# An Analysis of Vegetation and Microbiome Recovery in Abandoned Agricultural Fields

## TL;DR

This study shows that biodiversity in abandoned farmland in South Africa is recovering, but climate changes may prevent full restoration to natural conditions.

## Contribution

The study provides evidence of biodiversity recovery in abandoned agricultural fields using both plant and microbial community data.

## Key findings

- Old fields showed diversity levels similar to natural conditions for both plant and microbial communities.
- NMDS analyses revealed distinct community compositions among successional groups and natural habitats.
- Climate changes may hinder the full recovery of community structures to native conditions.

## Abstract

Biodiversity is a key indicator of an ecosystem's resilience to disturbances, but farming practices like monocultures can be disruptive. Assessing the biodiversity levels in abandoned fields can help to reveal recovery patterns and inform strategies to conserve biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. The main aim of this study was to assess the pace of natural recovery for a chronosequence of formerly planted fields in a grassland habitat in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The plant communities were evaluated using species counts, while the bacterial communities were assessed through high‐throughput sequencing (HTS) of the 16S rRNA gene. The alpha diversity indices indicated that the diversity levels within the old fields have started to resemble natural conditions for both the plant and microbial communities. Furthermore, the NMDS analyses identified clear variations in bacterial and plant community compositions among differently aged successional groups and the natural habitats. This study provides evidence that biodiversity levels within crop fields can recover from agricultural disturbances. However, considering the significant changes in climate and rainfall patterns in the study area, it remains unclear whether the community structures of the crop fields will reach native conditions in the coming decades, if at all.

This study investigated the natural recovery of biodiversity in formerly cultivated fields in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, by comparing plant and bacterial communities across different successional ages. We found that diversity levels in old fields began to resemble natural conditions for both community types, indicating a positive recovery trajectory from agricultural disturbances. However, due to significant regional climate shifts, it is uncertain whether these communities will fully return to their native state.