AUTHOR=Sun Luyuan , Zhang Jie , Zhao Jiao , Lu Xianghui , Xiao Changlong , Xiao Zufei , Zhang Ting , Gu Yueqi , Sun He , Liu Han , Li Yanli 

TITLE=Effects of Cinnamomum camphora coppice planting on soil fertility, microbial community structure and enzyme activity in subtropical China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1104077

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1104077

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Cinnamomum camphora</italic> (<italic>C. camphora</italic>) is a broad-leaved evergreen tree cultivated in subtropical China. Currently, the use of <italic>C. camphora</italic> clonal cuttings for coppice management has become popular. However, the effects of <italic>C. camphora</italic> coppice planting on soil abiotic and biotic variances remained unclear. In this study, we collected soil from three points in the seven-year <italic>C. camphora</italic> coppice planting land: under the tree canopy (P15), between trees (P50), and abandoned land (Control) to investigate the effects of <italic>C. camphora</italic> coppice planting on soil fertility, microbial community structure and enzyme activity. The results revealed that <italic>C. camphora</italic> coppice planting significantly increased soil fertility in the point under the tree canopy (P15) and point between trees (P50), and P15 had more significant effects than P50. Meanwhile, in P15 and P50, soil bacterial, fungal alpha-diversity were improved and microbial community structures were also changed. And the changes of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen promote the transformation of soil bacterial, fungal community structures, respectively. In addition, <italic>C. camphora</italic> coppice planting significantly (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05) increased soil urease (UE), polyphenol oxidase, and peroxidase activities, while significantly decreased soil ACP activity. This study demonstrated that the <italic>C. camphora</italic> coppice planting could improve soil fertility in subtropical China, which promoted the transformation of soil microbial community from <italic>oligotrophs</italic> (<italic>K</italic>-strategist) to <italic>copiotrophs</italic> (<italic>r</italic>-strategist). Thus, this work can provide a theoretical basis for soil nutrient variation and productive management of <italic>C. camphora</italic> coppice plantation in subtropical China.</p>