NSF-Pire

Gain a better understanding of the biological functioning of the association of shrubs and cereals, a prerequisite for ecological intensification

As part of a previous project, the research undertaken on two species of shrub native to the Sahel (Guiera senegalensis and Piliostigma reticulatum) showed their capacity to redistribute water in the soil to the benefit of the surface horizons (hydraulic lift) and generate local fertile areas. Associating these shrubs with annual crops improves the crop yield. The NSF-Pire project studies the underlying biological processes. A West African Shrub Initiative (WASI) has been created after these 10 years of work on the shrub in West Africa. Please see the WASI's web site and facebook for more details.

Hypothesis

The presence of shrubs creates ecological niches that encourage the development of the microbial communities involved in the supply of nutrients to the associated crop, increasing growth

Aims

Determine the effects of hydraulic lift on microbial diversity and the functions associated with these microorganisms
Determine the effect of crop association on the organisation of nematode communities which are indicators of the microbiological functioning of a soil
Determine whether the microbial populations close to the roots of the shrubs (rhizosphere), which are beneficial to plant growth, colonise the associated crop (millet)
Identify and isolate the microorganisms able to promote plant growth
Use ecological processes and functionalities to build a viable strategy, for increasing productivity and sustainability of agrosystems, adapted to the conditions in sub-sahelian Africa.

The project is based on field sampling, field trials coordinated by ISRA (Senegalese Agricultural Research Institute) and the University of Thiès, and experiments in greenhouses or laboratories (LMI IESOL). The research is carried out in Senegal by young American and Senegalese scientists under the supervision of experienced Senegalese, French and American scientists. The MicroTrop Tropical Ecology courses for “young scientists” organised in 2012 and 2014 in Senegal were partly based on this project.

Publications

Bright M.B.H., Diedhiou I., Bayala R., Assigbetsé K., Chapuis-Lardy L., Ndour Y, R.P. Dick 2017 Long-term Piliostigma reticulatum intercropping in the Sahel: Crop productivity, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and soil quality. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 242 (2017) 9–22

Diakhate S., M. Gueye, T. Chevallier, N.H. Diallo, K. Assigbetsé, J. Abadie, M. Diouf, D. Masse, M. Sembene, Y.B. Ndour, R.P. Dick, L. Chapuis-Lardy 2016 Soil microbial functional capacity and diversity in a millet-shrub intercropping system of semi-arid Senegal. Journal of Arid Environments 129 (2016) 71-79

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Chapuis-Lardy L., Diakhaté S., Djigal D., Ba A.O., Dick R.P., Sembène P.M., Masse D., 2015. Potential of Sahelian native shrub materials to suppress the spiral nematode Helicotylenchus dihystera. Journal of Nematology 47 (3), 214-217.

Debenport S.J., Assigbetse K.B., Bayala R., Chapuis-Lardy L., Dick R.P., McSpadden Gardener B.B., 2015. Shifting populations in the root-zone microbiome of millet associated with enhanced crop productivity in the Sahel. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 81 (8), 2841-2851. doi:10.1128/AEM.04122-14

Hernandez R.R., Debenport S.J., Ndoye F., Nkenmogne I.E.K., Thuita M., Leewis M.C.C.E., Soumare S., Gueye M., Miambi E., Chapuis-Lardy L., Diedhiou I., Dick R.P., 2015. The native shrub, Piliostigma reticulatum, as an ecological "resource island" for mango trees in the Sahel. Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environment 204, 51-61. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2015.02.009.

Debenport S., Bayala R., Assigbetsé K., Chapuis-Lardy L., Dick R. P., McSpadden Gardener B.B., 2014. Investigating the soil microbiome of two native shrubs with plant growth promoting activity in an intercropping system with millet in Senegal. (Abstr.) Phytopathology 104 (Suppl. 3), S3.30. dx.doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-104-11-S30.

Diakhaté S., Villenave C., N.H. Diallo, A.O. Ba, D. Djigal, D. Masse, M. Sembène, L. Chapuis-Lardy. Influence of a native shrub on soil nematofauna when growing millet in Senegal. European Journal of Soil Biology 57, 35-41. doi: 10.1016/j.ejsobi.2013.04.003.

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