Presentation: 2025 ND EPSCoR Annual conference
October 21, 2025, NDSU Memorial Union, Fargo, North Dakota
Spatial patterns and environmental drivers of soil microbial community structure across agroecosystems: a North Dakota case study.
Travis
Berg
Master's Student
North Dakota State University
Co-authors: Annika Christensen, Master's Student, North Dakota State University, Travis Seaborn, Assistant Professor, North Dakota State University, Lindsay Chamberlain Malone, Assistant Professor, North Dakota State University
Session
Poster number: 26
Ballroom
Global soil microbiome studies have established a variety of biotic and abiotic factors that drive microbial community composition. For example, soil moisture and pH have been shown to be the strongest predictors of soil microbial community structure. Regional precipitation, soil nutrient, and plant communities also shape microbial communities but to a lesser extent. Spatial distributions of soil microbial communities are understudied. Landscape ecology offers tools that can help illuminate insight for drivers of microbial community dynamics and spatial distributions. To assess these environmental drivers and spatial patterns, at a field level scale, this case study leverages a cover cropping field trial in Southeastern North Dakota. A 100 acre field had cereal rye (Secale cereale) cover cropped and non cover cropped areas preceding a 2025 corn (Zea mays L.) crop. Adjacent to this cropped field is a perennial pasture with wooded edges. Both the field and adjacent pasture sampled in spring 2025 for soil chemical analyses, soil moisture, temperature, and soil microbial community testing. Aerial imagery from an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) throughout the growing season will be used to estimate vegetative indices like NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index). Data from the 2025 growing season will be presented at the meeting.