Bacterial diversity in Greenlandic soils as affected by potato cropping and inorganic versus organic fertilization

Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems will in the near future be exposed to severe environmental stresses due to global warming. For example, the microbial community structure and function may change as a result of increased temperatures. In Greenland, agriculture is carried out in the Subarctic regions with only limited pest management, despite the presence of plant pathogenic fungi. The microbial community composition in agricultural soils, which plays an important role for soil and plant health and for crop yield, may be affected by the use of different fertilizer treatments. Currently, only limited research has been performed on the effects of these treatments on bacterial communities in Arctic and Subarctic agricultural soils. The major objective of this study was to investigate the short-term impact of conventional (NPK) and organic (sheep manure supplemented with nitrogen) fertilizer treatments on bacterial diversity, nutrient composition and crop yield in two Greenlandic agricultural soils. An effect of fertilizer was found on soil and plant nutrient levels and on crop yields. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene sequences did not reveal any major changes in the overall bacterial community composition as a result of different fertilizer treatments, indicating a robust microbial community in these soils. In addition, differences in nutrient levels, crop yields and bacterial abundances were found between the two field sites and the two experimental growth seasons, which likely reflect differences in physical-chemical soil parameters.