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Close-to-Nature management shifts soil phosphorus availability and P-cycling genes in Chinese fir systems

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Abstract

Background and Aims

Phosphorus (P) plays a vital role in plant physiology, and the soils of Chinese fir-producing areas are rich in aluminum and iron ions, making phosphorus highly susceptible to fixation. Insufficient phosphorus nutrient supply is a main constraint to the sustainability of Chinese fir plantations. The aim of this study is to ameliorate the problem of soil available phosphorus deficiency in Chinese fir plantations by changing the management mode, introducing local broad-leaved tree species to form multiple layers of different ages, thereby enhancing soil productivity.

Methods

The properties and phosphorus fractions of the surface soils (0-20 cm), litter and leaf nutrients were determined, and macro-genomic technique was used to explore changes of soil phosphorus cycling (P-cycling) genes.

Results

(1) The close-to-nature management (CNM) significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC) and available phosphorus (AP) content and affected litter and plant nutrients. (2) The CNM affected the availability of soil phosphorus. The labile phosphorus (resin-P, NaHCO3-Pi) and moderately labile phosphorus (NaOH-Pi) were significantly higher in CNM forests than in Chinese fir plantation. (3) The relative abundances of most of the P-cycling genes differed between the forests, with higher abundances of P-solubilization (ppa), P-mineralization (phnL and opd) and P-regulatory (phoB) genes in CNM forests. Moreover, MBC (microbial biomass carbon), SOC, total nitrogen (TN) and LTP (litter total phosphorus) were the main factors affecting the composition of soil P-cycling genes.

Conclusions

The CNM affected properties (soil, litter and plant) and improved soil phosphorus availability and the relative abundance of P-cycling genes. This study revealed the regulation mechanism of P-cycling in the CNM of Chinese fir plantation from microbial P-cycling genes perspective, which highlights the importance of P supply and microbial metabolic strategy by CNM of Chinese fir plantation.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Beijing, 100091, China

    Xiangteng Chen, Guangyu Zhao, Yanglong Li, Shumeng Wei, Yuhong Dong & Ruzhen Jiao

  2. Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China

    Xiangteng Chen, Guangyu Zhao, Yanglong Li, Shumeng Wei, Yuhong Dong & Ruzhen Jiao

  3. Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation of State Forestry Administration, Beijing, 100091, China

    Xiangteng Chen, Guangyu Zhao, Yanglong Li, Shumeng Wei, Yuhong Dong & Ruzhen Jiao

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  1. Xiangteng Chen
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  2. Guangyu Zhao
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  3. Yanglong Li
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Contributions

Xiangteng Chen: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Writing – original draft. Guangyu Zhao: Methodology, Validation, Writing – review & editing. Yanglong Li and Shumeng Wei: Supervision, Writing – review & editing. Yuhong Dong: Writing – review & editing. Ruzhen Jiao: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Supervision, Writing – review & editing, Funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Ruzhen Jiao.

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Highlights

1. Increased content of AP and SOC and affected litter and plant nutrients after CNM.

2. Increased content of soil labile phosphorus and moderately labile phosphorus after CNM.

3. Increased relative abundance of ppa, phnL, opd, phoB after CNM, and MBC, SOC, TN and LTP were the most crucial factors affecting the composition of soil P-cycling genes.

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Chen, X., Zhao, G., Li, Y. et al. Close-to-Nature management shifts soil phosphorus availability and P-cycling genes in Chinese fir systems. Plant Soil (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06629-3

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