Abstract
AimThe aim of this study was to understand the effects of revegetation on the diversity of bacteria and fungi in soil by sowing a single species and exploring the underlying mechanism.LocationBeijing, China.TaxonPlants and Microbes.MethodsIn a short‐term ecological restoration experiment, one natural recovery treatment and three seed sowing treatments were chosen to assess their effects on the alteration of fungal and bacterial diversity. Plant species richness, abundance, and height were investigated. The diversity of fungi and bacteria was analyzed by high‐throughput sequencing technologies. Linear mixed‐effects model analysis was used to examine the effects of different restoration methods on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Pearson's correlation analysis, analysis of covariance, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to examine the relationship between biodiversity and environmental factors.ResultsSpecies richness and the Shannon–Wiener Index (H′) of plants in the sown treatments were lower than in the natural recovery treatment, especially with sowing of Medicago sativa L. Similarly, the sum of the observed species and H′ of fungi and bacteria significantly decreased in the sown treatments. Moreover, plant density, community coverage, and soil moisture increased markedly, while soil bulk density decreased in the sown treatments. Importantly, SEM showed that sown treatments reduced the diversity of plants through increasing plant density, while it decreased the diversity of fungi and bacteria through decreasing the plant diversity and increasing soil moisture.Main conclusionsOur findings confirm that ecological restoration by sowing could improve soil conditions, but may be unfavorable to the amelioration of soil microbial diversity in the short‐term. Restoration practitioners should consider long‐term studies on the dynamics of biodiversity in the above‐ and belowground after revegetation by native species to achieve goals related to biodiversity conservation.
Highlights
During the past century, most ecosystems have experienced largescale degradation as a result of the increasing influence of human activities, such as agricultural intensification and urbanization (Bullock, Aronson, Newton, Pywell, & Rey Benayas, 2011; Steffen et al, 2015)
We aimed to explore whether soil microbial diversity in the sown area is significantly higher than that in the natural recovery area, whether the dynamics of microbial diversity are affected by plant diversity in the aboveground, and whether any of the sown treatments can provide a better ecological restoration methods at the local scale
Because human activities continue to cause the loss of biodiversity and habitats, adaptive management approaches that enabled practitioners to establish stable plant communities are becoming increasingly important
Summary
Most ecosystems have experienced largescale degradation as a result of the increasing influence of human activities, such as agricultural intensification and urbanization (Bullock, Aronson, Newton, Pywell, & Rey Benayas, 2011; Steffen et al, 2015). Ecological restoration efforts have diverse effects on biodiversity because of the differences in restoration methods, ecosystem types, climate, and the degree of degradation that has occurred in the past (Barral, Rey Benayas, Meli, & Maceira, 2015; Falk, Schmidt, & Lena, 2014; Martin, 2017; Valliere, Zhang, Sharifi, & Rundel, 2019). Most of previous studies have focused on the effects of ecological restoration on biodiversity (Alexander, Aronson, Whaley, & Lamb, 2016; Cao, Shang, Yue, & Ma, 2017; Lu et al, 2018), but less attention has been paid to the effects of different restoration methods, such as natural recovery, sowing plants, and transplanting seedlings (Valliere et al, 2019). Having a comprehensive understanding on the effects of different restoration methods on biodiversity is vital for choosing suitable restoration methods
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