Legacy effect of biocides on soil microbial communities plant growth and carbon stabilization
This two-stage incubation experiment tested legacy effects of short-term application of biocides (antibiotics and fungicides) to complex microbial communities derived from previous pot cultures. First, the communities were incubated in their original soil, sterilized by gamma-irradiation, over a couple of weeks, and their activity monitored by respiration of 13C labeled glucose. Second, these re-activated communities were applied to open pots, with and without mycorrhiza, to see persistence and function of the microbiomes when exposed to microbial competition from unsterile environment.