Influence of different climate zones and vegetation types on plant and microbial diversity in road slope restoration

Restoration associated microbiomes are key determinants of ecosystem stability and multifunctionality. However, compared to bacterial community, we still lack fundamental knowledge concerning the variation in the fungal microbiome under the climatic conditions. This paper investigated the effects of different vegetation configuration patterns on plants, soil and soil microorganisms during road embankment restoration in different climatic regions. It was found that the plant community structure, species diversity and soil physio-chemical properties of different plant configuration types differed significantly in different climatic regions. In the arid river valley region, herbaceous configurations favoured the colonisation and sustainable restoration of pioneer plant communities, and shrub-grass configurations had a positive effect on soil microbes. In the subalpine and subtropical regions, shrub-grass and tree-shrub-grass hybrid configurations were more conducive to the maintenance of slope plant diversity. Meanwhile, the shrub-grass model favoured the restoration of fungal diversity in arid river valleys and subalpine mountains. Differences in climatic zones lead to changes in the composition of key microbial taxa, and the interaction between key taxa and soil factors is important for maintaining community stability. Therefore, sustainable restoration can be achieved by regulating vegetation and soil, and selecting key taxa appropriate to the temperature of the region to be added to the slope substrate.