Large-scale monoculture crops account for ~80% of the 1.5 billion hectares of global agricultural cultivation. However, intensive consecutive monoculture results in replanting disease/soil sickness / continuous cropping obstacle becoming a problematic challenge. This simplification of the agro-ecosystem can have several consequences, including crop growth dysplasia, pest and disease outbreaks, and decrease of overall biodiversity (at different levels, including plants, animals, and microbes), and it also generates a typical negative plant-soil feedback that negatively influences yield and quality of the subsequent conspecific crops. These negative effects occur in several species (both fruits and vegetable crops, including Chinese medicinal plants) grown under intensive consecutive monoculture conditions, and are caused by a complex variation in soil physical, chemical, and microbiological characteristics.
Previous research focused on changes in the soil microbial community structure under consecutive monoculture conditions, while the effects of intensive monoculture on the overall plant microbiome, in combination with the role played by root exudates, received little attention. Furthermore, we still know little about the communities of protists and viruses thriving in the plant rhizosphere and phyllosphere, and about their response to replanting disease/soil sickness / continuous cropping obstacles.
Healthy plants are colonized by a rich diversity of microbes (i.e., bacteria, fungi, protists, and viruses), forming complex microbial consortia that impact plant growth and productivity. More than a century ago, Lorenz Hiltner hypothesized that root exudates have a major role in shaping plant-associated microbial communities. The recruitment of microorganisms in the rhizosphere occurs via signals directed from plants to microorganisms, subsequent interactions between microorganisms and between microorganisms and the host plant.
The interactions among plants, soil, and microorganisms within the soil food web play a crucial role in creating the conditions that cause the negative effects due to consecutive monoculture. This Research Topic aims at presenting the trends and recent advances on the effects of consecutive monoculture regimes on the changes of plant and soil microbiomes, and the role of root exudates within these interactions.
This Research Topic aims to publish Original Research, Meta-Analyses, Reviews, and Perspectives about the effects of consecutive monoculture regimes on plant root exudates and plant-associated microbial communities, focusing (but not limited to) on:
• Plant-driven changes in rhizosphere microbial communities (including bacteria, fungi, protists, and viruses) in consecutive monoculture cycles.
• Functional response of plant microbiomes to the consecutive monoculture regimes.
• Disentangling the mechanisms behind the interactions between root exudates and plant-associated microbiomes.
• Assessing the potential applications of microbial strains and natural compounds to alter the plant-associated microbial communities and alleviate the negative effects of consecutive monoculture regimes.
Large-scale monoculture crops account for ~80% of the 1.5 billion hectares of global agricultural cultivation. However, intensive consecutive monoculture results in replanting disease/soil sickness / continuous cropping obstacle becoming a problematic challenge. This simplification of the agro-ecosystem can have several consequences, including crop growth dysplasia, pest and disease outbreaks, and decrease of overall biodiversity (at different levels, including plants, animals, and microbes), and it also generates a typical negative plant-soil feedback that negatively influences yield and quality of the subsequent conspecific crops. These negative effects occur in several species (both fruits and vegetable crops, including Chinese medicinal plants) grown under intensive consecutive monoculture conditions, and are caused by a complex variation in soil physical, chemical, and microbiological characteristics.
Previous research focused on changes in the soil microbial community structure under consecutive monoculture conditions, while the effects of intensive monoculture on the overall plant microbiome, in combination with the role played by root exudates, received little attention. Furthermore, we still know little about the communities of protists and viruses thriving in the plant rhizosphere and phyllosphere, and about their response to replanting disease/soil sickness / continuous cropping obstacles.
Healthy plants are colonized by a rich diversity of microbes (i.e., bacteria, fungi, protists, and viruses), forming complex microbial consortia that impact plant growth and productivity. More than a century ago, Lorenz Hiltner hypothesized that root exudates have a major role in shaping plant-associated microbial communities. The recruitment of microorganisms in the rhizosphere occurs via signals directed from plants to microorganisms, subsequent interactions between microorganisms and between microorganisms and the host plant.
The interactions among plants, soil, and microorganisms within the soil food web play a crucial role in creating the conditions that cause the negative effects due to consecutive monoculture. This Research Topic aims at presenting the trends and recent advances on the effects of consecutive monoculture regimes on the changes of plant and soil microbiomes, and the role of root exudates within these interactions.
This Research Topic aims to publish Original Research, Meta-Analyses, Reviews, and Perspectives about the effects of consecutive monoculture regimes on plant root exudates and plant-associated microbial communities, focusing (but not limited to) on:
• Plant-driven changes in rhizosphere microbial communities (including bacteria, fungi, protists, and viruses) in consecutive monoculture cycles.
• Functional response of plant microbiomes to the consecutive monoculture regimes.
• Disentangling the mechanisms behind the interactions between root exudates and plant-associated microbiomes.
• Assessing the potential applications of microbial strains and natural compounds to alter the plant-associated microbial communities and alleviate the negative effects of consecutive monoculture regimes.
