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Over the past three years, a research team led by University of Tsukuba conducted a comprehensive analysis of soil volatile organic compound (VOC) profiles in soybean fields to assess their potential as indicators of soil health. Findings revealed strong correlations between soil VOC profiles and soil-related omics datasets (soil ionome, soil microbiome, soil metabolome, and soil physical properties), indicating that VOC profiles could function as important indicators for assessing land conditions.

Tsukuba, Japan—Maintaining soil health is crucial for sustainable agriculture. Recently, soil volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have emerged as promising indicators for assessing soil health. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of soil VOC profiles as indicators of soil health in soybean fields.

Soil samples were collected from soybean fields in Fukushima Prefecture, which exhibited diverse soil conditions, over the past three years. These samples were analyzed for VOC content in conjunction with data on soil physical properties, soil metabolome, soil ionome, and soil microbiome as well as rhizosphere chemicals and root microbiome to provide a comprehensive soil health assessment. For the first time globally, the analysis revealed that soil VOC levels increased during the soybean flowering period. Furthermore, the soil VOC profiles exhibited a strong correlation with soil-related omics datasets (soil ionome, soil microbiome, soil metabolome, and soil physical properties) but not with the rhizosphere chemicals and root microbiome datasets obtained from soybean-growing fields.

The findings of this study indicate that soil VOC profiles can function as reliable indicators for evaluating soil health in agricultural environments.

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This work was supported by Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), "Technologies for Smart Bio-industry and Agriculture" (funding agency: Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution) and by Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, Moonshot Research and Development Program for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (funding agency: Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution, JPJ009237).

Original Paper

Title of original paper:

Soil volatilomics uncovers tight linkage between soybean presence and soil omics profiles in agricultural fields

Journal:

Scientific Reports

DOI:

10.1038/s41598-024-70873-x

Correspondence

Professor KUSANO Miyako
Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba / RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science

Dr. ICHIHASHI Yasunori
Team Leader of the Plant-Microbe Symbiosis Research and Development Team, RIKEN BioResource Research Center

Professor NIHEI Naoto
Department of Agriculture, Fukushima University

Professor HAMAMOTO Shoichiro
Research Faculty of Agriculture, Fundamental AgriScience Research, Bioresource and Environmental Engineering, Hokkaido University

Associate Professor KOBAYASHI Natsuko I.
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo

Professor SUGIYAMA Akifumi
Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University

Related Link

Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences