Ecological insights into soil health according to the genomic traits and environment-wide associations of bacteria in agricultural soils.

ABSTRACT: Soil microbiomes are sensitive to current and previous soil conditions, and bacterial 'bioindicators' of biological, physical, and chemical soil properties have considerable potential for soil health assessment. However, the lack of ecological or physiological information for most soil microorganisms limits our ability to interpret the associations of bioindicators and, thus, their utility for guiding management. We identified bioindicators of tillage intensity and twelve soil properties used to rate soil health using a 16S rRNA gene-based survey of farmland across North America. We then inferred the genomic traits of bioindicators and evaluated their environment-wide associations (EWAS) with respect to agricultural management practice, disturbance, and plant associations with 89 studies f

SUBMITTER: Wilhelm RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9829723 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature