Long-Term Chemical-Only Fertilization Induces a Diversity Decline and Deep Selection on the Soil Bacteria

Abstract

Chemical-only fertilization is ubiquitous in contemporary conventional agriculture despite the fact that sustainability of this agricultural practice is increasingly being questioned because of the current observed soil degradation. We explored how long-term chemical-only versus organic-only fertilizations impacted the soil microbiota reservoir in terms of both diversity and induced assembly processes. The results showed that long-term chemical-only fertilization resulted in deep selection pressure on the soil microbial community reservoir, with both a higher proportion of specialists and a stronger signature of deterministic processes. The soil microbiota has clearly changed as a consequence of the fertilization regime. The diagnoses of the functional consequences of these ecoevolutionary changes in relation to agricultural practices are key to imagining agriculture in the time ahead and especially regarding future efforts for the conservation, restoration, and management of the soil microbiota reservoir which is key to the fertility of the ecosystem.