Symbiotic Frontiers: Microbial Innovations Shaping Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 February 2025 | Viewed by 819

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Soil and Agri-Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, Université Laval, Québec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Interests: soil microbial ecology; biogeography; mycorrhizae; agroecology; environmental microbiology; crop system

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Intensive agriculture, while attempting to meet the food demands of a growing global population, presents significant challenges and adverse environmental consequences. Contamination of groundwater and watercourses, soil pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions are just a few of the problems associated with conventional agriculture practices. These negative impacts highlight the urgent need to explore methods that can sustain agricultural productivity without compromising environmental health and food security. Microorganisms play essential roles in the functioning of agricultural systems, from promoting soil health and increasing plant resilience to improving nutritional efficiency and reducing reliance on harmful chemical inputs. The development of next-generation biofertilizers, advanced seed inoculation techniques, and management practices that maximize biodiversity and ecological function of the soil are some of the emerging advancements essential for reshaping agriculture in a sustainable and resilient manner.

This Special Issue "Symbiotic Frontiers: Microbial Innovations Shaping Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture" focuses on soil microbiology as a promising source of innovative solutions, offering new perspectives to tackle agricultural challenges in an ecologically responsible and sustainable way.

Dr. Thiago Gumiere
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • microbial ecology
  • sustainable agriculture
  • plant–microbe interactions
  • soil health
  • biofertilizers
  • metagenomics
  • crop resilience
  • biodiversity conservation
  • environmental stress mitigation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 4336 KiB  
Article
Diversified Cropping of Grains and Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. Enhances Ecological Benefits of Agroecosystems
by Enze Wang, Yu Sun, Ming Li, Libo Ye, Xinyi Yu, Zongmu Yao and Chunjie Tian
Agriculture 2024, 14(12), 2327; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14122327 - 19 Dec 2024
Viewed by 446
Abstract
Crop diversification is pivotal in sustainable agriculture, influencing soil microbial communities and soil nutrient cycling functions. Yet, the impacts of incorporating medicinal plants into crop diversification strategies on the functional characteristics of these microbial communities remain understudied. This research elucidates the benefits of [...] Read more.
Crop diversification is pivotal in sustainable agriculture, influencing soil microbial communities and soil nutrient cycling functions. Yet, the impacts of incorporating medicinal plants into crop diversification strategies on the functional characteristics of these microbial communities remain understudied. This research elucidates the benefits of diversified cropping systems by assessing soil nutrient content, diversity and composition of soil microorganisms, the abundance of functional genes involved in carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling, and overall agricultural productivity; collectively referred to as ecological benefits. The experimental design included four treatment groups: (1) continuous maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation (MC); (2) maize–A. lancea (Atractylodes lancea Thunb.) intercropping (MA); (3) maize–sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) rotation (MS); and (4) maize–A. lancea intercropping combined with sorghum rotation (MSA). Findings indicate that diversified cropping treatments significantly enhance the alpha diversity of soil bacterial communities over fungal communities. NH4+ and NO3 predominantly influence the composition of soil bacterial communities, with a notable increase in the relative abundance of Acidobacteriota, Gemmatimonadota, and Chloroflexi. Compared to MC treatment, the MA and MSA treatments significantly increased the abundance of C (121.44%, 294.26%), N (206.57%, 294.26%), and P (112.02%, 225.84%) cycling genes. The inverse variance weighting evaluation demonstrates that, compared to the MC treatment, the MS (5.34) and MSA (8.15) treatments significantly boost soil ecological benefits. Overall, diversifying the cultivation of A. lancea with grains can enhance the ecological benefits of the soil. This study offers new perspectives on diversified planting, particularly in terms of species selection and practical combinations on farmland. Full article
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