Conservation Pasture Management on Antimicrobial Resistance Bacteria in Water and Soil Systems: Longitudinal Analysis Over 13 Years

Our primary objective in the proposed study will be to identify, enumerate, and determine movement and fate of Antimicrobial resistant bacteria (AMR) (e.g. Escherichia (E.) coli) through the life cycle of broiler chickens (antibiotic induction—to excreta via poultry litter—through soil—to water runoff) over a 13-yr period based on pasture management [hayed (H), continuously grazed (CG), rotationally grazed (R), rotationally grazed with a buffer strip (RB), and rotationally grazed with a fenced riparian buffer (RBR)]. Secondly, we will assess potential functional shifts in soil microbiological structure and community richness based on AMR bacterial presence and management.