Impact of integrated crop livestock farming systems (ICLS) on the soil microbial activity

ICLS integrates livestock into crop rotations through grazing of temporary grasslands and/or intercrops, reconnecting livestock and crop farming. ICLS has been shown to improve soil, in particular through the return of manure from grazing herbivores. However, very few studies exist about the impact of ICLS on soil microbiota in temperate climates.
An experiment carried out in Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech's long term experiment EcoFoodSystem is investigating the impact of heterogeneity in the behavior and deposition of herbivore droppings during grazing on soil microbial activity. In addition, exclusion cages with and without dung deposition are monitored over time to assess the impact of the dejections on microbial activity and population dynamics, as well as on soil physico-chemical parameters.
The initial results obtained show a tendency for soil microbial activity to change over time (0, 1 month, 2 months after deposition) in the presence of dung. A more detailed analysis of the data will be carried out using metagenomic analysis with DNA sequencing to highlight the diversity and abundance of the microorganisms. Nitrifying bacteria will also be quantified, as will β-Glucosidase activity.