Saline-alkali soils are widely distributed in China, affecting plant
growth and sustainable development of ecosystems. This study
characterized the effects of planting Melia azedarach L. on chemical
properties and microbial communities in saline-alkali soils [bare
(CK), bulk (BS) and rhizosphere soil (RS)]. Compared with the bare
soil, planting Melia azedarach L. lowered salt content and
concentrations of extractable Na, K, Ca, Mg and Cl-, but significantly
increased organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available
phosphorus, soil urease activity and alkaline phosphatase activity in
the rhizosphere soil. High-throughput sequencing results indicated that
bacterial richness and diversity decreased in the order
RS>BS>CK. The richness of fungi was ranked
RS>CK>BS, and their diversity decreased in the
order CK>RS>BS. The three dominant bacterial
phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, and the
three dominant fungal phyla were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and
Glomeromycota. Redundancy analysis indicated that total phosphorus
concentration and alkaline phosphatase activity significantly influenced
bacterial diversity, whereas soil Ca and Mg concentrations were closely
related to the fungal community diversity. In conclusion, planting Melia
azedarach L. improved soil properties, increased the diversity and
richness of soil microbial communities, and thus ameliorated the
saline-alkali soil.
Effects of planting Melia azedarach L. on soil properties and microbial community in saline-alkali soil
