Effects of long-term continuous cultivation on the structure and function of soil bacterial and fungal communities of Fritillaria Cirrhosa on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 21291 - 16
• Main Authors: Gao, Dan, Gao, Xusheng, Wang, Ye, Huo, Huimin, Wu, Yuhan, Yang, Zemin, Zhang, Haobo, Yang, Xinyu, Li, Fengfu, Li, Xiwen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12-09-2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326; 631/326/171; 631/326/252; 631/326/2565; 631/326/41; 631/449; 704/172; Acidic soils; Acidification; Alkaline soils; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - growth & development; Bioremediation; Continuous cropping; Cropping systems; Cultivation; Endangered plants; Enzymatic activity; Fritillaria - growth & development; Fritillaria - microbiology; Fungi; Humanities and Social Sciences; Medicinal plants; Microbial activity; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microorganisms; multidisciplinary; Mycobiome; Plant growth; Rhizosphere; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Soil - chemistry; Soil acidification; Soil enzymes; Soil health, bacterial and fungal communities, co-occurrence networks; Soil Microbiology; Soil microorganisms; Soil pH; Soil-borne diseases; Soils; Structure-function relationships; Tibet; Tibet; Tibetan Plateau; Continuous cropping; Soil health, bacterial and fungal communities, co-occurrence networks; Soil enzymes
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-70625-x

Fritillaria cirrhosa
, an endangered medicinal plant in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is facing resource scarcity. Artificial cultivation has been employed to address this issue, but problems related to continuous cultivation hinder successful transplantation. Imbalanced microbial communities are considered a potential cause, yet the overall changes in the microbial community under continuous cropping systems remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects of varying durations of continuous cropping on the bacterial and fungal communities, as well as enzymatic activities, in the rhizospheric soil of
F. cirrhosa
. Our findings revealed that continuous cropping of
F. cirrhosa
resulted in soil acidification, nutrient imbalances, and increased enzyme activity. Specifically, after 10 years of continuous cropping, there was a notable shift in the abundance and diversity (e.g., Chao1 index) of soil bacteria and fungi. Moreover, microbial composition analyses revealed a significant accumulation of harmful microorganisms associated with soil-borne diseases (e.g.,
Luteimonas
,
Parastagonospora
,
Pseudogymnoascus
) in successively cropped soils, in contrast to the significant reduction of beneficial microorganisms (e.g.,
Sphingomonas
,
Lysobacter
,
Cladosporium
) that promote plant growth and development and protect against diseases such as
Fusarium
sp.These changes led to decreased connectivity and stability within the soil microbial community. Structural equation modeling and redundancy analysis revealed that alkaline hydrolytic nitrogen and available phosphorus directly influenced soil pH, which was identified as the primary driver of soil microbial community changes and subsequently contributed to soil health deterioration. Overall, our results highlight that soil acidification and imbalanced rhizosphere microbial communities are the primary challenges associated with continuous cropping of
F. cirrhosa
. These findings establish a theoretical foundation for standardized cultivation practices of
F. cirrhosa
and the bioremediation of continuously cultivated soils.