Soil microbial responses to long-term management practices in the coastal region of North Carolina

Shift in management practices and vegetation lead to changes in nutrient inputs and soil biogeochemical processes, primarily through their potential effects on soil microbial activity and community composition. But how do soil microbes respond in terms of direction and extent to shifts in long-term management, which encompass variations in tillage intensity and the addition of carbon inputs? Soil samples were collected from two depths (0-10 cm and 10-20 cm) from six distinct long-term experimental plots established at the Center of Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, North Carolina. These experimental plots include: conventional till plots (CTCC), no-till plots with a winter cover crop (NTCC), an organic cropping system with conventional tillage (ORGC), an organic cropping system with reduced tillage (ORGR), an integrated crop-livestock system with pasture (PSTR), and a successional system influenced solely by natural processes (SUCC). Our study aims to assess the impact of changes in management practices on soil microbial community composition, activity (through enzyme assays), and soil health indicators related to carbon and nitrogen mineralization. By utilizing long-term experiments, we seek to gain deeper insights into the role of microbial communities in governing nutrient cycling and enhancing soil health and productivity.