Rare Taxa as Key Drivers of Soil Multi-Nutrient Cycling Under Different Crop Types

Soil microorganisms are crucial for nutrient cycling, with abundant and rare taxa playing distinct roles. However, the mechanisms by which soil microbes influence nutrient cycling under different crop types remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the network structure, diversity, and microbia...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qingmiao Yang, Hanwen Liu, Biao Tang, Chunxiao Yu, Shide Dong, Yang Li, Guangxu Cui, Yi Zhang, Guangmei Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Microorganisms
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/3/513
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849343181101989888
author Qingmiao Yang
Hanwen Liu
Biao Tang
Chunxiao Yu
Shide Dong
Yang Li
Guangxu Cui
Yi Zhang
Guangmei Wang
author_facet Qingmiao Yang
Hanwen Liu
Biao Tang
Chunxiao Yu
Shide Dong
Yang Li
Guangxu Cui
Yi Zhang
Guangmei Wang
author_sort Qingmiao Yang
collection DOAJ
description Soil microorganisms are crucial for nutrient cycling, with abundant and rare taxa playing distinct roles. However, the mechanisms by which soil microbes influence nutrient cycling under different crop types remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the network structure, diversity, and microbial composition of croplands in the Yellow River Delta, focusing on four primary crops: soybean, maize, cotton, and sorghum. The findings revealed that the co-occurring network structure of sorghum planting-soils exhibited greater complexity than other crop types. Bacterial alpha diversity in cotton-planting soil is the highest and susceptible to environmental variations. The diversity of both rare and abundant taxa responds differently to soil nutrients depending on the crop type. While abundant taxa play a crucial role in soil multi-nutrient cycling, rare taxa are key drivers of variations in nutrient cycling expression. The diversity of rare taxa showed a strong correlation with critical nutrients. Structural equation modeling revealed that the alpha diversity of rare bacterial and fungal taxa significantly influenced the soil multi-nutrient cycling index (<i>MNC</i>). Specifically, higher Shannon indices of rare bacterial taxa were associated with lower <i>MNC</i>, while the opposite was true for soil fungi. Soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen are the key factors influencing alpha diversity in rare bacterial and fungal taxa. Moreover, this study provides new insights into the role of rare soil microbial diversity in the nutrient cycling of agricultural ecosystems.
format Article
id doaj-art-69b6782a978744c2bb95787507fd3e4b
institution Kabale University
issn 2076-2607
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Microorganisms
spelling doaj-art-69b6782a978744c2bb95787507fd3e4b2025-08-20T03:43:10ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-02-0113351310.3390/microorganisms13030513Rare Taxa as Key Drivers of Soil Multi-Nutrient Cycling Under Different Crop TypesQingmiao Yang0Hanwen Liu1Biao Tang2Chunxiao Yu3Shide Dong4Yang Li5Guangxu Cui6Yi Zhang7Guangmei Wang8School of Life Sciences, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaCCCC-FHEC Ecological Engineering Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518106, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaCAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaSoil microorganisms are crucial for nutrient cycling, with abundant and rare taxa playing distinct roles. However, the mechanisms by which soil microbes influence nutrient cycling under different crop types remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the network structure, diversity, and microbial composition of croplands in the Yellow River Delta, focusing on four primary crops: soybean, maize, cotton, and sorghum. The findings revealed that the co-occurring network structure of sorghum planting-soils exhibited greater complexity than other crop types. Bacterial alpha diversity in cotton-planting soil is the highest and susceptible to environmental variations. The diversity of both rare and abundant taxa responds differently to soil nutrients depending on the crop type. While abundant taxa play a crucial role in soil multi-nutrient cycling, rare taxa are key drivers of variations in nutrient cycling expression. The diversity of rare taxa showed a strong correlation with critical nutrients. Structural equation modeling revealed that the alpha diversity of rare bacterial and fungal taxa significantly influenced the soil multi-nutrient cycling index (<i>MNC</i>). Specifically, higher Shannon indices of rare bacterial taxa were associated with lower <i>MNC</i>, while the opposite was true for soil fungi. Soil organic carbon and soil total nitrogen are the key factors influencing alpha diversity in rare bacterial and fungal taxa. Moreover, this study provides new insights into the role of rare soil microbial diversity in the nutrient cycling of agricultural ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/3/513rare microbial taxaabundant microbial taxasoil multi-nutrient cycling indexcrop types
spellingShingle Qingmiao Yang
Hanwen Liu
Biao Tang
Chunxiao Yu
Shide Dong
Yang Li
Guangxu Cui
Yi Zhang
Guangmei Wang
Rare Taxa as Key Drivers of Soil Multi-Nutrient Cycling Under Different Crop Types
Microorganisms
rare microbial taxa
abundant microbial taxa
soil multi-nutrient cycling index
crop types
title Rare Taxa as Key Drivers of Soil Multi-Nutrient Cycling Under Different Crop Types
title_full Rare Taxa as Key Drivers of Soil Multi-Nutrient Cycling Under Different Crop Types
title_fullStr Rare Taxa as Key Drivers of Soil Multi-Nutrient Cycling Under Different Crop Types
title_full_unstemmed Rare Taxa as Key Drivers of Soil Multi-Nutrient Cycling Under Different Crop Types
title_short Rare Taxa as Key Drivers of Soil Multi-Nutrient Cycling Under Different Crop Types
title_sort rare taxa as key drivers of soil multi nutrient cycling under different crop types
topic rare microbial taxa
abundant microbial taxa
soil multi-nutrient cycling index
crop types
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/3/513
work_keys_str_mv AT qingmiaoyang raretaxaaskeydriversofsoilmultinutrientcyclingunderdifferentcroptypes
AT hanwenliu raretaxaaskeydriversofsoilmultinutrientcyclingunderdifferentcroptypes
AT biaotang raretaxaaskeydriversofsoilmultinutrientcyclingunderdifferentcroptypes
AT chunxiaoyu raretaxaaskeydriversofsoilmultinutrientcyclingunderdifferentcroptypes
AT shidedong raretaxaaskeydriversofsoilmultinutrientcyclingunderdifferentcroptypes
AT yangli raretaxaaskeydriversofsoilmultinutrientcyclingunderdifferentcroptypes
AT guangxucui raretaxaaskeydriversofsoilmultinutrientcyclingunderdifferentcroptypes
AT yizhang raretaxaaskeydriversofsoilmultinutrientcyclingunderdifferentcroptypes
AT guangmeiwang raretaxaaskeydriversofsoilmultinutrientcyclingunderdifferentcroptypes