The Impact of Different Almond Orchard Management Practices in Hyper-Arid Ecosystems on Soil Microbial Communities

Itaii Applebaum, Gil Eshel, Tirza Doniger and Yosef Steinberger ()
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Itaii Applebaum: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
Gil Eshel: Soil Erosion Research Station, Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security Rishon-Lezion, P.O. Box 30, Beit-Dagan 5020000, Israel
Tirza Doniger: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
Yosef Steinberger: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: bacteria; arid ecosystems; regenerative agriculture; soil conservation; orchard management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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