Agricultural intensification has led to increased yields, but also to biodiversity loss, soil pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing these issues requires sustainable practices, such as promoting beneficial soil organisms like arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). AMF form symbiotic relationships with plants, improving nutrient uptake and soil structure while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
We can either encourage native AMF communities by adopting beneficial agricultural practices such as reduced tillage, crop diversification and organic farming. Alternatively, AMF can be inoculated, which is particularly valuable in the case of depleted soils with low levels of native AMF. In greenhouse trials, AMF inoculation often results in higher yields. However, inoculation success in the field varies depending on soil fertility and biotic complexity.
Our goal is to predict the effect of AMF inoculation on plant growth. In this project, we use data from a previous project ("Microbiome diagnostics for sustainable agriculture") where we conducted large-scale trials with AMF in 54 Swiss maize fields. We are developing models to identify the key characteristics that explain variation in inoculation success. Our research shows that soil properties and the native fungal microbiome have a significant impact on inoculation success. In the future, we believe that farmers could use soil microbiome diagnostics to select the most appropriate biofertilizer based on the native soil microbiome.
Project management
