The length of the fertilization period for a Paulownia plantation affects indirectly the composition and diversity of the soil fungal community due to changes in the soil microbial characteristics

Abstract The broad-leaved Paulownia species, the fastest-growing timber species in the world, typically receives fertilizer at the planting stage to ensure sustainable productivity. However, the succession pattern and the functional expression of the soil fungal community under long-term fertilization are unclear; in addition, the underlying regulatory mechanisms regarding the indirect effects of forest fertilization on the fungal community via the soil properties is poorly understood. This study focused on the direct and indirect effects of selecting different periods of fertilization on the composition of the fungal community through analysis of the properties of the soil (based on high-throughput sequencing technology) for samples collected from four chronosequences of a Paulownia plantation fertilization experiment (1, 3, 10, and 13-yr). The soil organic carbon content, the total nitrogen, the microbial biomass carbon, and the available nutrients were significantly increased as a result of fertilizer treatment, and the relative abundance of Zygomycota was significantly higher than that in a reference forest. Specifically, the short-term fertilization group (1-yr and 3-yr) and the long-term fertilization group (10-yr and 13-yr) were more effective than the reference forest in promoting an increase in dominant taxa, community diversity and richness. Correlation and linear regression analyses also showed that the microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen may be the key driving factors which affect the community diversity of the soil fungi and their composition for the different periods of fertilization. Overall, the study demonstrated that the long-term application of fertilizer increased the soil fungal diversity of the Paulownia plantation, changed the community composition, and promoted the growth of dominant taxonomy with high relative abundance. Furthermore, the results highlighted the beneficial effects and potential threats of long-term fertilization on the functional composition of the fungal community. Our findings provide powerful evidence to support extending the period of fertilization in a Paulownia plantation to 10-yr to better manage such plantations in the future.

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