Long-term nutrient management shapes soil microbial and metabolic signatures in a century-old semi-arid agroecosystem.
Winssy TD, Anandham R, Maragatham S, Uma D, Karthikeyan S
Soil Health
The compost you turn in your backyard bin is assembling a microbial workforce that no synthetic fertilizer program — even one running for a full century — can match, and this study finally has the molecular receipts to prove it.
Scientists tracked farming plots for over 116 years, comparing soil fed only chemical fertilizers to soil that received compost or manure. The organically amended plots ended up packed with far more diverse and active microscopic life — tiny organisms that help recycle nutrients, store carbon, and keep soil productive season after season. The chemical-only plots drifted toward a simpler, stress-adapted microbial community that does much less of this biological heavy lifting over time.
Key Findings
After 116 years, organic amendment plots had significantly higher soil organic carbon, microbial biomass, and enzyme activity than synthetic-fertilizer-only plots.
Organic inputs shifted soil communities toward nutrient-loving copiotrophic microbes and enriched nitrogen-fixation and carbon-fixation genes, while synthetic-fertilizer plots were dominated by stress-tolerant oligotrophs with weaker biological nutrient pathways.
Integrated nutrient management (organic plus inorganic inputs combined) produced the most diverse soil volatile organic compounds, which were strongly correlated with soil organic carbon levels and overall biological activity.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A 116-year field experiment in semi-arid India found that adding compost or manure to soil builds far richer, more active microbial communities than synthetic fertilizers alone — communities that cycle carbon and nitrogen more effectively and sustain soil fertility over the long run in ways chemical inputs cannot replicate.
Abstract Preview
Semi-arid tropical soils inherently contain low soil organic carbon (SOC) and limited nutrient reserves, resulting in poor productivity. Intensive cropping with synthetic fertilizers, further deter...
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