Soil fungi dominate the "home-field advantage" phenomenon in the litter decomposition of Solidago canadensis L.

By processing its litter decomposition, invasive plants can alter soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities to favor their growth. Many invasive plants have a "home-field advantage" (HFA) phenomenon for litter decomposition to enlarge their dominance and facilitate invasion. This study aims to clarify the "home-field advantage" phenomenon of Solidago canadensis L. litter in different soil types and depths, its effects on soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities, and the possible reasons for this phenomenon. We buried nylon bags containing S. canadensis leaf litter in invasive soil (SS) and non-invasive soil (NS) at different depths (0 cm, 5 cm, 10 cm, and 20 cm). On days 10, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180, we obtained soil from different depths to measure their physicochemical properties. At the 30, 90, and 180 days of decomposition, we retrieved bags containing litter to measure their decomposition rate and changes in the structure of the soil's microbial community. The study confirmed the "home-field advantage" phenomenon with a much higher decomposition rate of SS than NS. The fastest decomposition was observed at a depth of 5-10 cm. Litter decomposition significantly affected microbial community diversity in NS but did not significantly affect SS. Our study demonstrates that soil fungi dominate the "home-field advantage" phenomenon of litter decomposition. As the decomposition time increases, the competition intensity between fungal communities in the soil will also increase. Future research should aim to conduct field experiments to determine if fungal dominance persists in natural environments during the "home-field advantage" phenomenon.