Variations of rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial community in successive planting of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata)

Jiachen Chen; Zhifang Deng; Zheng Jiang; Jin Sun; Fangfang Meng; Xiaodong Zuo; Linkun Wu; Guangqiu Cao; Shijiang Cao

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.954777

Variations of rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial community in successive planting of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata)

Front Plant Sci. 2022 Aug 12:13:954777. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.954777. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jiachen Chen^{1

2

3}, Zhifang Deng⁴, Zheng Jiang¹, Jin Sun⁵, Fangfang Meng^{1

2

3}, Xiaodong Zuo^{1

2

3}, Linkun Wu⁴, Guangqiu Cao^{1

2

3}, Shijiang Cao^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ College of Forestry, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
² Chinese Fir Engineering Technology Research Center of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Fuzhou, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Forest Stress Physiology, Ecology and Molecular Biology, Fuzhou, China.
⁴ College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
⁵ College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.

Abstract

Successive planting and monoculture, as common forest management methods, are widely used globally, especially in Chinese fir plantations in the subtropical areas of southern China. Although soil fertility depletion and productivity decline caused by successive planting have been widely reported, the underlying mechanism is still ambiguous. In this study, the composition and diversity of soil microorganisms (rhizosphere and bulk soils) in Chinese fir seedlings exposed to successive planting soils (first-generation Chinese fir seedings, FCP. second-generation Chinese fir seedings, SCP. third-generation Chinese fir seedings, TCP) and broadleaf tree species soil (Phoebe zhennan S. Lee et F. N. Wei, CK) were examined with high-throughput sequencing technology. Our findings revealed that the diversity and richness of bacterial and fungal communities were remarkably reduced in TCP than FCP and SCP, and were remarkably different between FCP and SCP. At the phylum level, the fungi with greatest relative abundance were Basidiomycota (5.74-32.88%) and Ascomycota (57.63-87.38%), while the bacteria with the greatest relative abundance were Acidobacteria (23.16-31.17%) and Proteobacteria (24.71-29.32%) for all treatments in both soil types. Additionally, the relative abundance of some pathogens (Penicillium and Burkholderia) was significantly higher in TCP than in FCP and SCP, suggesting that the presence of pathogens is an important factor in increasing the incidence of soil-borne sickness. Moreover, changes in fungal and bacterial communities were predominantly driven by soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC), DOC/DON ratio (DOCN), NO₃ ^--N, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and MBC/MBN ratio (MBCN). Overall, the long-term monoculture of Chinese fir promotes the microecological imbalance of rhizosphere and bulk soil, and remarkably reduced soil microbial community diversity. These results can provide a scientific support for the implementation of future management measures for fir plantations (e.g., fertilization, addition of microbial fungicides, and construction of mixed forests).

Keywords: Chinese fir; high-throughput sequencing; soil microbial community; soil nutrient environment; successive planting.