Abstract Strategic tillage (ST) has been proposed to help control weeds that germinate during fallow-periods in continuous no till (NT) farming systems, but its effects on soil biological properties are unclear. ST is a type of reduced tillage (RT) that places particular emphasis during the decision-making process on agro-climatic conditions, and the frequency, timing and implements used to till. Here, we assessed the impacts of one-time ST following 44 years of continuous NT or conventional tillage (CT) on soil microbial diversity, biomass, enzymatic activity and substrate utilisation potential at two depths. The composition of bacterial and archaeal communities differed significantly between contrasting land management (CT vs NT); albeit albeit no differences were observed after ST. Meanwhile, fungal community composition was not affected by contrasting land management or ST. Biological indicators for catabolic diversity, microbial biomass and enzymatic activity showed no significant changes after ST operation. Our results suggest that, in the short-term (13 months), ST exerts only minor impacts on a range of biological properties, as well as, bacterial, archaeal and fungal diversity. Hence, ST has the potential to be used as a strategy to control weeds and diseases without compromising soil health.

中文翻译：

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经过 44 年的常规或免耕管理后，战略性耕作后未检测到对土壤微生物群落的显着影响

摘要 战略耕作 (ST) 已被提议用于帮助控制在连续免耕 (NT) 耕作系统休耕期间发芽的杂草，但其对土壤生物特性的影响尚不清楚。ST 是一种减耕 (RT)，在决策过程中特别强调农业气候条件，以及耕作的频率、时间和工具。在这里，我们评估了 44 年连续 NT 或常规耕作 (CT) 后一次性 ST 对土壤微生物多样性、生物量、酶活性和两个深度的底物利用潜力的影响。对比土地管理（CT vs NT），细菌和古菌群落的组成存在显着差异；尽管在 ST 后没有观察到差异。同时，真菌群落组成不受对比土地管理或 ST 的影响。ST 操作后分解代谢多样性、微生物生物量和酶活性的生物指标没有显着变化。我们的结果表明，在短期（13 个月）内，ST 对一系列生物学特性以及细菌、古细菌和真菌多样性的影响很小。因此，ST 有可能被用作控制杂草和疾病而不影响土壤健康的策略。古菌和真菌多样性。因此，ST 有可能被用作控制杂草和疾病而不影响土壤健康的策略。古菌和真菌多样性。因此，ST 有可能被用作控制杂草和疾病而不影响土壤健康的策略。