Soil Biocrusts May Exert a Legacy Impact on the Rhizosphere Microbial Community of Plant Crops

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) play important ecological roles in many ecosystems, but their legacy effects in subtropical agricultural systems are poorly understood. This study investigated how biocrusts impact soil properties and subsequent crop rhizosphere microbiomes. Soil with (+BC) and wit...

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Main Authors: Xiangbo Zou, Xinyu Jiang, Heng Jiang, Cheng Li, Jiong Cheng, Dongqing Ji, Jin Wang, Jiajin Ruan, Tiancheng Zhou, Cao Kuang, Ji Ye, Shiqin Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Agronomy
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/11/2548
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author Xiangbo Zou
Xinyu Jiang
Heng Jiang
Cheng Li
Jiong Cheng
Dongqing Ji
Jin Wang
Jiajin Ruan
Tiancheng Zhou
Cao Kuang
Ji Ye
Shiqin Yu
author_facet Xiangbo Zou
Xinyu Jiang
Heng Jiang
Cheng Li
Jiong Cheng
Dongqing Ji
Jin Wang
Jiajin Ruan
Tiancheng Zhou
Cao Kuang
Ji Ye
Shiqin Yu
author_sort Xiangbo Zou
collection DOAJ
description Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) play important ecological roles in many ecosystems, but their legacy effects in subtropical agricultural systems are poorly understood. This study investigated how biocrusts impact soil properties and subsequent crop rhizosphere microbiomes. Soil with (+BC) and without (−BC) biocrusts was cultivated and used to grow pepper plants in a greenhouse experiment. Soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities in the pre-planting soils, and microbial communities in crop rhizosphere were analyzed. The results showed that soils with biocrust had significantly higher organic matter, total nitrogen, alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium content. Microbial community structures differed significantly among treatments, with −BC soils exhibiting higher microbial diversity in pre-planting conditions, while +BC soils showed higher diversity in crop rhizosphere soils. Soil properties, especially extractable potassium, total nitrogen, and organic matter content, were significantly correlated with rhizosphere microbial community structure. Additionally, our results showed that the first principal coordinate (PCoA1) of soil microbial community structure was significantly correlated with rhizosphere microbiota. Multiple regression analysis revealed that pre-planting soil microbial diversity indices and certain soil physicochemical properties could predict crop rhizosphere soil microbial diversity. Our results demonstrate that biocrusts can enhance soil fertility and alter microbial communities in subtropical agricultural soils, with persistent effects on the crop rhizosphere microbiome. This study provides new insights into the ecological legacy of biocrusts in managed subtropical ecosystems and their potential agricultural implications.
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spelling doaj-art-e3167f491ac4466ea2e77e642dd004db2025-08-20T02:07:56ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952024-10-011411254810.3390/agronomy14112548Soil Biocrusts May Exert a Legacy Impact on the Rhizosphere Microbial Community of Plant CropsXiangbo Zou0Xinyu Jiang1Heng Jiang2Cheng Li3Jiong Cheng4Dongqing Ji5Jin Wang6Jiajin Ruan7Tiancheng Zhou8Cao Kuang9Ji Ye10Shiqin Yu11Guangdong Energy Group Science and Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 510630, ChinaNational-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaNational-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaNational-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaNational-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaNational-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaNational-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaNational-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaGuangdong Energy Group Science and Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 510630, ChinaGuangdong Energy Group Science and Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 510630, ChinaGuangdong Energy Group Science and Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 510630, ChinaNational-Regional Joint Engineering Research Center for Soil Pollution Control and Remediation in South China, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Agro-Environmental Pollution Control and Management, Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaBiological soil crusts (biocrusts) play important ecological roles in many ecosystems, but their legacy effects in subtropical agricultural systems are poorly understood. This study investigated how biocrusts impact soil properties and subsequent crop rhizosphere microbiomes. Soil with (+BC) and without (−BC) biocrusts was cultivated and used to grow pepper plants in a greenhouse experiment. Soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities in the pre-planting soils, and microbial communities in crop rhizosphere were analyzed. The results showed that soils with biocrust had significantly higher organic matter, total nitrogen, alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium content. Microbial community structures differed significantly among treatments, with −BC soils exhibiting higher microbial diversity in pre-planting conditions, while +BC soils showed higher diversity in crop rhizosphere soils. Soil properties, especially extractable potassium, total nitrogen, and organic matter content, were significantly correlated with rhizosphere microbial community structure. Additionally, our results showed that the first principal coordinate (PCoA1) of soil microbial community structure was significantly correlated with rhizosphere microbiota. Multiple regression analysis revealed that pre-planting soil microbial diversity indices and certain soil physicochemical properties could predict crop rhizosphere soil microbial diversity. Our results demonstrate that biocrusts can enhance soil fertility and alter microbial communities in subtropical agricultural soils, with persistent effects on the crop rhizosphere microbiome. This study provides new insights into the ecological legacy of biocrusts in managed subtropical ecosystems and their potential agricultural implications.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/11/2548biological soil biocrustrhizosphere microbiomesubtropical agroecosystemsoil fertilitymicrobial diversity
spellingShingle Xiangbo Zou
Xinyu Jiang
Heng Jiang
Cheng Li
Jiong Cheng
Dongqing Ji
Jin Wang
Jiajin Ruan
Tiancheng Zhou
Cao Kuang
Ji Ye
Shiqin Yu
Soil Biocrusts May Exert a Legacy Impact on the Rhizosphere Microbial Community of Plant Crops
Agronomy
biological soil biocrust
rhizosphere microbiome
subtropical agroecosystem
soil fertility
microbial diversity
title Soil Biocrusts May Exert a Legacy Impact on the Rhizosphere Microbial Community of Plant Crops
title_full Soil Biocrusts May Exert a Legacy Impact on the Rhizosphere Microbial Community of Plant Crops
title_fullStr Soil Biocrusts May Exert a Legacy Impact on the Rhizosphere Microbial Community of Plant Crops
title_full_unstemmed Soil Biocrusts May Exert a Legacy Impact on the Rhizosphere Microbial Community of Plant Crops
title_short Soil Biocrusts May Exert a Legacy Impact on the Rhizosphere Microbial Community of Plant Crops
title_sort soil biocrusts may exert a legacy impact on the rhizosphere microbial community of plant crops
topic biological soil biocrust
rhizosphere microbiome
subtropical agroecosystem
soil fertility
microbial diversity
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/11/2548
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