Combined Impact of No-Till and Cover Crops with or without Short-Term Water Stress as Revealed by Physicochemical and Microbiological Indicators

• Published in: Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 23
• Main Authors: Taskin, Eren, Boselli, Roberta, Fiorini, Andrea, Misci, Chiara, Ardenti, Federico, Bandini, Francesca, Guzzetti, Lorenzo, Panzeri, Davide, Tommasi, Nicola, Galimberti, Andrea, Labra, Massimo, Tabaglio, Vincenzo, Puglisi, Edoardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.01.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Aggregates; Agricultural management; Agriculture; Biodiversity; Climate change; Corn; Cover crops; Crops; Enzymatic activity; Enzymes; Experiments; Field study; Irrigation; Next-generation sequencing; no-till; Phosphatase; Ribosomal DNA; soil bacterial community; soil C and N pools; Soil fertility; soil fungal community; Thermal cycling; Tillage; Water stress; Wheat; Italy; water stress; soil fungal community; soil C and N pools; soil bacterial community; no-till
• ISSN: 2079-7737; 2079-7737
• DOI: 10.3390/biology10010023

Combining no-till and cover crops (NT + CC) as an alternative to conventional tillage (CT) is generating interest to build-up farming systems' resilience while promoting climate change adaptation in agriculture. Our field study aimed to assess the impact of long-term NT + CC management and short-term water stress on soil microbial communities, enzymatic activities, and the distribution of C and N within soil aggregates. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) revealed the positive impact of NT + CC on microbial biodiversity, especially under water stress conditions, with the presence of important rhizobacteria (e.g., spp.). An alteration index based on soil enzymes confirmed soil depletion under CT. C and N pools within aggregates showed an enrichment under NT + CC mostly due to C and N-rich large macroaggregates (LM), accounting for 44% and 33% of the total soil C and N. Within LM, C and N pools were associated to microaggregates within macroaggregates (mM), which are beneficial for long-term C and N stabilization in soils. Water stress had detrimental effects on aggregate formation and limited C and N inclusion within aggregates. The microbiological and physicochemical parameters correlation supported the hypothesis that long-term NT + CC is a promising alternative to CT, due to the contribution to soil C and N stabilization while enhancing the biodiversity and enzymes.