Long-term farming and cropping systems with contrasting nitrogen forms and input diversity influence soil prokaryotic diversity in the central highlands of Kenya
Our findings indicate that long-term management intensity and organic input diversity exert a stronger influence on soil prokaryotic communities than short-term crop phenology. Despite limitations from sample pooling, this study provides novel evidence from sub-Saharan Africa that diversified organic input management can enhance soil microbial diversity and potential resilience, supporting sustainable soil management in tropical farming systems.
Authors
- Julius Mugweru (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8799-660X)
- Felix Matheri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8729-8529)
- Edward Karanja
- Edwin Mwangi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4802-9091)
- Susan W. Muriuki
- David Bautze (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5498-3298)
- Nancy Mwende
- Kennedy Wanjau
- Thomas Dubois
- Edwin Ngetha
- Anne Kambura
Institutions
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (KE)
- University of Embu (KE)
- Forschungsinstitut für Biologischen Landbau (CH)
- Department of Earth Sciences (RU)
- International Livestock Research Institute (KE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PLoS ONE
- Published
- 2026-03-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0344418
- Primary Topic
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00