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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Terrestrial Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1403443
This article is part of the Research Topic Anthropogenic Effects on the Microbial Communities of Terrestrial Ecosystems View all 21 articles

The influence of urban environmental effects on the orchard soil microbial community structure and function: a case study in Zhejiang, China

Provisionally accepted
Rongchen Dai Rongchen Dai 1Cuixiang Jin Cuixiang Jin 2Meng Xiao Meng Xiao 3*
  • 1 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Dongcheng, China
  • 2 Other, Jinhua city, China
  • 3 Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The urban environmental effects can have multifaceted impacts on the orchard soil microbial community structure and function. To specifically study these effects, we investigated the soil bacterial and fungal community in the laxly managed citrus orchards using amplicon sequencing. Ascomycota demonstrated significant dominance within the citrus orchard soils. The increased presence of beneficial Trichoderma spp. (0.3%) could help suppress plant pathogens, while the elevated abundance of potential pathogenic fungi, such as Fusarium spp. (0.4%), might raise the likelihood of disorders like root rot, thereby hindering plant growth and resulting in reduced yield. Moreover, we observed significant differences in the alpha and beta diversity of bacterial communities between urban and rural soils (p < 0.001). Environmental surveys and functional prediction of bacterial communities suggested that urban transportation factors and rural waste pollution were likely contributing to these disparities. When comparing bacterial species in urban and rural soils, Bacillus spp. exhibited notable increases in urban areas. Bacillus spp. possess heavy metal tolerance attributed to the presence of chromium reductase and nitroreductase enzymes involved in the chromium (VI) reduction pathway. Our findings have shed light on the intricate interplay of urban environmental effects and root systems, both of which exert influence on the soil microbiota. Apart from the removal of specific pollutants, the application of Bacillus spp. to alleviate traffic pollution, and the use of Trichoderma spp. for plant pathogen suppression were considered viable solutions. The knowledge acquired from this study can be employed to optimize agricultural practices, augment citrus productivity, and foster sustainable agriculture.

    Keywords: Soil microbiota, Ecological implications, Soil health, environmental factors, Rhizospheric zone

    Received: 19 Mar 2024; Accepted: 08 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dai, Jin and Xiao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Meng Xiao, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (CAMS), Beijing, 100730, Beijing Municipality, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.