Total nitrogen is the main soil property associated with soil fungal community in karst rocky desertification regions in southwest China

Daihua Qi,Udaya Desilva,Peipei Xue,Li He,Xuwen Wieneke

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-89448-1

Daihua Qi, Udaya Desilva + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89448-1

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Abstract

Karst rocky desertification (KRD) is a type of land deterioration, resulting in the degraded soil and a delicate ecosystem. Previous studies focused on the influence of KRD on the animals and plants, the impact of KRD on microorganisms, especially soil fungi remains to be discovered. This study reveals the change in the soil fungal community in response to KRD progression in southwest China. Illumina HiSeq was used to survey the soil fungal community. Results showed that the soil fungal community in the severe KRD (SKRD) was noticeably different from that in other KRD areas. Statistical analyses suggested that soil TN was the primary factor associated with the fungal community, followed by pH. Phylum Ascomycota was significantly abundant in non-degraded soils; whereas Basidiomycota predominated in SKRD. The ratio of Ascomycota/Basidiomycota significantly decreased along with KRD progression, which might be used as an indicator of KRD severity. Phylum Basidiomycota was sensitive to changes in all the soil properties but AP. Genus Sebacina might have the potential to promote vegetation and land restoration in KRD areas. This study fills a gap of knowledge on changes in soil fungal communities in accordance with KRD progression.

Highlights

Karst is a topography resulting from the dissolution of soluble rocks, e.g., limestone, dolomite, and gypsum
The progression of Karst rocky desertification (KRD) has a large impact on the local ecosystem, agriculture, and economy; as well as on the global ecosystem
This study aims to survey the fungal community in different KRD progressing stages, characterize the change in the fungal community, and attempt to understand the interactions between changes in soil properties and fungal community

Summary

Introduction

Karst is a topography resulting from the dissolution of soluble rocks, e.g., limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. Some studies reveal changes in soil bacterial community and core microbiome in response to KRD progression, vegetation type, and vegetation r estoration[8,9,10]. Aim to elucidate the relationship of soil fungal community and core microbiome with KRD progression. The fungal community is highly dynamic and interactive to its surroundings, e.g., vegetation, soil type and physicochemical properties, altitude, and climate[19,20,21,22,23]. On change in the soil fungal community in response to the progression of KRD. Revealing the essential environmental factor affecting the soil fungal community will help to preserve the healthy soil microbiome in the KRD region

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