Chapter 6 - Understanding and Managing the Rhizosphere in Agroecosystems

Laurie E. Drinkwater; Sieglinde S. Snapp

doi:10.1016/B978-012088775-0/50008-2

This chapter focuses on understanding the rhizosphere and managing it in agroecosystems. Agricultural systems represent the major form of land management, covering 5 billion hectares of the global terrestrial land area. The soil environment in agroecosystems reflects the legacy of the native ecosystem and the past management combined with the current management practices. Manipulation of soil chemistry began with the advent of liming to raise soil pH in early Roman agriculture, and has grown to be a major component of soil fertility management in conventional agriculture. The use of tillage has major consequences for C distribution and turnover. Tillage eliminates the O horizon and accelerates litter decomposition rates by mixing newly introduced litter with soil. Soil aggregation determines the pore structure and dispersion resistance of soil and is a fundamental driver of soil and ecosystem functioning. The role of plant–microbe symbiosis in aggregate formation is most extensively documented for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), an important biotic regulator of water-stable aggregation in bulk soil. The role of plant–microbial interactions in accessing organic nutrient pools is considered to be of central importance in organically managed systems. The specificity of the legume and rhizobia association has been exploited by farmers and agricultural scientists for centuries. The management of biocomplexity to promote ecological processes and restoration of agroecosystem function requires the development and application of ecosystem-based management strategies. Improved ecosystem-based strategies require an understanding of the feedback among management, rhizosphere communities, and the background soil environment at longer temporal scales than current investigations tend to encompass.

Chapter 6 - Understanding and Managing the Rhizosphere in Agroecosystems

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