Land use influences prokaryotes more than fungi in adjacent hedgerow soils

TY - JOUR

T1 - Land use influences prokaryotes more than fungi in adjacent hedgerow soils

AU - Zagatto, Luís Felipe Guandalin

AU - Kalle, Valerie L.

AU - Bakx-Schotman, Tanja

AU - Raaijmakers, Ciska

AU - Verhoeven, Koen J.F.

AU - in 't Zandt, Dina

AU - van der Putten, Wim H.

N1 - Data archiving: NIOO data

PY - 2026/4/15

Y1 - 2026/4/15

N2 - Intensive agricultural practices decrease aboveground and belowground biodiversity with an impact on ecosystem functioning. The planting of hedgerows has been advocated as a way to increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, but little is known about the effects of the adjacent land use on hedgerow biodiversity. Here, we show that the adjacent agricultural land use influences the composition, structure, and complexity of soil microbial communities underneath hedgerows that have been in place for more than hundred years. In the Maasheggen UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, we examined hedgerows adjacent to three land use types: low-intensity conservation grasslands, high-intensity production grasslands, and croplands. Soil samples were collected from both the center of the fields and underneath two adjacent hedgerows to analyze soil chemistry and microbial community composition, diversity, structure, and complexity. Our results show that hedgerow soils supported more complex and interconnected microbial communities than adjacent fields. Additionally, prokaryotic communities were highly responsive to land use, particularly to arable croplands, and prokaryote composition in hedgerows largely resembled that of the adjacent fields. In contrast, fungal communities consistently differed between hedgerows and adjacent fields, although hedgerows next to croplands hosted a fungal community that differed from hedgerows next to grasslands. We conclude that the community composition of prokaryotes in hedgerow soil was under strong control of adjacent field management, whereas fungal community composition was far less affected. Moreover, hedgerow soils harbored structurally more complex microbial communities than adjacent fields that were used for high-intensity agriculture. Further studies are needed to analyze costs and benefits of hedgerow soils for providing ecosystem services.

AB - Intensive agricultural practices decrease aboveground and belowground biodiversity with an impact on ecosystem functioning. The planting of hedgerows has been advocated as a way to increase biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, but little is known about the effects of the adjacent land use on hedgerow biodiversity. Here, we show that the adjacent agricultural land use influences the composition, structure, and complexity of soil microbial communities underneath hedgerows that have been in place for more than hundred years. In the Maasheggen UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, we examined hedgerows adjacent to three land use types: low-intensity conservation grasslands, high-intensity production grasslands, and croplands. Soil samples were collected from both the center of the fields and underneath two adjacent hedgerows to analyze soil chemistry and microbial community composition, diversity, structure, and complexity. Our results show that hedgerow soils supported more complex and interconnected microbial communities than adjacent fields. Additionally, prokaryotic communities were highly responsive to land use, particularly to arable croplands, and prokaryote composition in hedgerows largely resembled that of the adjacent fields. In contrast, fungal communities consistently differed between hedgerows and adjacent fields, although hedgerows next to croplands hosted a fungal community that differed from hedgerows next to grasslands. We conclude that the community composition of prokaryotes in hedgerow soil was under strong control of adjacent field management, whereas fungal community composition was far less affected. Moreover, hedgerow soils harbored structurally more complex microbial communities than adjacent fields that were used for high-intensity agriculture. Further studies are needed to analyze costs and benefits of hedgerow soils for providing ecosystem services.

KW - Hedgerow

KW - Land use intensity

KW - Microbial community

KW - Network complexity

KW - Soil ecology

KW - Spill-over

U2 - 10.1016/j.agee.2026.110238

DO - 10.1016/j.agee.2026.110238

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105027588661

SN - 0167-8809

VL - 400

JO - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment

JF - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment

M1 - 110238

ER -