The Impact of Different Almond Orchard Management Practices in Hyper-Arid Ecosystems on Soil Microbial Communities
The use of service (cover) crops is widely practiced in soil agriculture due to their many benefits, including enhanced nutrient supply and improved soil health. Bacteria, as major decomposers of plant residues in the soil, play essential roles in nutrient cycling. This study examined the impact of...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1281 |
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| author | Itaii Applebaum Gil Eshel Tirza Doniger Yosef Steinberger |
| author_facet | Itaii Applebaum Gil Eshel Tirza Doniger Yosef Steinberger |
| author_sort | Itaii Applebaum |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The use of service (cover) crops is widely practiced in soil agriculture due to their many benefits, including enhanced nutrient supply and improved soil health. Bacteria, as major decomposers of plant residues in the soil, play essential roles in nutrient cycling. This study examined the impact of various almond orchard management practices on the soil microbial community composition in a hyper-arid ecosystem. High-throughput sequencing was used to compare the microbial communities in two adjacent almond orchards managed with either organic (ORG) or regenerative agriculture (RA) practices, alongside an uncultivated (UC) site. Notably, little is known about the responses of soil bacterial communities in hyper-arid regions to intercrop mulch from service crops. This study may offer insights into the ecological limits of the benefits of service crops in promoting soil health under extreme conditions. Our findings demonstrate that RA management can alter soil organic carbon levels and reshape microbial communities by increasing overall bacterial abundance and enriching specific keystone taxa. These changes may have significant implications for nutrient cycling processes in hyper-arid agroecosystems. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj-art-ecd11eb6decb4fc9a5e0cf63245de7fa2025-08-20T02:21:13ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2025-06-01146128110.3390/land14061281The Impact of Different Almond Orchard Management Practices in Hyper-Arid Ecosystems on Soil Microbial CommunitiesItaii Applebaum0Gil Eshel1Tirza Doniger2Yosef Steinberger3The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, IsraelSoil Erosion Research Station, Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security Rishon-Lezion, P.O. Box 30, Beit-Dagan 5020000, IsraelThe Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, IsraelThe Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, IsraelThe use of service (cover) crops is widely practiced in soil agriculture due to their many benefits, including enhanced nutrient supply and improved soil health. Bacteria, as major decomposers of plant residues in the soil, play essential roles in nutrient cycling. This study examined the impact of various almond orchard management practices on the soil microbial community composition in a hyper-arid ecosystem. High-throughput sequencing was used to compare the microbial communities in two adjacent almond orchards managed with either organic (ORG) or regenerative agriculture (RA) practices, alongside an uncultivated (UC) site. Notably, little is known about the responses of soil bacterial communities in hyper-arid regions to intercrop mulch from service crops. This study may offer insights into the ecological limits of the benefits of service crops in promoting soil health under extreme conditions. Our findings demonstrate that RA management can alter soil organic carbon levels and reshape microbial communities by increasing overall bacterial abundance and enriching specific keystone taxa. These changes may have significant implications for nutrient cycling processes in hyper-arid agroecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1281bacteriaarid ecosystemsregenerative agriculturesoil conservationorchard management |
| spellingShingle | Itaii Applebaum Gil Eshel Tirza Doniger Yosef Steinberger The Impact of Different Almond Orchard Management Practices in Hyper-Arid Ecosystems on Soil Microbial Communities Land bacteria arid ecosystems regenerative agriculture soil conservation orchard management |
| title | The Impact of Different Almond Orchard Management Practices in Hyper-Arid Ecosystems on Soil Microbial Communities |
| title_full | The Impact of Different Almond Orchard Management Practices in Hyper-Arid Ecosystems on Soil Microbial Communities |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Different Almond Orchard Management Practices in Hyper-Arid Ecosystems on Soil Microbial Communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Different Almond Orchard Management Practices in Hyper-Arid Ecosystems on Soil Microbial Communities |
| title_short | The Impact of Different Almond Orchard Management Practices in Hyper-Arid Ecosystems on Soil Microbial Communities |
| title_sort | impact of different almond orchard management practices in hyper arid ecosystems on soil microbial communities |
| topic | bacteria arid ecosystems regenerative agriculture soil conservation orchard management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/6/1281 |
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