Effect of agricultural management approaches on soil microbial diversity and crop production: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aims Microbial diversity is a critical topic that concerns sustainable agriculture and crop production. Anthropogenic activities have a nonnegligible influence on both soil microbial diversity and crop production. Little research has been conducted to quantify the beneficial relationships between microbial diversity and soil productivity. Methods A meta-analysis based on 80 published papers was carried out to clarify the effects of anthropogenic activities including chemical fertilization (CF), organic fertilization (OF), intercropping or rotation (IC) and microbial treatment (MF), on soil microbial diversity and crop yield, and the relationship in between and summarized. Results The results showed that CF had the greatest potential for improving crop yield, whereas it may cause reductions in soil microbial diversity. OF is a sustainable development strategy, which increases both soil microbial diversity and crop yield. Under IC treatment, soil bacterial community diversity was significantly positively correlated with crop productivity, and the average effects of the four management approaches on soil microbial diversity and crop productivity were significantly different under different conditions. Conclusion Overall, our results have great guiding significance for ecological environment protection and crop economic benefits.