CESH scientists Dr. Gabriel Perron and Carolina Oliviera de Santana recently published a paper in Microbiology Resource Announcements titled, “Metagenomes from soils sampled along an agricultural transect located in Ulster County, New York.” They believe “this data is relevant for research on antimicrobial resistance and environmental microbiomes as well as for policymakers.” Read an overview of the project below, and check out the full paper HERE.
The projects goals are clear: “Microbial communities in soil play an important role from an ecological and economic point of view. For one, microbial communities can sustain plant life and improve overall biodiversity, carrying important functional roles such as nutrient cycling and decomposition. Microbial communities in agricultural soils are also increasingly considered a key player in regenerative farming practices with the goal of sequestering organic carbon and promoting overall soil “health.” Yet, many modern agricultural practices can also negatively impact soils and their associated microbiomes.
For example, the extensive use of monocultures or the frequent applications of fertilizer and pesticides on farms can lead to the degradation of soil nutrients and depletion of microbial diversity. Given increasing pressures on the global food system due to increasing demands, understanding how soil microbiomes respond to agricultural practices is of great interest. More specifically, we are interested in investigating whether microbial and functional diversity can recover in soil after years of intensive farming.”
