Modeling the functional role of the microorganisms in the daily exchanges of carbon and nitrogen in intercropping system under mediterranean conditions

Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sequestration in plants and soil micro-organisms is considered as a major phenomenon against global warming. The modeling of this phenomenon aims at highlighting the role that the legumes-cereals mixed crop can play in the reduction of greenhouse gases. It is based on field experiments in maize (Zea mays L.)-common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) intercropped system of the cereal agroecosystem in Setif region of Algeria. For this purpose, the MOMOS model was selected and validated in a calcareous soil and low phosphorus (P) conditions. It revealed some mechanisms that control the C and N sequestration in the compartments of the complex soil-plant-atmosphere-microorganism system. CN modeling results show that the daily growth of intercropped maize with common beans is positively correlated with the microbial CN transformation during the cropping cycle, under limited P and N conditions. Thus, this approach revealed the functional role of rhizobial symbiosis in maintaining the balance between the different C and N exchanges from soil to atmosphere and from atmosphere to soil. © 2019, Eesti Pollumajandusulikool. All rights reserved.