Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Gardens are essential as a low‐cost source of vital nutrients. Diverse garden soil microbiomes are vital for cycling nutrients, which improve plant health and production yield. This project studied the impact of straw cover on a garden soil's microbiome. The soil samples for sites with straw coverage and sites without straw coverage were collected from the Erie Street GrowLocal community garden in Lafayette, IN. We examined functional biodiversity using carbon source utilization analysis (EcoPlate). Results were used to calculate Shannon diversity index, richness, and evenness. Alpha and beta diversity of the soil's bacteria species was determined by genomic DNA extraction followed by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Sequences were analyzed with divisive amplicon denoising algorithm 2 and Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology 2.0 pipelines for alpha and beta diversity. Finally, the soil moisture content and pH were evaluated, as they have been shown to impact soil microbial biodiversity. Interestingly, straw cover increased moisture content, which previously has been shown to help plant‐specific growth and production yield in gardens. The bacteria in the straw‐covered soil showed an increase in carbohydrate preference, decrease in carboxylic acid preference, and a significant increase in alpha diversity via the carbon source utilization data and 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Beta diversity showed no differences between the conditions. In summary, straw coverage improved the soil microbial biodiversity and moisture content. These findings indicate a possible benefit of straw coverage use in garden spaces, with the goal of improving soil health to produce better yields and thus more high‐quality food products for communities.
DOI: 10.1002/uar2.70015
Authors: Emory Walker, Mara Welty, Emma Creviston, Jacob J. Adler
Institution: Purdue University West Lafayette
Language: English
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,820
Funder: Purdue University
OpenAlex ID: W4410216465