%0 Journal Article
%T Impact of No-Tillage and Conventional Tillage Systems on Soil Microbial Communities
%A Reji P. Mathew
%A Yucheng Feng
%A Leonard Githinji
%A Ramble Ankumah
%A Kipling S. Balkcom
%J Applied and Environmental Soil Science
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/548620
%X Soil management practices influence soil physical and chemical characteristics and bring about changes in the soil microbial community structure and function. In this study, the effects of long-term conventional and no-tillage practices on microbial community structure, enzyme activities, and selected physicochemical properties were determined in a continuous corn system on a Decatur silt loam soil. The long-term no-tillage treatment resulted in higher soil carbon and nitrogen contents, viable microbial biomass, and phosphatase activities at the 0¨C5£¿cm depth than the conventional tillage treatment. Soil microbial community structure assessed using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) varied by tillage practice and soil depth. The abundance of PLFAs indicative of fungi, bacteria, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and actinobacteria was consistently higher in the no-till surface soil. Results of principal components analysis based on soil physicochemical and enzyme variables were in agreement with those based on PLFA and ARISA profiles. Soil organic carbon was positively correlated with most of the PLFA biomarkers. These results indicate that tillage practice and soil depth were two important factors affecting soil microbial community structure and activity, and conservation tillage practices improve both physicochemical and microbiological properties of soil. 1. Introduction Tillage systems influence physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil and have a major impact on soil productivity and sustainability. Conventional tillage practices may adversely affect long-term soil productivity due to erosion and loss of organic matter in soils. Sustainable soil management can be practiced through conservation tillage (including no-tillage), high crop residue return, and crop rotation [1]. Studies conducted under a wide range of climatic conditions, soil types, and crop rotation systems showed that soils under no-tillage and reduced tillage have significantly higher soil organic matter contents compared with conventionally tilled soils [2]. Conservation tillage is defined as a tillage system in which at least 30% of crop residues are left in the field and is an important conservation practice to reduce soil erosion [3]. The advantages of conservation tillage practices over conventional tillage include (1) reducing cultivation cost; (2) allowing crop residues to act as an insulator and reducing soil temperature fluctuation; (3) building up soil organic matter; (4) conserving soil moisture [4, 5].
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aess/2012/548620/