Increasing the Proportion of Broadleaf Species in Mixed Conifer-Broadleaf Forests Improves Understory Plant Composition and Promotes Soil Carbon Fixation
Understory vegetation is an important component of forest ecosystems, and the supply of nutrients in the soil is related to the growth and development of soil microorganisms and understory plants. The effects of different tree species composition ratios in the forest on the process of soil microbial...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| author | Zixing Li Xinghao Wang Yuan Huang Xinrong Yang Ran Wang Mengtao Zhang |
| author_facet | Zixing Li Xinghao Wang Yuan Huang Xinrong Yang Ran Wang Mengtao Zhang |
| author_sort | Zixing Li |
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| description | Understory vegetation is an important component of forest ecosystems, and the supply of nutrients in the soil is related to the growth and development of soil microorganisms and understory plants. The effects of different tree species composition ratios in the forest on the process of soil microbial community assembly are not clear in the existing studies, and the factors influencing the differences in the abundance of understory plants under different forest canopy compositions and their mechanisms of action have not yet been clearly explained. In this study, two types of pure forests (PFP and PFQ) and two types of mixed forests (MF and MPQ) were selected from the Zhongcun Forestry, and the soil characteristics, soil microbial community assembly process, and understory plant community abundance, composition, and β-diversity were analyzed for the different forest types. The results showed that changes in the proportion of broadleaf and coniferous species in the forest could lead to changes in the community assembly process of soil fungi, and that the fungal assembly process in the mixed forest was mainly related to dispersal limitation. Compared with pure forests that were exclusively coniferous or exclusively broadleaf, mixed coniferous and broadleaf forests had a higher abundance of understory plants and a more stable forest community composition. In mixed forests, forests with a large proportion of broadleaf arbors had more available resources in the soil, soil pH was closer to neutral, and soil C was less likely to be lost compared to forests with a large proportion of conifers. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-fce2e0f89fea433485976dea2c0c8e0b2025-08-20T03:52:57ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-05-01149139210.3390/plants14091392Increasing the Proportion of Broadleaf Species in Mixed Conifer-Broadleaf Forests Improves Understory Plant Composition and Promotes Soil Carbon FixationZixing Li0Xinghao Wang1Yuan Huang2Xinrong Yang3Ran Wang4Mengtao Zhang5College of Forestry, Shanxi Agriculture University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Shanxi Agriculture University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Shanxi Agriculture University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Shanxi Agriculture University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Shanxi Agriculture University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Shanxi Agriculture University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaUnderstory vegetation is an important component of forest ecosystems, and the supply of nutrients in the soil is related to the growth and development of soil microorganisms and understory plants. The effects of different tree species composition ratios in the forest on the process of soil microbial community assembly are not clear in the existing studies, and the factors influencing the differences in the abundance of understory plants under different forest canopy compositions and their mechanisms of action have not yet been clearly explained. In this study, two types of pure forests (PFP and PFQ) and two types of mixed forests (MF and MPQ) were selected from the Zhongcun Forestry, and the soil characteristics, soil microbial community assembly process, and understory plant community abundance, composition, and β-diversity were analyzed for the different forest types. The results showed that changes in the proportion of broadleaf and coniferous species in the forest could lead to changes in the community assembly process of soil fungi, and that the fungal assembly process in the mixed forest was mainly related to dispersal limitation. Compared with pure forests that were exclusively coniferous or exclusively broadleaf, mixed coniferous and broadleaf forests had a higher abundance of understory plants and a more stable forest community composition. In mixed forests, forests with a large proportion of broadleaf arbors had more available resources in the soil, soil pH was closer to neutral, and soil C was less likely to be lost compared to forests with a large proportion of conifers.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/9/1392coniferous forestsbroadleaf forestssoil propertiessoil microbiological compositionunderstory plant diversity |
| spellingShingle | Zixing Li Xinghao Wang Yuan Huang Xinrong Yang Ran Wang Mengtao Zhang Increasing the Proportion of Broadleaf Species in Mixed Conifer-Broadleaf Forests Improves Understory Plant Composition and Promotes Soil Carbon Fixation Plants coniferous forests broadleaf forests soil properties soil microbiological composition understory plant diversity |
| title | Increasing the Proportion of Broadleaf Species in Mixed Conifer-Broadleaf Forests Improves Understory Plant Composition and Promotes Soil Carbon Fixation |
| title_full | Increasing the Proportion of Broadleaf Species in Mixed Conifer-Broadleaf Forests Improves Understory Plant Composition and Promotes Soil Carbon Fixation |
| title_fullStr | Increasing the Proportion of Broadleaf Species in Mixed Conifer-Broadleaf Forests Improves Understory Plant Composition and Promotes Soil Carbon Fixation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increasing the Proportion of Broadleaf Species in Mixed Conifer-Broadleaf Forests Improves Understory Plant Composition and Promotes Soil Carbon Fixation |
| title_short | Increasing the Proportion of Broadleaf Species in Mixed Conifer-Broadleaf Forests Improves Understory Plant Composition and Promotes Soil Carbon Fixation |
| title_sort | increasing the proportion of broadleaf species in mixed conifer broadleaf forests improves understory plant composition and promotes soil carbon fixation |
| topic | coniferous forests broadleaf forests soil properties soil microbiological composition understory plant diversity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/9/1392 |
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