Li Guoqiang, Liu Jiaqing, Zhang Wenya, Hu Jvshui, Shi Peng, Wei Gehong
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China.
Microorganisms. 2025 Jun 13;13(6):1384. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms13061384.
Diversified agricultural practices reconfigure agroecosystem services by modifying fertilization, tillage intensities, and cropping patterns, altering soil properties and microbial assemblages. However, microbial communities, as critical bioindicators of soil health and productivity, respond to agricultural disturbances, and the effects of multiple practices on productivity-associated indicator species require further validation. Using 16S and ITS amplicon sequencing, this study employed a field experiment to investigate the effects of agricultural practices on soil properties, maize productivity, and microbial communities under two fertilization treatments. Within each treatment, we assessed correlations between indicator species associated with cropping-tillage practices and soil productivity. Results showed that fertilization significantly altered soil properties, increased maize grain yield by 23.9%, and reshaped bacterial and fungal community structures, increasing bacterial richness by 23% but reducing fungal richness and Shannon index by 15% and 20%, respectively. Furthermore, cropping-tillage practices significantly affected microbial communities and grain yields in both fertilized and unfertilized treatments despite a slight influence on soil properties. Distinct sets of bacterial and fungal indicator species were identified for each fertilization treatment: unfertilized soils harbored 21 dominant bacterial indicator species (e.g., , , ) and 8 fungal indicators (e.g., , , ); fertilized soils contained 24 dominant bacterial indicators (e.g., , , ) and 6 fungal indicators (e.g., , , ). Notably, abundances of specific indicator genera (e.g., bacteria: , , , , , , ; fungi: , in unfertilized soil; bacteria: , , , , ; fungi: in fertilized soil) correlated positively with grain yields. These findings demonstrate that fertilization reshapes the composition of microbial indicator species significantly associated with maize productivity. Tailored microbial indicator assemblages specific to distinct fertilization strategies are therefore essential for evaluating crop productivity and assessing agricultural practice impacts. Consequently, monitoring these indicator species enables rapid assessment of soil fertility changes, offering guidance for fertilization management.
多样化的农业实践通过改变施肥、耕作强度和种植模式来重新配置农业生态系统服务，从而改变土壤性质和微生物群落。然而，微生物群落作为土壤健康和生产力的关键生物指标，会对农业干扰做出反应，多种实践对与生产力相关的指示物种的影响需要进一步验证。本研究利用16S和ITS扩增子测序技术，通过田间试验研究了两种施肥处理下农业实践对土壤性质、玉米生产力和微生物群落的影响。在每种处理中，我们评估了与种植-耕作实践相关的指示物种与土壤生产力之间的相关性。结果表明，施肥显著改变了土壤性质，使玉米籽粒产量提高了23.9%，并重塑了细菌和真菌群落结构，细菌丰富度增加了23%，但真菌丰富度和香农指数分别降低了15%和20%。此外，尽管种植-耕作实践对土壤性质影响较小，但在施肥和未施肥处理中均显著影响微生物群落和籽粒产量。每种施肥处理都鉴定出了不同的细菌和真菌指示物种：未施肥土壤中含有21种优势细菌指示物种（如 、 、 ）和8种真菌指示物种（如 、 、 ）；施肥土壤中含有24种优势细菌指示物种（如 、 、 ）和6种真菌指示物种（如 、 、 ）。值得注意的是，特定指示属的丰度（如未施肥土壤中的细菌： 、 、 、 、 、 ；真菌： ；施肥土壤中的细菌： 、 、 、 ；真菌： ）与籽粒产量呈正相关。这些发现表明，施肥显著重塑了与玉米生产力显著相关的微生物指示物种的组成。因此，针对不同施肥策略的定制化微生物指示组合对于评估作物生产力和评估农业实践影响至关重要。因此，监测这些指示物种能够快速评估土壤肥力变化，为施肥管理提供指导。
