Alder trees enhance crop productivity and soil microbial biomass in tea plantations

Monoculture farming systems lead to soils depleted of nutrients and diminished microbial functional diversity, disrupting process crucial to maintaining soil health. The planting of trees in these monoculture systems is one way to improve soil nutrition and biodiversity. Therefore, the objective was how planting the N fixing tree Alnus nepalensis (7 years old), into monoculture tea (Camellia sinensis var., assamica) plantations (32 years old), influences the soil fungal and bacterial communities, and how this impacts on tea productivity.