Changes in soil physico-chemical properties and microbial functional diversity due to 14 years of conversion of grassland to organic agriculture in semi-arid agroecosystem

Soil physico-chemical properties, microbial biomass, and functional microbial diversity were investigated in two adjacent fields located in a semi-arid dryland farming region of Maharashtra state, India. In organically cultivated field (OCF) large annual inputs of composted cow manure, no tillage and no removal of crop residues is being practiced for the past 14 years. The neighboring plot which was not cultivated for the same period remained as fallow grassland (FGL) served as check for comparison. Soil samples collected from OCF had higher pH, moisture, total organic carbon and nitrogen, microbial biomass, C and N, and enzymatic activities compared to FGL soil. Microbial community structure in the two soils was assessed, using Biolog Eco and GN2 plates. OCF soil showed significant (P = 0.01) increase of microbial diversity and evenness, suggesting an improvement of functional microbial diversity. Principal component analysis (PCA) separates the two soil samples based on 10 most discriminating carbon sources for each with the maximum positive and negative scores. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study on soil quality and microbial functional diversity of soil in a semi-arid region indicating that conversion from FGL to OCF led to significant soil quality improvement due to the enhanced microbial functional diversity.