Changes in fungal community and diversity in strawberry rhizosphere soil after 12 years in the greenhouse

Abstract

Soil fungi play a very important role in the soil ecological environment. In agricultural production, long-term monoculture and continuous cropping lead to changes in fungal community diversity. However, the effects of long-term monoculture and continuous cropping on strawberry plant health and fungal community diversity have not been elucidated. In this study, using high-throughput sequencing (HTS), we compared the fungal community and diversity of strawberry rhizosphere soil after various durations of continuous cropping (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 years). The results showed that soil fungal diversity increased with consecutive cropping years. Specifically, the soil-borne disease pathogens Fusarium and Guehomyces were significantly increased after strawberry continuous cropping, and the abundance of nematicidal (Arthrobotrys) fungi decreased from the fourth year of continuous cropping. The results of correlation analysis suggest that these three genera might be key fungi that contribute to the changes in soil properties that occur during continuous cropping. In addition, physicochemical property analysis showed that the soil nutrient content began to decline after the fourth year of continuous cropping. Spearman's correlation analysis showed that soil pH, available potassium (AK) and ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) were the most important edaphic factors leading to contrasting beneficial and pathogenic associations across consecutive strawberry cropping systems.