 21%, respectively, in the 0-40 cm soil layer, and by 17%, 14%, 19%, and 30%, respectively, in the 0-100 cm soil layer. The contents of organic carbon and its active fractions decreased with increasing soil depth in all of the treatments. SOC was accumulated in the period of December to the following March. The contents of soil DOC and LOC were high in January to March, while the contents of soil POC and EOC were high in June to September. The relative contents of soil organic carbon fractions were POC > EOC > LOC > DOC over the four years. Straw mulching had no significant effect on the changes in soil organic carbon active fractions during the different periods. Based on this long-term field experiment in Danjiangkou reservoir, we found that straw mulching had a significant effect on soil, increasing SOC content and stock in slopping arable land, and that live grass mulching was more effective than rice straw mulching. We discuss possible optimal periods for the implementation of mulching practices on sloping land.
| S-EPMC5193398 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The prolonged utilization of copper (Cu)-containing fungicides results in Cu accumulation and affects soil ecological health. Thus, a pot experiment was conducted using Citrus reticulata cv. Shatangju with five Cu levels (38, 108, 178, 318, and 388 mg kg-1) to evaluate the impacts of the soil microbial processes, chemistry properties, and citrus growth. These results revealed that, with the soil Cu levels increased, the soil total Cu (TCu), available Cu (ACu), organic matter (SOM), available potassium (AK), and pH increased while the soil available phosphorus (AP) and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AN) decreased. Moreover, the soil extracellular enzyme activities related to C and P metabolism decreased while the enzymes related to N metabolism increased, and the expression of soil genes involved in C, N, and P cycling was regulated. Moreover, it was observed that tolerant microorganisms (e.g., p_Proteobacteria, p_Actinobacteria, g_Lysobacter, g_Sphingobium, f_Aspergillaceae, and g_Penicillium) were enriched but sensitive taxa (p_Myxococcota) were suppressed in the citrus rhizosphere. The citrus biomass was mainly positively correlated with soil AN and AP; plant N and P were mainly positively correlated with soil AP, AN, and acid phosphatase (ACP); and plant K was mainly negatively related with soil β-glucosidase (βG) and positively related with the soil fungal Shannon index. The dominant bacterial taxa p_Actinobacteriota presented positively correlated with the plant biomass and plant N, P, and K and was negatively correlated with plant Cu. The dominant fungal taxa p_Ascomycota was positively related to plant Cu but negatively with the plant biomass and plant N, P, and K. Notably, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (p_Glomeromycota) were positively related with plant P below soil Cu 108 mg kg-1, and pathogenic fungi (p_Mortierellomycota) was negatively correlated with plant K above soil Cu 178 mg kg-1. These findings provided a new perspective on soil microbes and chemistry properties and the healthy development of the citrus industry at increasing soil Cu levels.
| S-EPMC11397084 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Different mulches have variable effects on soil physical properties and plant growth. This study aimed to compare the effects of mulching with inorganic (round gravel, RG), organic (wood chips, WC), and living (manila turf grass, MG) materials on soil properties at 0-5-cm and 5-10-cm depths, as well as on the growth and physiological features of Osmanthus fragrans L. 'Rixianggui' plants. Soil samples were collected at three different time points from field plots of O. fragrans plants treated with the different mulching treatments. Moisture at both soil depths was significantly higher after mulching with RG and WC than that in the unmulched control (CK) treatment. Mulching did not affect soil bulk density, pH, or total nitrogen content, but consistently improved soil organic matter. The available nitrogen in the soil increased after RG and WC treatments, but decreased after MG treatment during the experimental period. Mulching improved plant growth by increasing root activity, soluble sugar, and chlorophyll a content, as well as by providing suitable moisture conditions and nutrients in the root zone. Plant height and trunk diameter were remarkably increased after mulching, especially with RG and WC. However, while MG improved plant growth at the beginning of the treatment, the 'Rixianggui' plants later showed no improvement in growth. This was probably because MG competed with the plants for water and available nitrogen in the soil. Thus, our findings suggest that RG and WC, but not MG, improved the soil environment and the growth of 'Rixianggui' plants. Considering the effect of mulching on soil properties and plant growth and physiology, round gravel and wood chips appear to be a better choice than manila turf grass in 'Rixianggui' nurseries. Further studies are required to determine the effects of mulch quality and mulch-layer thickness on shoot and root growths.
| S-EPMC4980103 | biostudies-literature