Effect of Soil Microbiome from Church Forest in the Northwest Ethiopian Highlands on the Growth of Olea europaea and Albizia gummifera Seedlings under Glasshouse Conditions

Getu Abebe, Atsushi Tsunekawa, Nigussie Haregeweyn, Takeshi Taniguchi, Menale Wondie, Enyew Adgo, Tsugiyuki Masunaga, Mitsuru Tsubo, Kindiye Ebabu, Amrakh Mamedov and Derege Tsegaye Meshesha
Additional contact information
Getu Abebe: The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Tottori University, 4-101 Koyama-minami, Tottori 680-8553, Japan
Atsushi Tsunekawa: Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
Nigussie Haregeweyn: International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
Takeshi Taniguchi: Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
Menale Wondie: Amhara Agricultural Research Institute, Forestry Research Department, P.O. Box 527 Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Enyew Adgo: College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 1289 Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
Tsugiyuki Masunaga: Faculty of Life and Environmental Science Shimane University, Shimane Matsue 690-082, Japan
Mitsuru Tsubo: Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
Kindiye Ebabu: Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
Amrakh Mamedov: Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan
Derege Tsegaye Meshesha: College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 1289 Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-20

Abstract: Loss of beneficial microbes and lack of native inoculum have hindered reforestation efforts in the severely-degraded lands worldwide. This is a particularly pressing problem for Ethiopia owing to centuries-old unsustainable agricultural practices. This study aimed to evaluate the inoculum potential of soils from church forest in the northwest highlands of Ethiopia and its effect on seedling growth of two selected native tree species ( Olea europaea and Albizia gummifera ) under a glasshouse environment. Seedlings germinated in a seed chamber were transplanted into pots containing sterilized and/or non-sterilized soils collected from under the canopy of three dominant church forest trees: Albizia gummifera (AG), Croton macrostachyus (CM), and Juniperus procera (JP) as well as from adjacent degraded land (DL). A total of 128 pots (2 plant species × 4 soil origins × 2 soil treatments × 8 replicates) were arranged in a factorial design. Overall, seedlings grown in AG, CM, and JP soils showed a higher plant performance and survival rate, as a result of higher soil microbial abundance and diversity, than those grown in DL soils. The results showed significantly higher plant height, root collar diameter, shoot, and total mass for seedlings grown in non-sterilized forest soils than those grown in sterilized soils. Furthermore, the bacterial relative abundance of Acidobacteria , Actinobacteria , and Nitrospirae was significantly higher in the non-sterilized forest soils AG, CM, and JP (r 2 = 0.6–0.8, p < 0.001). Soil pH had a strong effect on abundance of the bacterial community in the church forest soils. More specifically, this study further demonstrated that the effect of soil microbiome was noticeable on the performance of Olea seedlings grown in the soil from CM. This suggests that the soils from remnant church forests, particularly from the canopy under CM, can serve as a good soil origin, which possibly would promote the native tree seedling growth and survival in degraded lands.

Keywords: arid regions; bacteria; degraded land; fungi; ITS; microbial community; restoration; 16S rRNA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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