Abstract
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is one of the most important fruit trees in semi-arid land. Previous studies were primarily focused on soil microbial community composition under different pomegranate plantation managements. However, soil microbial community composition under long-term pomegranate plantation has rarely been studied. We investigated pomegranate plantation along with an age sequence (i.e., 1, 3, 5, and 10 years after pomegranate plantation; abbreviated by P1, P3, P5, P10, respectively) in the Middle Yellow River floodplain. Our objectives were to address (1) variations of soil physicochemical properties and (2) changes in soil microbial community composition and the influential factors. The results demonstrated that the soil water content of pomegranate plantation decreased with the increase of pomegranate plantation stand age. Specifically, dissolved organic carbon, ammonium, and available phosphorus increased significantly with stand age both at 0–10- and 10–20-cm soil depths. The P10 had the highest microbial phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles, including fungi, bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The ratio of fungal PLFAs to bacterial PLFAs increased and the ratio of Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacterial PLFAs decreased along the pomegranate plantation stand age. Dissolved organic carbon was the most important influential factor among the studied variables, which explained 42.2% variation of soil microbial community. In summary, the long-term plantation of pomegranate elevated soil microbial biomass and altered microbial community composition.
Highlights
phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) (GP bacterial PLFAs and GN bacterial PLFAs), fungal PLFAs, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) PLFAs were significantly higher in P10 than either P1 or P3 at 0–10 cm soil depth (p < 0.05), with increases of
No significant difference was found between P3 and P5 for total PLFAs, bacterial PLFAs (GP bacterial PLFAs and GN bacterial PLFAs), fungal PLFAs, and AMF PLFAs
We represented a comprehensive understanding of the effects of pomegranate plantation stand age on the soil physicochemical properties and soil microbial community
Summary
As an important edible fruit species, pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) has been emerged as an important cash crop in the arid and semi-arid regions in recent years [1,2]. Chinese pomegranate industry production reached 1.70 million tons in 2017. The pomegranate tree, a cultural crop, is considered tolerant to soil water deficits [3]. It has been widely planted in the semi-arid regions of China, more broadly in the Middle.
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