Weed Seed Decay in No-Till Field and Planted Riparian Buffer Zone
Field management practices can alter the physical and chemical properties of the soil, also causing changes to the seed bank. Alterations can also occur to the soil microbial community, which in turn can increase or diminish the process of weed seed decay. In this research, the issue of seed degrada...
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doaj-8ada27b0e8fa4580bd0525f03134b8e22020-11-25T02:01:59ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472020-03-019329310.3390/plants9030293plants9030293Weed Seed Decay in No-Till Field and Planted Riparian Buffer ZoneNebojša Nikolić0Andrea Squartini1Giuseppe Concheri2Piergiorgio Stevanato3Giuseppe Zanin4Roberta Masin5Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), ItalyDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, 35020 Legnaro (PD), ItalyField management practices can alter the physical and chemical properties of the soil, also causing changes to the seed bank. Alterations can also occur to the soil microbial community, which in turn can increase or diminish the process of weed seed decay. In this research, the issue of seed degradation was studied in an undisturbed and a no-till soil, trying not only to uncover where seeds are more degraded, but also to investigate the microbial activities that could be involved in this process. Six different weed species, commonly found in northern Italy, were used: <i>Abutilon theopharsti, Alopecurus myosuroides,</i> <i>Amaranthus retroflexus, Digitaria sanguinalis, Portulaca oleracea</i> and <i>Sorghum halepense</i>. Seed decay was tested in two different sites, a no-till field and the adjacent buffer zone. Soil microbial activity was also measured using the Fertimetro, an approach based on the degradation of cotton and silk threads buried in the soil for one week. Degradation of the buried seeds was higher in the no-till field soil than in the buffer strip for all the studied species as was the microbial cellulolytic activity. Even though the buffer strip soil is an undisturbed habitat and resulted as having higher organic matter, the no-till soil conditions appeared more unfavourable to seed viability. Our findings suggest that no-till management can improve weed seed suppression in the soil. Moreover, cellulolytic microorganisms play an important role in seedbank longevity, so cellulolytic activity surveys could be used as an early monitoring bioindicator for weed seed suppression in soil.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/3/293weed seed bankno-till managementsoil microbiological activityseed degradation |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Nebojša Nikolić Andrea Squartini Giuseppe Concheri Piergiorgio Stevanato Giuseppe Zanin Roberta Masin |
spellingShingle |
Nebojša Nikolić Andrea Squartini Giuseppe Concheri Piergiorgio Stevanato Giuseppe Zanin Roberta Masin Weed Seed Decay in No-Till Field and Planted Riparian Buffer Zone Plants weed seed bank no-till management soil microbiological activity seed degradation |
author_facet |
Nebojša Nikolić Andrea Squartini Giuseppe Concheri Piergiorgio Stevanato Giuseppe Zanin Roberta Masin |
author_sort |
Nebojša Nikolić |
title |
Weed Seed Decay in No-Till Field and Planted Riparian Buffer Zone |
title_short |
Weed Seed Decay in No-Till Field and Planted Riparian Buffer Zone |
title_full |
Weed Seed Decay in No-Till Field and Planted Riparian Buffer Zone |
title_fullStr |
Weed Seed Decay in No-Till Field and Planted Riparian Buffer Zone |
title_full_unstemmed |
Weed Seed Decay in No-Till Field and Planted Riparian Buffer Zone |
title_sort |
weed seed decay in no-till field and planted riparian buffer zone |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Plants |
issn |
2223-7747 |
publishDate |
2020-03-01 |
description |
Field management practices can alter the physical and chemical properties of the soil, also causing changes to the seed bank. Alterations can also occur to the soil microbial community, which in turn can increase or diminish the process of weed seed decay. In this research, the issue of seed degradation was studied in an undisturbed and a no-till soil, trying not only to uncover where seeds are more degraded, but also to investigate the microbial activities that could be involved in this process. Six different weed species, commonly found in northern Italy, were used: <i>Abutilon theopharsti, Alopecurus myosuroides,</i> <i>Amaranthus retroflexus, Digitaria sanguinalis, Portulaca oleracea</i> and <i>Sorghum halepense</i>. Seed decay was tested in two different sites, a no-till field and the adjacent buffer zone. Soil microbial activity was also measured using the Fertimetro, an approach based on the degradation of cotton and silk threads buried in the soil for one week. Degradation of the buried seeds was higher in the no-till field soil than in the buffer strip for all the studied species as was the microbial cellulolytic activity. Even though the buffer strip soil is an undisturbed habitat and resulted as having higher organic matter, the no-till soil conditions appeared more unfavourable to seed viability. Our findings suggest that no-till management can improve weed seed suppression in the soil. Moreover, cellulolytic microorganisms play an important role in seedbank longevity, so cellulolytic activity surveys could be used as an early monitoring bioindicator for weed seed suppression in soil. |
topic |
weed seed bank no-till management soil microbiological activity seed degradation |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/3/293 |
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