Minimum tillage and residue retention increase soil microbial population size and diversity: Implications for conservation tillage

A global meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effect of conservation tillage practices on soil microbial population size [based on microbial count and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) measurements], diversity (Shannon index), and microbial community structure. Both no-tillage (NT) and NT plus residue retention (NTS) increased soil microbial count as compared with conventional tillage (CT). Bacteria, fungi, and actinomycete counts were 3%, 18%, and 28%, respectively, higher under the NTS treatment relative to the NT treatment, and 38%, 41%, and 28%, respectively, higher in the CT plus residue retention (CTS) treatment than in the CT treatment. No-tillage, as compared to CT, increased total PLFAs by 11%. The concentration of fungal PLFAs was increased by 17% by NT as compared to CT, but was decreased by 52% by NTS as compared to NT. The actinomycete PLFA concentration was decreased by reduced tillage and CTS, compared to CT. Compared with CT, NT increased the Shannon index of the total microbial and bacterial communities by 4% and 6%, respectively. The bacterial count was negatively associated with mean annual precipitation (275–1624 mm) and experimental duration (1–35 years) and positively associated with initial total soil nitrogen concentration. Overall, relative to CT, minimum tillage alone increased soil microbial count, fungal biomass, and bacterial diversity; residue retention alone increased soil microbial count and fungal diversity, and decreased the biomass of actinomycetes; combining minimum tillage and residue retention increased soil microbial count and fungal diversity. We conclude that the response to minimum tillage and residue retention was consistently positive for soil microbial count but was context dependent for microbial biomass, diversity, and community structure