The effect of cropping systems on soil microbial communities and soil health

There is limited knowledge on how agricultural practices influence microbially mediated soil processes, which in turn affect soil health. The current project was conducted to investigate the legacy effects of cropping systems (conventional and organic) on microbial diversity and community structure using amplicon gene sequencing of 16S rRNA and ITS gene region sequences in soils obtained from a test site situated in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The project further attempted to predict functional potential of these cropping systems to determine effective soil health biomarkers.