Effects Of Vegetation Types On Soil Fungal Community Characteristics In The Jingpo Lake Lava Platform
To reveal the response pattern of soil fungal communities to vegetation type changes during the secondary succession of the lava plateau ecosystem, this study selected five vegetation types at different succession stages in the Jingpohu lava plateau as research objects, namely grassland (GL), shrubland (SL), deciduous broad - leaved forest (DB), coniferous and broad - leaved mixed forest (CB), and coniferous forest (CF). Based on field surveys, laboratory experiments, and high - throughput sequencing, we analyzed how soil physical and chemical properties, fungal community composition, and functional prediction changed with vegetation succession. The results showed that there were significant differences in soil physical and chemical properties among different vegetation types (P < 0.05). The dominant phyla of the soil fungal community were Basidiomycota and Ascomycota, and the dominant genera were Sebacina, Cortinarius, and Mortierella. The species richness and diversity of meadows and shrublands were significantly higher than those of deciduous broad - leaved forests (P < 0.05), and the evenness of the fungal community distribution in coniferous and broad - leaved mixed forests was significantly lower than that in other vegetation types (P < 0.05). Biosynthesis was the main metabolic pathway of soil fungi in the study area, and the fungal communities of different vegetation types showed functional specificity. Soil water content, soil organic matter (SOM), and total soil nitrogen (TN) were the key driving factors for the characteristics of the soil microbial community. In summary, the fungal resources in the Jingpohu lava plateau are rich. During the vegetation succession process, changes in vegetation cover type and soil nutrient supply can affect the fungal community composition, diversity, and functional prediction. The forest vegetation types, with significantly lower soil bacterial diversity, a simplified community composition, and more prominent biosynthetic functions, illustrate the response of the underground part of the advanced community to the degradation trend of the above - ground part. The research results can provide a scientific basis and theoretical reference for the study and protection of the plant - soil - microorganism coupling mechanism in the lava plateau ecosystem from a micro - ecological perspective.