Soil microbial diversity in organic and non-organic pasture systems

Understanding the effects of organic pasture management on the soil microbiome is important for sustainable forage production, since soil microbiome diversity contributes to improved cycling, soil structure, plant growth, and environmental resiliency; however, the soil microbiome response to pasture management is largely unknown. Therefore, this study assessed the soil microbial diversity, richness, and community structure following 10 years of pasture management (organic or non-organic) using Illumina 16S rRNA gene amplicons.