Soil Microbiome

“Across 24 Oregon tall fescue seed fields (stands 2-20 years), total SOC stocks were unchanged by stand age or straw management, but older stands stored more total field-level carbon from greater root inputs and straw retention boosted the labile (particulate) carbon fraction in topsoil along with microbial biomass and respiration. These grass seed fields held less topsoil carbon than nearby natural grasslands but more than arable crop fields, so keeping stands longer and retaining straw supports soil biology even without measurable SOC gains.”

“Pairing 13C-labeled tracer incubations across sandy-to-loamy soils (17-67% sand) with Cycles model runs for continuous maize in Nebraska and Illinois shows that soil texture strongly controls whether added carbon is respired as CO2 or retained as soil organic matter, and that texture, precipitation and drying-rewetting frequency together with tillage regime (no-till vs. conventional) determine future soil carbon change. The dataset provides the respiration, soil carbon retention and simulated soil organic carbon and maize yield outputs behind those comparisons.”

“Leaf-surface bacterial loads and communities shifted strongly by crop and season in Minnesota: corn carried the highest Methylobacterium and total bacterial loads (rising as plants senesced), while the overwintering cover crop pennycress had the lowest loads and most distinct community. Despite these differences, a small core of genera (Methylobacterium, Sphingomonas, Pseudomonas, Massilia) dominated all three crops, pointing to versatile strains that could be developed as plant growth promoters.”

“In a 2022 survey of 1,119 farmers across MN, NE, ND, and SD, only 15% used biofertilizers, but 88% of those users planned to keep using them and 20% of non-users wanted to try them within three years. Adopters tended to be younger, farm larger acreages, value workshops for learning, and already use cover crops, no-till, and soil nutrient testing — suggesting biofertilizers fit into a broader conservation package rather than standing alone.”

“A yield-correlated minimum soil dataset — total organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon, active carbon, total nitrogen and aggregate stability — tracked full-dataset soil quality scores closely (R² 0.53–0.93) and beat the usual PCA-selected indicator set. Pairing linear scoring that uses threshold limits with simple additive indexing kept soil quality index values within ±1% of the full dataset, giving farmers and advisers a cheaper, transferable way to rate soil quality across corn–soybean sites in Alabama, Indiana and Ohio.”

“We found an association between increased carbon, aggregation, and AMF biomass. Greater soil aggregation, carbon and AMF were observed in NT at 0–5 cm soil depth. The W-S cropping system had greater soil microbial community composition based on fungi biomass, AMF and fungal to bacteria ratio from phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA). Large macroaggregates were positively correlated with total C and N, microbial biomass, Gram + , and AMF. Soil water content was positively correlated with macroaggregates, total C and N, and AC. No-till increased soil carbon content even after 44 years of cult”

“Bacterial communities on wheat grown under long-term conventional tillage and no-till in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.”

“Long-term agro-management strategies shape soil bacterial community structure in dryland wheat systems.”

“Urban greenness influences airborne bacterial community composition.”

“Boosting soil health and crop nutrients with locally sourced biochar and compost in Sacramento urban agriculture.”

“This study aimed to characterize the soil bacterial community in selected boxwood gardens across the United States.”

“Invasive vegetation affects amphibian skin microbiota and body condition.”

“Impacts of stocking densities on soil biochemical and microbial properties in a mixed-grass prairie ecosystem at two landscape positions.”

“The need for sustainable agricultural practices to meet the food, feed, and fuel demands of a growing global population while reducing detrimental environmental impacts has driven research in multifaceted approaches to agricultural sustainability. Perennial cropping systems and microbial biofertilizer supplements are two emerging strategies to increase agricultural sustainability that are studied in tandem in this study.”

“Large-diameter trees and deadwood correspond with belowground ectomycorrhizal fungal richness.”

“Microbiome of Field Grown Hemp Reveals Potential Microbial Interactions With Root and Rhizosphere Soil.”

“Soil microbiomes play a key role in driving biogeochemical cycles of the Earth system. As drought frequency and intensity increase due to climate change, soil microbes and the processes they control will be impacted.”

“Soil health and nutrient dynamics in pasturelands: A decadal study on the effects of alternative grazing management.”