Impact of Soil Fumigation on Bacterial and Fungal Community Diversity

Fumigation is widely used to control soil-borne pests but can also disrupt soil microbes. This study examined how fumigation and subsequent biological amendments influence bacterial and fungal communities on a golf course putting green. Methyl bromide was applied before seeding creeping bentgrass, followed by biosolids, swine manure, and other biological materials. Over nearly a year, 240 soil samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA and ITS2 sequencing. Fumigation reduced both pathogenic and beneficial microbes and increased some opportunistic species, with communities not fully recovering after 255 days. In contrast, organic amendments had little effect, highlighting the need for additional restoration strategies.