Variations in Forest Soil Fungal Communities: Comparative Insights from Coniferous and Mixed Coniferous-Broadleaf Habitats

Microbial communities are closely associated with plants, playing a crucial role in plant growth and nutrient cycling. Additionally, different forest types are important for maintaining biodiversity, ecological balance, and economic benefits. This study employs high-throughput sequencing technology to deeply analyze the fungal community structure and diversity in the soils of coniferous mixed forests and conifer-broadleaf mixed forests. The results show that fungal diversity is significantly higher in conifer-broadleaf mixed forests than in coniferous mixed forests. Soil physicochemical properties, including pH, organic matter content, total phosphorus, and available nitrogen, significantly affect the composition of fungal communities. Neutral community model and null model analyses indicate that stochastic processes dominate the assembly of fungal communities. Moreover, soil physicochemical properties are significantly correlated with the topological characteristics of the fungal community network. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that different forest types significantly impact soil fungal communities and identifies the soil physicochemical factors influencing fungal communities. The research aims to provide new perspectives on the study of fungal communities under different forest management practices and to offer theoretical support for sustainable forest management.