Roadside slopes restoration enhanced fungal diversity and microbial network complexity but reduced bacterial diversity and microbial network modularity in a subtropical region, Southwest China Raw sequence reads
Large-scale infrastructure construction has led to severe ecosystem degradation. However, traditional methods such as plant revegetation and soil amendments are often less sustainable in the course of restoration, highlighting the importance of effective practices utilizing microbes. In this study, we investigated the impact of roadside restoration on microbial communities in different vegetation types over time. Our results showed that restoration age had a greater impact on microbial diversity than the type of vegetation. Microbial network complexity increased with restoration ages, consistent with fungal diversity but opposite to bacterial diversity, implying a potential contribution of keystone taxa to network complexity. However, this increase in complexity was accompanied by a decrease in modularity, which may decrease the stability of the system. Restoration efforts shaped the restoration-sensitive microbial community at different restoration stages, with Senecio scandens and Boehmeria penduliflora after 1 year of restoration, Acacia kalkora ,Ginkgo biloba ,and Rhus chinensis after 5 year, Acalypha australis, Oplismenus undulatifolius, and Cinnamomum camphora after12 year, Rubia cordifolia, Rhapis excelsa, Ligustrum lucidum, and Pittosporum illicioides and Cinnamomum cassia after 22 year found closely linked with keystone taxa, such as, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadota, and Myxococcota. We further found that bacterial alpha diversity was significantly correlated with restoration time, soil pH, moisture, available phosphate, nitrate nitrogen, and plant height, while fungal diversity was primarily shaped by restoration time. Together, our results suggest that manipulating soil properties, environmental factors, vegetation type, and dominant species could guide the ecological recovery trajectory by influencing favorable microbial taxa.