Early Response of Rhizosphere Microbial Community Network Characteristics to Thinning Intensity in <i>Pinus massoniana</i> Plantations

Rhizosphere microorganisms mediate the material exchange and chemical cycling between plant roots and soil. However, the response mechanisms of the rhizosphere microbial community, especially its co-occurrence patterns, to thinning remain poorly understood. We investigated the rhizosphere microbial...

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Main Authors: Size Liu, Haifeng Yin, Yu Su, Xianwei Li, Chuan Fan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Microorganisms
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/6/1357
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author Size Liu
Haifeng Yin
Yu Su
Xianwei Li
Chuan Fan
author_facet Size Liu
Haifeng Yin
Yu Su
Xianwei Li
Chuan Fan
author_sort Size Liu
collection DOAJ
description Rhizosphere microorganisms mediate the material exchange and chemical cycling between plant roots and soil. However, the response mechanisms of the rhizosphere microbial community, especially its co-occurrence patterns, to thinning remain poorly understood. We investigated the rhizosphere microbial communities of <i>Pinus massoniana</i> under different thinning intensities, including control (CK, 0%), light-intensity thinning (LIT, 10%), moderate-intensity thinning (MIT, 30%), and high-intensity thinning (HIT, 50%). Basic taxonomic information was obtained through high-throughput sequencing, while R software was utilized to identify thinning-sensitive operational taxonomic units (tsOTUs), construct co-occurrence networks, and perform other statistical analyses. Although no discernible patterns were observed in α-diversity changes, the Kruskal–Wallis test indicated that season was the primary factor driving α-diversity variation. Meanwhile, thinning intensity significantly shaped the rhizosphere microbial community structures, with each intensity harboring a specific tsOTUs subset. Although the top three modules of the meta-co-occurrence networks in summer and winter exhibited consistent tsOTU composition, winter triggered changes in network connectivity. Regardless of summer or winter, the number of network nodes under MIT was the highest. Additionally, after thinning, the relative abundances of most keystone taxa declined; however, MIT facilitated the enrichment of certain keystone taxa. Collectively, thinning profoundly shapes microbial community composition and network characteristics. Moderate thinning intensity may represent the optimal thinning intensity for the studied <i>P. massoniana</i> plantations.
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spelling doaj-art-ddea626a3afa4937b313657194e982772025-08-20T03:29:35ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-06-01136135710.3390/microorganisms13061357Early Response of Rhizosphere Microbial Community Network Characteristics to Thinning Intensity in <i>Pinus massoniana</i> PlantationsSize Liu0Haifeng Yin1Yu Su2Xianwei Li3Chuan Fan4College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaResearch Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520, ChinaGuangzhou Institute of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Guangzhou 510405, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, ChinaRhizosphere microorganisms mediate the material exchange and chemical cycling between plant roots and soil. However, the response mechanisms of the rhizosphere microbial community, especially its co-occurrence patterns, to thinning remain poorly understood. We investigated the rhizosphere microbial communities of <i>Pinus massoniana</i> under different thinning intensities, including control (CK, 0%), light-intensity thinning (LIT, 10%), moderate-intensity thinning (MIT, 30%), and high-intensity thinning (HIT, 50%). Basic taxonomic information was obtained through high-throughput sequencing, while R software was utilized to identify thinning-sensitive operational taxonomic units (tsOTUs), construct co-occurrence networks, and perform other statistical analyses. Although no discernible patterns were observed in α-diversity changes, the Kruskal–Wallis test indicated that season was the primary factor driving α-diversity variation. Meanwhile, thinning intensity significantly shaped the rhizosphere microbial community structures, with each intensity harboring a specific tsOTUs subset. Although the top three modules of the meta-co-occurrence networks in summer and winter exhibited consistent tsOTU composition, winter triggered changes in network connectivity. Regardless of summer or winter, the number of network nodes under MIT was the highest. Additionally, after thinning, the relative abundances of most keystone taxa declined; however, MIT facilitated the enrichment of certain keystone taxa. Collectively, thinning profoundly shapes microbial community composition and network characteristics. Moderate thinning intensity may represent the optimal thinning intensity for the studied <i>P. massoniana</i> plantations.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/6/1357forest thinningrhizosphere microorganismco-occurrence networkkeystone taxa
spellingShingle Size Liu
Haifeng Yin
Yu Su
Xianwei Li
Chuan Fan
Early Response of Rhizosphere Microbial Community Network Characteristics to Thinning Intensity in <i>Pinus massoniana</i> Plantations
Microorganisms
forest thinning
rhizosphere microorganism
co-occurrence network
keystone taxa
title Early Response of Rhizosphere Microbial Community Network Characteristics to Thinning Intensity in <i>Pinus massoniana</i> Plantations
title_full Early Response of Rhizosphere Microbial Community Network Characteristics to Thinning Intensity in <i>Pinus massoniana</i> Plantations
title_fullStr Early Response of Rhizosphere Microbial Community Network Characteristics to Thinning Intensity in <i>Pinus massoniana</i> Plantations
title_full_unstemmed Early Response of Rhizosphere Microbial Community Network Characteristics to Thinning Intensity in <i>Pinus massoniana</i> Plantations
title_short Early Response of Rhizosphere Microbial Community Network Characteristics to Thinning Intensity in <i>Pinus massoniana</i> Plantations
title_sort early response of rhizosphere microbial community network characteristics to thinning intensity in i pinus massoniana i plantations
topic forest thinning
rhizosphere microorganism
co-occurrence network
keystone taxa
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/6/1357
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