Analyzing Microbial Inoculant Impact on Soil Microbiomes in a Rhizobox Environment

Abstract

Dust emissions are a significant threat to human and ecological health in the desert Southwest. Degraded and barren land created by overgrazing, agriculture, and climate change is fueling dust production. To restore and stabilize disturbed soils, research has looked towards microbial inoculation. Microbial communities play a significant role in stabilizing desert soils by producing aggregating chemicals and promoting plant growth. My study aimed to examine the microbiome of desert soil before and after inoculation with blue-green cyanobacteria (MICROP), a bacterial consortium with lactic acid bacteria (EM-1), and the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi phylum Glomeromycota (AM-120) in a mesocosm and determine if any of these inoculants would effectively shift soil microbial communities towards soil-stable outcomes as claimed. My analyses indicate that the inoculants did not significantly change the microbial richness and diversity or LAB and AMF abundance. On the other hand, MICROP somewhat increased the relative abundance of cyanobacteria species and treatment slightly impacted fungal community structure. These results point towards a one-time inoculation with these phyla as an ineffective means of altering the soil microbiome in a barren environment.