Grass waste utilization to alter aggregate-related carbon chemical composition and fungal community structure in apple orchard

Abstract

The grass-waste management model affects soil organic carbon (SOC) and the microorganism community structure; however, studies on the relationship between the fungal community structure and the SOC chemical component at the aggregate level are poor. Solid-state 13C NMR and 18 S rDNA methods were used to evaluate the relationship between the SOC chemical composition and fungal community abundance at the aggregate level. Grass mulching significantly increased the percentage of labile carbon O-alkyl C (5.19%–11.79%) and decreased the instability of SOC (1.38–0.69). Microaggregates contained higher alkyl C (33.77%) and lower aromatic C (18.31%), and the A/O-A ratio (1.03) was higher than that of macroaggregates (0.89–0.96). Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Mortierellomycota dominated the fungal community at the phylum level, and their abundance increased after grass mulching. Microaggregates supported more microbial diversity and richness and were rich in the Ascomycota (36.69%–67.49%) phylum, while LM aggregates were rich in Basidiomycota (5.62%–39.84%). We proved that changes in the O-alkyl C, carbonyl C, aromatic C and alkyl C of SOC chemical components were closely connected to fungal community composition, which together explained the change in fungal composition by 63.81%–71.99% among aggregates. We concluded that alterations in the chemical form of organic carbon were closely related to a change in the soil fungal community. This connection has a positive impact on soil nutrient utilization and SOC conversion in fruit-grass composite ecosystems and promotes the understanding of the relationship between the soil microbial community and nutrient cycling during long-term grass waste utilization.