Core microbes regulate plant-soil resilience by maintaining network resilience during long-term restoration of alpine grasslands

Abstract The alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), the world’s highest plateau, have been severely degraded. To address this degradation, human-involved restoration efforts, including grassland cultivation, have been implemented. However, the impact of these practices on soil micro...

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Main Authors: Yao Du, Yan Yang, Shengnan Wu, Xiaoxia Gao, Xiaoqing He, Shikui Dong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58080-2
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author Yao Du
Yan Yang
Shengnan Wu
Xiaoxia Gao
Xiaoqing He
Shikui Dong
author_facet Yao Du
Yan Yang
Shengnan Wu
Xiaoxia Gao
Xiaoqing He
Shikui Dong
author_sort Yao Du
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), the world’s highest plateau, have been severely degraded. To address this degradation, human-involved restoration efforts, including grassland cultivation, have been implemented. However, the impact of these practices on soil microbial community stability and its relationship with plant-soil system resilience has not been explored. In this study, we evaluate the effects of grassland restoration on microbial communities. We show that bacteria demonstrate higher composition resistance and resilience during the restoration process, when compared to fungi. The changes we observe in microbial community interactions support the stress gradient hypothesis. Our results emphasize the synergistic role of network resilience and the restoration of the plant-soil system. Importantly, we find that core microbial species significantly influence the resilience of the plant-soil system by sustaining the co-occurrence networks. These insights underscore the critical roles of microbial communities in grassland restoration and suggest new strategies for boosting grassland resilience by safeguarding core microbes.
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institution OA Journals
issn 2041-1723
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publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-650031db7d4348caa8fc2517e311dfe62025-08-20T02:25:40ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-04-0116111110.1038/s41467-025-58080-2Core microbes regulate plant-soil resilience by maintaining network resilience during long-term restoration of alpine grasslandsYao Du0Yan Yang1Shengnan Wu2Xiaoxia Gao3Xiaoqing He4Shikui Dong5School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry UniversityCollege of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry UniversitySchool of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry UniversitySchool of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry UniversityState Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Beijing Forestry UniversitySchool of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry UniversityAbstract The alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), the world’s highest plateau, have been severely degraded. To address this degradation, human-involved restoration efforts, including grassland cultivation, have been implemented. However, the impact of these practices on soil microbial community stability and its relationship with plant-soil system resilience has not been explored. In this study, we evaluate the effects of grassland restoration on microbial communities. We show that bacteria demonstrate higher composition resistance and resilience during the restoration process, when compared to fungi. The changes we observe in microbial community interactions support the stress gradient hypothesis. Our results emphasize the synergistic role of network resilience and the restoration of the plant-soil system. Importantly, we find that core microbial species significantly influence the resilience of the plant-soil system by sustaining the co-occurrence networks. These insights underscore the critical roles of microbial communities in grassland restoration and suggest new strategies for boosting grassland resilience by safeguarding core microbes.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58080-2
spellingShingle Yao Du
Yan Yang
Shengnan Wu
Xiaoxia Gao
Xiaoqing He
Shikui Dong
Core microbes regulate plant-soil resilience by maintaining network resilience during long-term restoration of alpine grasslands
Nature Communications
title Core microbes regulate plant-soil resilience by maintaining network resilience during long-term restoration of alpine grasslands
title_full Core microbes regulate plant-soil resilience by maintaining network resilience during long-term restoration of alpine grasslands
title_fullStr Core microbes regulate plant-soil resilience by maintaining network resilience during long-term restoration of alpine grasslands
title_full_unstemmed Core microbes regulate plant-soil resilience by maintaining network resilience during long-term restoration of alpine grasslands
title_short Core microbes regulate plant-soil resilience by maintaining network resilience during long-term restoration of alpine grasslands
title_sort core microbes regulate plant soil resilience by maintaining network resilience during long term restoration of alpine grasslands
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58080-2
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