Browsing by Author "Zalewski, Dariusz"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Effect of Intercropping Paulownia with Spring Barley on Biodiversity in Agroecosystems Under Polish Conditions
    (MDPI, 2026) Liszewski, Marek; Woźniak, Małgorzata; Jama-Rodzeńska, Anna; Twardowski, Jacek; Gruss, Iwona; Tendziagolska, Ewa; Kuc, Piotr; Gębarowska, Elżbieta; Zalewski, Dariusz; Gałka, Bernard
    The study evaluated the effect of intercropping Paulownia (Paulownia spp.) with spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. KWS Thalis) on selected components of agroecosystem biodiversity under Polish conditions. A field experiment established in 2019 compared an alley cropping system with barley monoculture during the 2025 growing season. Weed infestation, soil microbial communities, mesofauna abundance, and crop yield were assessed. Weed abundance was lower in the intercropping system than in monoculture, reaching 5.6 vs. 15.6 plants m−2 at BBCH 21 and 21 and 22.8 vs. 35.6 plants m−2 at BBCH 75. Bacterial alpha diversity was significantly higher under intercropping conditions, with Shannon index values ranging from 5.12 to 5.25, compared with 4.98–5.09 in monoculture. Fungal diversity showed moderate differences between systems, whereas the abundance of Collembola and Acari was influenced mainly by seasonal variation rather than by cultivation system. No significant reduction in barley yield was observed under intercropping conditions. The results suggest that Paulownia-based alley cropping may reduce weed pressure and support selected soil biological properties without negatively affecting crop productivity. However, the observed responses varied depending on the analyzed parameter and sampling period, indicating the preliminary and context-dependent character of the results. Further long-term studies are required to better understand the ecological mechanisms operating in such agroforestry systems.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Effect of Paulownia and Buckwheat Intercropping on Soil Microbial Biodiversity, Dehydrogenase Activity, and Glomalin-Related Soil Protein
    (MDPI, 2025) Woźniak, Małgorzata; Liszewski, Marek; Jama-Rodzeńska, Anna; Gębarowska, Elżbieta; Siebielec, Sylwia; Kaczmarek, Agata; Gałka, Bernard; Zalewski, Dariusz; Bąbelewski, Przemysław
    Intercropping of trees and classical crops has been proposed as a practice to help adapt to climate change and protect soil against erosion. However, the effects of intercropping on soil biology are not sufficiently quantified. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate microbiological changes in the soil resulting from the intercropping of Paulownia and buckwheat. A field experiment, involving an intercropping and control no-tree variant, was conducted from 2019 to 2022 with a plot size of 30 m2. Buckwheat rhizosphere soil samples were collected twice in both 2021 and 2022 in order to evaluate the effects of intercropping on a range of parameters describing soil microbiome status: abundance of microorganisms, bacterial and fungal community structure (using Illumina MiSeq sequencing), dehydrogenases (DHA) activity, and total glomalin-related soil proteins (T-GRSP). In addition, the colonisation of buckwheat roots by fungi, yield, and biometric traits of the plant were determined. Next-generation sequencing showed that Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Acidobacteria were dominant in the microbiome of every variant of the experiment, regardless of the crop. In contrast, the mycobiome was dominated by fungi classified as Ascomycota and Mortierellomycota. This observation corresponded to an increase in buckwheat yield in intercropped plots. Biometric traits, namely buck wheat yield and total kernel weight per plant, showed higher values when buckwheat was intercropped with Paulownia compared to the control. DHA activity was stimulated by intercropping at the first sampling date, whereas glomalin concentration and abundance of microorganisms were not dependent on the cropping systems tested. This study shows that tree-based intercropping (TBI) systems promote a more diverse soil microbial community and function than conventional agriculture. Our results also suggest that TBI positively impacts buckwheat biometric traits, supporting its implementation in rural landscapes. The yield under intercropping cultivation amounted to 0.65 t ha−1, while in control sites it was 0.53 t ha−1. The total abundance of bacteria under intercropping cultivation was higher compared to monoculture in 2021 at the first term of sampling (4.3 × 10 4) and in 2022 in the second term of soil sampling (4.6 × 10 4).