Indirect Regulation of SOC by Different Land Uses in Karst Areas Through the Modulation of Soil Microbiomes and Aggregate Stability
Natural restoration of vegetation and plantation are effective land use measures to promote soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. How soil physicochemical properties, microorganisms, Glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSPs), and aggregates interact to regulate SOC accumulation and sequestration rem...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Haiyuan Shu Xiaoling Liang Lei Hou Meiting Li Long Zhang Wei Zhang Yali Song |
| author_facet | Haiyuan Shu Xiaoling Liang Lei Hou Meiting Li Long Zhang Wei Zhang Yali Song |
| author_sort | Haiyuan Shu |
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| description | Natural restoration of vegetation and plantation are effective land use measures to promote soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. How soil physicochemical properties, microorganisms, Glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSPs), and aggregates interact to regulate SOC accumulation and sequestration remains unclear. This study examined five land uses in the karst region of Southwest China: corn field (CF), corn intercropped with cabbage fields (CICF), orchard (OR), plantation (PL), and natural restoration of vegetation (NRV). The results revealed that SOC, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total GRSP (T-GRSP), and easily extractable GRSP (EE-GRSP) contents were significantly higher under NRV and PL than in the CF, CICF, and OR, with increases ranging from 10.69% to 266.72%. Land use significantly influenced bacterial α-diversity, though fungal α-diversity remained unaffected. The stability of soil aggregates among the five land uses followed the order: PL > NRV > CF > OR > CICF. Partial least-squares path modeling (PLS-PM) identified land use as the most critical factor influencing SOC. SOC accumulation and stability were enhanced through improved soil properties, increased microbial diversity, and greater community abundance, promoting GRSP secretion and strengthening soil aggregate stability. In particular, soil microorganisms adhere to the aggregates of soil particles through the entanglement of fine roots and microbial hyphae and their secretions (GRSPs, etc.) to maintain the stability of the aggregates, thus protecting SOC from decomposition. Natural restoration of vegetation and plantation proved more effective for soil carbon sequestration in the karst region of Southwest China compared to sloping cropland and orchards. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-9778e2a384e848fb90a51c5eecb7365d2025-08-20T03:46:49ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-06-011511122010.3390/agriculture15111220Indirect Regulation of SOC by Different Land Uses in Karst Areas Through the Modulation of Soil Microbiomes and Aggregate StabilityHaiyuan Shu0Xiaoling Liang1Lei Hou2Meiting Li3Long Zhang4Wei Zhang5Yali Song6College of Soil and Water Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, ChinaNatural restoration of vegetation and plantation are effective land use measures to promote soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. How soil physicochemical properties, microorganisms, Glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSPs), and aggregates interact to regulate SOC accumulation and sequestration remains unclear. This study examined five land uses in the karst region of Southwest China: corn field (CF), corn intercropped with cabbage fields (CICF), orchard (OR), plantation (PL), and natural restoration of vegetation (NRV). The results revealed that SOC, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total GRSP (T-GRSP), and easily extractable GRSP (EE-GRSP) contents were significantly higher under NRV and PL than in the CF, CICF, and OR, with increases ranging from 10.69% to 266.72%. Land use significantly influenced bacterial α-diversity, though fungal α-diversity remained unaffected. The stability of soil aggregates among the five land uses followed the order: PL > NRV > CF > OR > CICF. Partial least-squares path modeling (PLS-PM) identified land use as the most critical factor influencing SOC. SOC accumulation and stability were enhanced through improved soil properties, increased microbial diversity, and greater community abundance, promoting GRSP secretion and strengthening soil aggregate stability. In particular, soil microorganisms adhere to the aggregates of soil particles through the entanglement of fine roots and microbial hyphae and their secretions (GRSPs, etc.) to maintain the stability of the aggregates, thus protecting SOC from decomposition. Natural restoration of vegetation and plantation proved more effective for soil carbon sequestration in the karst region of Southwest China compared to sloping cropland and orchards.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/11/1220land usesoil microorganismsGRSPsoil aggregatesSOC |
| spellingShingle | Haiyuan Shu Xiaoling Liang Lei Hou Meiting Li Long Zhang Wei Zhang Yali Song Indirect Regulation of SOC by Different Land Uses in Karst Areas Through the Modulation of Soil Microbiomes and Aggregate Stability Agriculture land use soil microorganisms GRSP soil aggregates SOC |
| title | Indirect Regulation of SOC by Different Land Uses in Karst Areas Through the Modulation of Soil Microbiomes and Aggregate Stability |
| title_full | Indirect Regulation of SOC by Different Land Uses in Karst Areas Through the Modulation of Soil Microbiomes and Aggregate Stability |
| title_fullStr | Indirect Regulation of SOC by Different Land Uses in Karst Areas Through the Modulation of Soil Microbiomes and Aggregate Stability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Indirect Regulation of SOC by Different Land Uses in Karst Areas Through the Modulation of Soil Microbiomes and Aggregate Stability |
| title_short | Indirect Regulation of SOC by Different Land Uses in Karst Areas Through the Modulation of Soil Microbiomes and Aggregate Stability |
| title_sort | indirect regulation of soc by different land uses in karst areas through the modulation of soil microbiomes and aggregate stability |
| topic | land use soil microorganisms GRSP soil aggregates SOC |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/11/1220 |
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