Sofo Adriano, Khanghahi Mohammad Yaghoubi, Curci Maddalena, Reyes Francesco, Briones Maria J I, Sarneel Judith M, Cardinale Domenico, Crecchio Carmine
Department of European and Mediterranean Cultures: Architecture, Environment and Cultural Heritage (DiCEM), Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Via Lanera 20, 75100 Matera, Italy.
Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Via Amendola 165/a, 70126 Bari, Italy.
Plants (Basel). 2023 Mar 7;12(6):1216. doi: 10.3390/plants12061216.
Earthworms and soil microorganisms contribute to soil health, quality, and fertility, but their importance in agricultural soils is often underestimated. This study aims at examining whether and to what extent the presence of earthworms ( sp.) affected the (a) soil bacterial community composition, (b) litter decomposition, and (c) plant growth ( L., broccoli; L., faba bean). We performed a mesocosm experiment in which plants were grown outdoors for four months with or without earthworms. Soil bacterial community structure was evaluated by a 16S rRNA-based metabarcoding approach. Litter decomposition rates were determined by using the tea bag index (TBI) and litter bags (olive residues). Earthworm numbers almost doubled throughout the experimental period. Independently of the plant species, earthworm presence had a significant impact on the structure of soil bacterial community, in terms of enhanced - and -diversity (especially that of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, Myxococcota, and Verrucomicrobia) and increased 16S rRNA gene abundance (+89% in broccoli and +223% in faba bean). Microbial decomposition (TBI) was enhanced in the treatments with earthworms, and showed a significantly higher decomposition rate constant () and a lower stabilization factor (), whereas decomposition in the litter bags () increased by about 6% in broccoli and 5% in faba bean. Earthworms significantly enhanced root growth (in terms of total length and fresh weight) of both plant species. Our results show the strong influence of earthworms and crop identity in shaping soil chemico-physical properties, soil bacterial community, litter decomposition and plant growth. These findings could be used for developing nature-based solutions that ensure the long-term biological sustainability of soil agro- and natural ecosystems.
蚯蚓和土壤微生物对土壤健康、质量和肥力有重要作用，但它们在农业土壤中的重要性常常被低估。本研究旨在探讨蚯蚓（ 种）的存在是否以及在何种程度上影响了：（a）土壤细菌群落组成；（b）凋落物分解；（c）植物生长（ ，西兰花； ，蚕豆）。我们进行了一项中宇宙实验，将植物在有或没有蚯蚓的情况下于户外种植四个月。通过基于16S rRNA的宏条形码方法评估土壤细菌群落结构。使用茶包指数（TBI）和凋落物袋（橄榄残渣）测定凋落物分解率。在整个实验期间，蚯蚓数量几乎增加了一倍。无论植物种类如何，蚯蚓的存在对土壤细菌群落结构都有显著影响，表现为 -多样性和 -多样性增加（特别是变形菌门、拟杆菌门、粘球菌门和疣微菌门）以及16S rRNA基因丰度提高（西兰花中提高89%，蚕豆中提高223%）。蚯蚓处理组的微生物分解（TBI）增强，分解速率常数（ ）显著更高，稳定因子（ ）更低，而凋落物袋中的分解（ ）在西兰花中增加了约6%，在蚕豆中增加了5%。蚯蚓显著促进了两种植物的根系生长（以总长度和鲜重计）。我们的结果表明，蚯蚓和作物特性对塑造土壤化学物理性质、土壤细菌群落、凋落物分解和植物生长有强烈影响。这些发现可用于开发基于自然的解决方案，以确保土壤农业和自然生态系统的长期生物可持续性。
