Mitigating Pesticide-Induced Soil Microbial Disruption Through Targeted Reclamation and Metagenomic Insights

Abstract

Soil microbial communities are essential for ecosystem functionality, driving nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition,  and  plant  health.  However,  intensive  pesticide  application  disrupts  these  communities, diminishing  soil  health  and  functionality.  The  study  reveals  that  pesticides  significantly  reduce  microbial diversity, impacting soil fertility and ecosystem functionality. Through the use of metagenomic analyses, the research demonstrates shifts in microbial communities, particularly a decrease in beneficial microbial groups such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria and fungi. In the high pesticide treatment plots, there was a notable reduction in the Shannon and Chao1 diversity indices, indicating a loss of microbial species richness. Conversely, the reclamation treatments,  involving  microbial   consortia,  composting,  and  biofertilizers,   effectively  improved  microbial diversity and enzyme activities, suggesting a recovery of soil health. Metagenomic data identified upregulation of genes linked to xenobiotic degradation pathways in reclaimed soils. This research underscores the importance of integrating microbiological and molecular tools for sustainable soil management.