Mixed and continuous cropping eucalyptus plantation facilitated soil carbon cycling and fungal community diversity after a 14-year field trail

• Published in: Industrial crops and products 2024-04, Vol.210, p.118157, Article 118157
• Main Authors: Li, Ning, Zhang, Yuemei, Qu, Zhaolei, Liu, Bing, Huang, Lin, Ming, Angang, Sun, Hui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fungal network; Mixed plantation; Organic carbon; Quantitative microbial element cycling; Soil properties
• ISSN: 0926-6690; 1872-633X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2024.118157

The large-scale cultivation of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus) globally has led to soil degradation and a reduction in microbial diversity. To address this challenge, mixed eucalyptus plantations have been proposed, yet their impact on fungal communities and soil carbon cycling remain poorly understood. This study investigated soil enzyme activity, fungal communities, and carbon cycling-related genes in two management models of eucalyptus plantations (continuous cropping and mixed eucalyptus with nitrogen-fixing trees) over a 14-year period. The results revealed that mixed plantation led to a decrease in soil β-glucosidase activity, which in turn facilitated the accumulation of microbial biomass carbon. Both mixed and continuous cropping eucalyptus plantation exhibited higher fungal diversity and richness, along with a higher number of unique fungal species. The fungal community and functional gene structures in mixed and continuous cropping plantations significantly differed from the pure and first-generation plantations, respectively. Additionally, fungal network in mixed and continuous cropping eucalyptus plantation showed greater complexity and stability. Notably, mixed plantation increased the abundance of Cladophialophora genus. Interestingly, a negative correlation was found between fungal amplicon sequence variant (ASVs) and microbial carbon content, as well as β-Xylosidase, with 72 ASVs exhibiting a significant negative correlation. Furthermore, both mixed and continuous cropping plantations elevated the abundance of genes associated with methane metabolism, carbon fixation and carbon degradation. This study underscores the importance of continuous cropping and mixing with nitrogen-fixing tree species, in plantation management to enhance soil carbon cycling and promote diverse fungal communities. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing eucalyptus plantation strategies to improve soil health and enhance microbial diversity. •Soil in pure plantation exhibited higher β-Glucosidase and β-Cellobiosidase activity.•Fungal diversity increased in mixed and continuous cropping plantations.•Mixed and continuous cropping plantations formed distinct fungal communities.•Fungal community in mixed and continuous cropping plantation shows greater stability.•Mixed and continuous cropping plantations stimulated soil carbon cycling.