Ren Xirong, Lin Minyao, Liu Jiani, Khan Waqar, Zhao Hongbo, Sun Binmei, Liu Shaoqun, Zheng Peng
College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
Plants (Basel). 2025 May 28;14(11):1642. doi: 10.3390/plants14111642.
Soil chemical properties and soil microbial communities are the key factors affecting the content of tea. The mechanism by which altitude changes soil's chemical properties and microbial community structure to affect tea content is unclear. This study was conducted on a typical tea plantation in the Fenghuang Mountains of Chaozhou, China. It systematically revealed the relationship between soil chemical properties and microbial communities with tea quality components between different altitudes (396 m/517 m/623 m). We discovered that soil pH and soil Catalase activity appeared to decrease and then increase with altitude, and soil SOM content and soil Acid Phosphatase activity were significantly higher at mid-altitude. Soil TP and TK content were lowest at high altitudes (0.20 mg/kg, 5.98 mg/kg). Non-significant differences were found in the spatial composition of microbial communities at different altitudes. The abundance of fungi (Sobol index) was significantly higher ( < 0.05) at low altitudes than in other altitude groups. Redundancy analysis indicated that soil pH and TP are drivers of changes in bacterial community structure. The abundance of Fibrobacteres, a key functional group of bacteria, showed a decreasing trend with increasing altitude, and (fungi) likewise had the lowest abundance at high altitude ( < 0.05). The catechin, theanine, and caffeine content of tea leaves accumulated the least at high altitude (12.91%, 0.39%, 2.88%). Fibrobacteres and , as well as soil TK and TP content, were strongly associated with the accumulation of major contents in tea leaves. Meanwhile, fungal abundance was significantly and positively correlated with theanine ( < 0.05). This study enhances our understanding of soil chemical property-soil microbial community-tea tree interactions. By exploring the differences in soil key nutrient content and the abundance of functional flora driving tea quality at different altitudes, it provides a basis for the precise microecological management of tea gardens.
土壤化学性质和土壤微生物群落是影响茶叶品质的关键因素。海拔高度改变土壤化学性质和微生物群落结构从而影响茶叶品质的机制尚不清楚。本研究在中国潮州凤凰山的一个典型茶园进行。系统揭示了不同海拔（396米/517米/623米）土壤化学性质和微生物群落与茶叶品质成分之间的关系。我们发现土壤pH值和土壤过氧化氢酶活性随海拔升高呈先降低后升高的趋势，土壤有机碳含量和土壤酸性磷酸酶活性在中等海拔处显著更高。土壤总磷和总钾含量在高海拔处最低（分别为0.20毫克/千克、5.98毫克/千克）。不同海拔处微生物群落的空间组成无显著差异。低海拔处真菌丰度（索伯指数）显著高于其他海拔组（P<0.05）。冗余分析表明土壤pH值和总磷是细菌群落结构变化的驱动因素。细菌关键功能菌群纤维杆菌门的丰度随海拔升高呈下降趋势，真菌丰度在高海拔处同样最低（P<0.05）。茶叶中儿茶素、茶氨酸和咖啡因含量在高海拔处积累最少（分别为12.91%、0.39%、2.88%）。纤维杆菌门和真菌，以及土壤总钾和总磷含量与茶叶主要成分的积累密切相关。同时，真菌丰度与茶氨酸显著正相关（P<0.05）。本研究增进了我们对土壤化学性质-土壤微生物群落-茶树相互作用的理解。通过探究不同海拔驱动茶叶品质的土壤关键养分含量和功能菌群丰度差异，为茶园精准微生态管理提供了依据。
