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Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Isolation and Analysis of Microbial Communities in Soil, Rhizosphere, and Roots in Perennial Grass Experiments
Published on: July 24, 2018
Soil microbial indicators and bacterial co-occurrence networks reveal early changes under no-tillage and cover crops
Adão S Ferreira1, Ronaldo B Pinheiro2, Rafael S Mendonça2
1Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias, Avenida João Naves de Ávila, 2121, 38408-100 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
Abstract:
Improving soil quality in tropical agroecosystems requires management strategies that enhance soil functioning and ecological processes. This study evaluated whether short-term adoption of no-tillage combined with cover crops induces early changes in soil microbial indicators and bacterial co-occurrence patterns in a tropical Oxisol under soybean cultivation in the Brazilian Cerrado. Conventional plowing was compared with no-tillage systems using maize, millet, Crotalaria spp., Urochloa spp., and intercropped combinations during the off-season. After three years, microbial biomass carbon, enzyme activities, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, and bacterial community structure (16S rRNA) were assessed. No-tillage with cover crops increased microbial biomass and enzymatic activities related to nutrient cycling. Crotalaria enhanced potentially mineralizable nitrogen and dehydrogenase activity, while intercropping increased β-glucosidase activity. Bacterial alpha diversity increased under no-tillage, whereas community composition showed limited variation. Network analysis revealed greater bacterial connectivity and interaction complexity under no-tillage, indicating that microbial interactions are sensitive early indicators of regenerative changes in tropical soils.
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