Soil Microbial Communities Responses to Multiple Generations’ Successive Planting of Eucalyptus Trees

Abstract

The impacts of the successive planting of Eucalyptus on soil microbial communities and their underlying mechanisms remain unknown, limiting our understanding of its long-term effects on soil ecosystems. This study examined the 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm soil layers, investigating changes in soil bacterial and fungal communities after multiple plantings of Eucalyptus grandis × urophylla using high-throughput sequencing. Furthermore, we used the structural equation model (SEM) to analyze the relationships among soil active organic carbon (SAOC), enzyme activity, and microbial diversity. The study showed that the multigeneration successive planting of Eucalyptus significantly increased the soil bulk density and decreased the soil physicochemical properties and soil enzyme activities (p < 0.05). The soil’s dominant microbial compositions were unchanged in the two soil horizons, but the relative abundances of some dominant phyla (e.g., Crenarchaeota, Basidiomycota and Actinobacteriota) were affected by successive planting. The variability in the microbial community structure was influenced primarily by the soil water content (SWC) and organic carbon (p < 0.05). The microbial community diversity in the 20–40 cm horizon was significantly affected by multigeneration succession (p < 0.05). SWC was the core factor driving microbial community diversity. SEM results showed that multigeneration successive planting obviously limits SAOC fractions and enzyme activities, negatively affecting soil microbial diversity. Our study highlights the impact of the multigeneration successive planting of Eucalyptus on soil microbial community structure and suggests adjustments in forestry practices to mitigate soil degradation.