Please wait a minute...
Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2025, Vol. 24 Issue (7): 2857-2868    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.09.020
Agro-ecosystem & Environment Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Wheat cover crop accelerates the decomposition of cucumber root litter by altering the soil microbial community

Xianhong Zhang, Zhiling Wang, Danmei Gao, Yaping Duan, Xin Li, Xingang Zhou#

Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (Northeast Region), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China


 Highlights 
Wheat cover crop accelerated decomposition of cucumber root litter. 
Litter mixing induced synergistic effects on litter decomposition. 
Cover cropping stimulated beneficial microbial taxa in the soil.
Download:  PDF in ScienceDirect  
Export:  BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)      
摘要  

作物填闲是一种多样化的农业种植策略,其可以通过改变地下凋落物多样性和土壤微生物群落从而改善土壤结构和功能。在本研究中,我们分析了填闲小麦如何改变黄瓜根系凋落物的降解。为期三年的温室凋落物袋降解试验表明,填闲小麦加速了黄瓜根系凋落物的降解。微宇宙凋落物袋试验进一步阐明了小麦凋落物和土壤微生物群落可以改善黄瓜根系凋落物的降解。此外,填闲小麦改变了土壤细菌和真菌群落的丰度和多样性,并丰富了一些潜在的关键OTUs,如与黄瓜根系凋落物质量损失呈正相关的Bacillus spp. OTU1837Mortierella spp. OTU1236。接下来,我们分离并培养了代表性的细菌和真菌菌株B186M3。通过体外降解试验发现,B186M3都具有降解黄瓜根系凋落物的能力,并且发现两种菌株共同培养时降解效果更强。总体而言,填闲小麦通过改变土壤微生物群落,特别是改变了某些潜在的关键类群,加速了黄瓜根系凋落物的降解,这为利用填闲种植促进可持续农业发展提供了理论基础。



Abstract  

Cover cropping is a diversifying agricultural practice that can improve soil structure and function by altering the underground litter diversity and soil microbial communities.  Here, we tested how a wheat cover crop alters the decomposition of cucumber root litter.  A three-year greenhouse litterbag decomposition experiment showed that a wheat cover crop accelerates the decomposition of cucumber root litter.  A microcosm litterbag experiment further showed that wheat litter and the soil microbial community could improve cucumber root litter decomposition.  Moreover, the wheat cover crop altered the abundances and diversities of soil bacterial and fungal communities, and enriched several putative keystone operational taxonomic units (OTUs), such as Bacillus sp. OTU1837 and Mortierella sp. OTU1236, that were positively related to the mass loss of cucumber root litter.  The representative bacterial and fungal strains B186 and M3 were isolated and cultured.  In vitro decomposition tests demonstrated that both B186 and M3 had cucumber root litter decomposition activity and a stronger effect was found when they were co-incubated.  Overall, a wheat cover crop accelerated cucumber root litter decomposition by altering the soil microbial communities, particularly by stimulating certain putative keystone taxa, which provides a theoretical basis for using cover crops to promote sustainable agricultural development. 


Keywords:  wheat cover crop       litter decomposition        mass loss        microbial community        litter mixing  
Received: 02 July 2024   Online: 24 September 2024   Accepted: 09 September 2024
Fund: 

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072655 and 32272792). 

About author:  #Correspondence Xingang Zhou, Tel: +86-451-55191261, E-mail: xgzhou@neau.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Xianhong Zhang, Zhiling Wang, Danmei Gao, Yaping Duan, Xin Li, Xingang Zhou. 2025. Wheat cover crop accelerates the decomposition of cucumber root litter by altering the soil microbial community. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(7): 2857-2868.

Banerjee S, Kirkby C A, Schmutter D, Bissett A, Kirkegaard J A, Richardson A E. 2016. Network analysis reveals functional redundancy and keystone taxa amongst bacterial and fungal communities during organic matter decomposition in an arable soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry97, 188–198.

Banerjee S, Schlaeppi K, van der Heijden M G A. 2018. Keystone taxa as drivers of microbiome structure and functioning. Nature Reviews Microbiology16, 567–576.

Berg B. 2014. Decomposition patterns for foliar litter - A theory for influencing factors. Soil Biology and Biochemistry78, 222–232.

Bradford M A, Tordoff G M, Eggers T, Jones T H, Newington J E. 2002. Microbiota, fauna, and mesh size interactions in litter decomposition. Oikos99, 317–323.

Cao M H, Duan Y, Li M H, Tang C G, Kan W J, Li J Y, Zhang H L, Zhang W L, Wu L F. 2024. Manure substitution improves maize yield by promoting soil fertility and mediating the microbial community in lime concretion black soil. Journal of Integrative Agriculture23, 698–710

Cardinale B J, Duffy J E, Gonzalez A, Hooper D U, Perrings C, Venail P, Narwani A, Mace G M, Tilman D, Wardle D A, Kinzig A P, Daily G C, Loreau M, Grace J B, Larigauderie A, Srivastava D S, Naeem S. 2012. Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature486, 59–67.

Chomel M, GuittonnyLarchevêque M, DesRochers A, Baldy V. 2016. Effect of mixing herbaceous litter with tree litters on decomposition and N release in boreal plantations. Plant and Soil398, 229–241.

Cline L C, Zak D R. 2015. Initial colonization, community assembly and ecosystem function: Fungal colonist traits and litter biochemistry mediate decay rate. Molecular Ecology24, 5045–5058.

Cong W F, Hoffland E, Li L, Janssen B H, van der Werf W. 2015. Intercropping affects the rate of decomposition of soil organic matter and root litter. Plant and Soil391, 399–411.

Coyte K Z, Schluter J, Foster K R. 2015. The ecology of the microbiome: Networks, competition, and stability. Science350, 663–666.

Daryanto S, Fu B, Wang L, Jacinthe P A, Zhao W. 2018. Quantitative synthesis on the ecosystem services of cover crops. Earth-Science Reviews185, 357–373.

Durán P, Thiergart T, Garrido-Oter R, Agler M, Kemen E, Schulze-Lefert P, Hacquard S. 2018. Microbial interkingdom interactions in roots promote arabidopsis survival. Cell175, 973–983.e14.

Van Eerd L L, Chahal I, Peng Y, Awrey J C. 2023. Influence of cover crops at the four spheres: A review of ecosystem services, potential barriers, and future directions for North America. Science of the Total Environment858, 159990.

Fuhrmann A, Wilde B, Conz R F, Kantengwa S, Konlambigue M, Masengesho B, Kintche K, Kassa K, Musazura W, Späth L, Gold M, Mathys A, Six J, Hartmann M. 2022. Residues from black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae rearing influence the plant-associated soil microbiome in the short term. Frontiers in Microbiology13, 994091.

Gao D M, An D M, Liu J Y, Shi J B, Zhou X G, Wu F Z. 2022. Wheat cover crop alters soil microbial community and increases cucumber yield under different potassium regimes. European Journal of Agronomy139, 126567.

Gao D M, Zhou X G, Duan Y D, Fu X P, Wu F Z. 2017. Wheat cover crop promoted cucumber seedling growth through regulating soil nutrient resources or soil microbial communities? Plant and Soil418, 459–475.

Gartner T B, Cardon Z G. 2004. Decomposition dynamics in mixed-species leaf litter. Oikos104, 230–246.

Herzog C, Hartmann M, Frey B, Stierli B, Rumpel C, Buchmann N, Brunner I. 2019. Microbial succession on decomposing root litter in a drought-prone Scots pine forest. The ISME Journal13, 2346–2362.

Hishinuma T, Azuma J I, Osono T, Takeda H. 2017. Litter quality control of decomposition of leaves, twigs, and sapwood by the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolorEuropean Journal of Soil Biology80, 1–8.

Hu H J, Ye R M, Pang L, Jiang H, Tian K, Gao Y, Ji Y, Wan P W, Yang J B, Zou X M, Tian X J. 2023. Endophytic bacterium Bacillus cereus affects host litter decomposition by regulating soil microbial structure and phosphate mineralization. Applied Soil Ecology192, 105092.

Li G L, Chen X F, Qin W J, Chen J R, Leng K, Sun L Y, Liu M, Wu M, Fan J B, Xu C X, Liu J. 2024. Characteristics of the microbial communities regulate soil multi-functionality under different cover crop amendments in Ultisol. Journal of Integrative Agriculture23, 2099–2111.

Jin X, Jia H T, Ran L Y, Wu F Z, Liu J J, Schlaeppi K, Dini-Andreote F, Wei Z, Zhou X G. 2024. Fusaric acid mediates the assembly of disease-suppressive rhizosphere microbiota via induced shifts in plant root exudates. Nature Communications15, 5125.

Jin X, Wang Z L, Wu F Z, Li X G, Zhou X G. 2022. Litter mixing alters microbial decomposer community to accelerate tomato root litter decomposition. Microbiology Spectrum10, e00186-22.

Jin X, Wu F Z, Zhou X G. 2020. Different toxic effects of ferulic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids on cucumber seedling growth were related to their different influences on rhizosphere microbial composition. Biology and Fertility of Soils56, 125–136.

Keiser A D, Bradford M A. 2017. Climate masks decomposer influence in a cross-site litter decomposition study. Soil Biology and Biochemistry107, 180–187.

Koechli C, Campbell A N, Pepe-Ranney C, Buckley D H. 2019. Assessing fungal contributions to cellulose degradation in soil by using high-throughput stable isotope probing. Soil Biology and Biochemistry130, 150–158.

Li Y G, Ma D Y, Sun D X, Wang C Y, Zhang J, Xie Y X, Guo T C. 2015. Total phenolic, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of flour, noodles, and steamed bread made from different colored wheat grains by three milling methods. The Crop Journal3, 328–334.

Liu J, Liu X Y, Song Q N, Compson Z G, LeRoy C J, Luan F G, Wang H, Hu Y L, Yang Q P. 2020. Synergistic effects: A common theme in mixed-species litter decomposition. New Phytologist227, 757–765.

Mace G M, Norris K, Fitter A H. 2012. Biodiversity and ecosystem services: A multilayered relationship. Trends in Ecology & Evolution27, 19–26.

Mariotte P, Mehrabi Z, Bezemer T M, De Deyn G B, Kulmatiski A, Drigo B, Veen G F, van der Heijden M G A, Kardol P. 2018. Plant–soil feedback: Bridging natural and agricultural sciences. Trends in Ecology & Evolution33, 129–142.

Muhammad I, Wang J, Sainju U M, Zhang S, Zhao F, Khan A. 2021. Cover cropping enhances soil microbial biomass and affects microbial community structure: A meta-analysis. Geoderma381, 114696.

Njoroge D M, Chen S C, Zuo J, Dossa G G O, Cornelissen J H C. 2022. Soil fauna accelerate litter mixture decomposition globally, especially in dry environments. Journal of Ecology110, 659–672.

Pugnaire F I, Aares K H, Alifriqui M, Bråthen K A, Kindler C, Schöb C, Manrique E. 2023. Home-field advantage effects in litter decomposition is largely linked to litter quality. Soil Biology and Biochemistry184, 109069.

Van der Putten W H, Bardgett R D, Bever J D, Bezemer T M, Casper B B, Fukami T, Kardol P, Klironomos J N, Kulmatiski A, Schweitzer J A, Suding K N, Van de Voorde T F J, Wardle D A. 2013. Plant–soil feedbacks: The past, the present and future challenges. Journal of Ecology101, 265–276.

Santonja M, Rancon A, Fromin N, Baldy V, Hättenschwiler S, Fernandez C, Montès N, Mirleau P. 2017. Plant litter diversity increases microbial abundance, fungal diversity, and carbon and nitrogen cycling in a Mediterranean shrubland. Soil Biology and Biochemistry111, 124–134.

Schnitkey G D, Sellars S C, Gentry L F. 2024. Cover crops, farm economics, and policy. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy46, 595–608.

Smyth C E, Macey D, Trofymow J A. 2015. Long-term litter decay in Canadian forests and the influence of soil microbial community and soil chemistry. Soil Biology and Biochemistry80, 251–259.

Tilston E L, Halpin C, Hopkins D W. 2013. Decomposition of tobacco roots with modified phenylpropanoid content by fungi with contrasting lignocellulose degradation strategies. Biology and Fertility of Soils49, 305–311.

Wang L F, Zhou Y, Chen Y M, Xu Z F, Zhang J, Liu Y, Joly F X. 2022. Litter diversity accelerates labile carbon but slows recalcitrant carbon decomposition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry168, 108632.

Wang W B, Zhang Q, Sun X M, Chen D S, Insam H, Koide R T, Zhang S G. 2020. Effects of mixed-species litter on bacterial and fungal lignocellulose degradation functions during litter decomposition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry141, 107690.

Waring B, Gee A, Liang G, Adkins S. 2022. A quantitative analysis of microbial community structure-function relationships in plant litter decay. iScience25, 104523.

Zhang H L, Zheng X Q, Bai N L, Li S X, Zhang J Q, Lv W G. 2019. Responses of soil bacterial and fungal communities to organic and conventional farming systems in East China. Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology29, 441–453.

Zhang W W, Lu Z T, Yang K, Zhu J J. 2017. Impacts of conversion from secondary forests to larch plantations on the structure and function of microbial communities. Applied Soil Ecology111, 73–83.

Zhang X H, Wang Z L, Wu F Z, Zhou X G. 2022. The influence of residue Mixing on the decomposition of pepper root residues. Agriculture12, 84.

Zheng H P, Yang T J, Bao Y Z, He P P, Yang K M, Mei X L, Wei Z, Xu Y C, Shen Q R, Banerjee S. 2021. Network analysis and subsequent culturing reveal keystone taxa involved in microbial litter decomposition dynamics. Soil Biology and Biochemistry157, 108230.

Zhong Y Q W, Yan W M, Wang R W, Shangguan Z P. 2017. Differential responses of litter decomposition to nutrient addition and soil water availability with long-term vegetation recovery. Biology and Fertility of Soils53, 939–949.

Zhou X G, Rahman M K U, Liu J J, Wu F Z. 2021. Soil acidification mediates changes in soil bacterial community assembly processes in response to agricultural intensification. Environmental Microbiology23, 4741–4755.

Zhou X G, Liu J, Wu F Z. 2017. Soil microbial communities in cucumber monoculture and rotation systems and their feedback effects on cucumber seedling growth. Plant and Soil415, 507–520.

Zhou X G, Wu F Z. 2021. Land-use conversion from open field to greenhouse cultivation differently affected the diversities and assembly processes of soil abundant and rare fungal communities. Science of the Total Environment788, 147751.

Zhou X G, Zhang J H, Pan D D, Ge X, Jin X, Chen S C, Wu F Z. 2018. p-Coumaric can alter the composition of cucumber rhizosphere microbial communities and induce negative plant–microbial interactions. Biology and Fertility of Soils54, 363–372.

Zhou X G, Zhang J Y, Khashi u Rahman M, Gao D M, Wei Z, Wu F Z, Dini-Andreote F. 2023. Interspecific plant interaction via root exudates structures the disease suppressiveness of rhizosphere microbiomes. Molecular Plant16, 849–864.

Zhu Y Y, Chen H R, Fan J H, Wang Y Y, Li Y, Chen J B, Fan J X, Yang S S, Hu L P, Leung H, Mew T W, Teng P S, Wang Z, Mundt C C. 2000. Genetic diversity and disease control in rice. Nature406, 718–722.

No related articles found!
No Suggested Reading articles found!