Changes in the soil biotic community are associated with variation in Illicium verum productivity

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 486; no. 1-2; pp. 323 - 336
• Main Authors: Lü, Y., Xue, W. F., Wan, X.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-05-2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Analysis; Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biota; Crop production; Decomposition; Ecology; Fatty acids; Food chains; Food webs; Fungi; Growth; Hyphae; Illicium verum; Life Sciences; Microorganisms; Multivariate statistical analysis; Nematodes; Nutrient availability; Nutrient cycles; Nutrients; Nutritional aspects; Parasites; Parasitic plants; Phospholipids; Phosphorus; Phosphorus content; Physicochemical properties; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Productivity; Research Article; Soil microbiology; Soil microorganisms; Soil nutrients; Soil properties; Soil Science & Conservation; Soils; Star anise; Symbiosis; China; Productivity; Phospholipid fatty acid; Soil nematodes; Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-023-05872-4

Purpose
Soil biota plays a key role in nutrient decomposition and cycling. Plants have various strategies for interacting with soil biota. Soil microbial and soil nematode communities, soil physicochemical properties, as well as litter quality (total carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) were assessed to investigate the changes in soil biotic communities associated with fruit production of
Illicium verum
forest.
Methods
Soil nutrients and soil biota existing in
I. verum
sites with low, intermediate, and high productivities were investigated. The study of soil biota consisted in determining the phospholipid fatty acid, fungi hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhiza, and soil nematodes.
Results
High productivity sites had higher soil phosphorus (P) content, which may produce more active P for biological consumption. High productivity sites also had a higher structure index, lower enrichment index, basal index, plant parasite index, fungivores/bacterivores ratio with respect to nematode community. High and intermediate productivity sites had lower spore density and longer hyphae length of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Structural equation model demonstrated that nematodes reflected productivity indirectly and microbes had an overall slight negative effect on productivity.
Conclusions
Soil P plays an important role in increasing
I. verum
productivity. AMF symbiosis can contribute to P uptake, thus influences productivity positively. Bacterial dominant decomposition pathway indicates that soils in high productivity sites contain more available nutrient in comparison with low productivity sites. Lower nematode functional diversity and female-biased community demonstrate that soil food web complexity and the ability to provide a suitable environment for organisms are reduced in low productivity sites.