Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 5
CHANGES OF SOIL BACTERIAL
DIVERSITY AS A CONSEQUENCE
OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE IN A
SEMI-ARID ECOSYSTEM
GUO-CHUN DING, YVETTE M. PICENO, HOLGER HEUER,
NICOLE WEINERT, ANJA B. DOHRMANN, ANGEL CARRILLO,
GARY L. ANDERSEN, THELMA CASTELLANOS,
CHRISTOPH C. TEBBE, AND KORNELIA SMALLA
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Converting natural land into arable soils results in losses to the landscapes
characterized by a typical indigenous flora and fauna. Frequently, terres-
trial ecosystem diversity is being reduced by replacing indigenous flora
with a few crops. The ecological consequences of such transitions have
been addressed in several studies focusing on land degradation [1], [2],
[3], losses of macro-biodiversity [4], [5], nutrient exhaustion in soils [3],
sustainability [6], [7] and restoration [8]. Soil microorganisms, including
protozoa, fungi, bacteria and archaea, are essential for the proper func-
tioning and sustainability of ecosystems [9], [10], [11]. Moreover, a high
microbial diversity is assumed to be critical for the stability of ecosystems
 
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