Investigation of the soil nematode community composition in a monoculture Robusta coffee plantation in Dak Lak, Vietnam

• Published in: Global ecology and conservation 2021-12, Vol.32, p.e01932, Article e01932
• Main Authors: Hoang, Ha, Pham, Huong Mai, Thi Minh Chu, Phuong, Nguyen, Trang Hong, Tran, Linh Huyen, Trinh, Phap Quang, de Boer, Tjalf, Brouwer, Abraham, Thi Anh Nguyen, Duong, Chu, Hoang Ha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Community analysis; Plant-parasitic nematodes; Plantation; Population density; Robusta coffee
• ISSN: 2351-9894; 2351-9894
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01932

Nematode damage to coffee poses a serious threat to coffee production all over the world, including Vietnam. Accordingly, the nematode community composition could be a reliable indicator of ecological shifts that affect coffee plants' health. Here, we analysed the nematode communities in the rhizosphere of a monoculture Robusta coffee plantation in Dak Lak of the Central Highlands, Vietnam. We found changes in the community composition of nematodes in an age gradient of replanting coffee plants and revealed distinct patterns of nematode distribution in the soils of healthy and diseased plant groups. Further analyses indicate the impact of intensive farming and inefficient nematode controls, which caused disturbances and a gradual decrease of the nematode fauna diversity in the plantation soil. These results can add to a complete prediction model for plant fitness using nematode community composition. •Rhizosphere nematode communities in a monoculture Robusta coffee plantation in Dak Lak, Vietnam, have been assessed.•Pratylenchus are the primary plant-parasitic nematodes in this area.•Remarkably, a high abundance of Chitwoodius and correlation of Aphelenchoides with plant fitness was found.•We show that colonization of coffee plants by plant-parasitic nematodes increases with plant age, and the predominance of these nematodes coincides with a lower diversity of the nematode fauna.•The nematode communities, including several important functional groups, can be utilized as a bio-indicator of plant fitness.