DiControl Soil GPS Data Set (Data collection)

We conducted a minirhizotron experiment with soil samples taken in 2016 from the field sites of three long-term experiments, belonging to the Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin (HUB; Thyrow) and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FIBL; Therwil) and the LTE in Bernburg (Anhalt-University). The soil, which underwent different fertilization strategies (mineral vs. organic and biodynamic fertilization vs. reduced and full N-fertilization) and cultivation practices (plough vs. cultivator) was used to cultivate lettuce as model plant in minirhizotrons for 9 weeks and 6 weeks under controlled growth chamber experiments at the IGZ-Großbeeren and the University of Hohenheim.

Research domain: Plant Cultivation and Agricultural Technology

Research question: The experiment was established to study the different effects of fertilization management and soil cultivation on the yet unknown interactions of rhizodeposits and rhizosphere chemistry with its associated rhizosphere soil microbiota (fungal, bacterial and archaeal communities) and their impact on plant health and stress resilience in lettuce.

For further information’s see Windisch et al. 2021, frontiers in Microbiology, doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.597745

The experiment was designed to investigate the differential effects of fertilizer management and tillage on the previously unknown interactions of rhizodeposites and rhizosphere chemistry with the associated rhizospheric soil microbiota (fungal, bacterial, and archaeal communities) and their influence on plant health and stress resistance in lettuce. The microbial community data collected are stored in the NCBI database and are accessible to everyone.