SOIL MICROBIOME TRANSFER FROM FOREST ECOSYSTEMS TO AGRICULTURAL LANDS: A BIODIVERSITY-BASED PRODUCTIVITY MODEL

Abstract

The practise of transferring soil microbiomes in forests to farms is considered in this project in view of the consequences to the atmosphere and agric. The aim is to develop a biodiversity-base productivity model.  The experiment involved a mixed-methods design based on a series of 0, 2 and 5 cover boxes of forest soil samples added into degraded agricultural plots.  Since we were interested in the diversity of microbes and the main agronomic indicators of how productive crops were such as biomass, yields, and root-shoot ratios we relied on high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing.  It was found that the plots with enriched microbiome contained much more microbial diversity and improved crop growth particularly in an increase in the levels of the inoculum.  A positive correlation was found between such biodiversity indexes as Shannon diversity index and the productivity.  The establishment of the statistical model by means of linear regression revealed that the relationship between microbial diversity and agricultural output is quite significant (y=beta 0+beta1D+e=beta 0+beta 1D+e). This demonstrates that productivity of the whole system can be determined based on biodiversity.  The researchers discover that forest microbiomes are such bioenhancing solutions, which may allow restoring soil fertility, making crops more resistant, and reducing chemical inputs.  The approach complies with sustainable agricultural practices and could be employed in further agroecosystems.