Deciphering the associations between soil microbial diversity and ecosystem multifunctionality driven by long-term fertilization management

1.An increasing number of studies indicate that microbial diversity plays a crucial role in the mediation of ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) in natural ecosystems. However, this point remains mostly overlooked in managed ecosystems, especially in agriculture. 2.Here, we compiled promising strategies for the targeted exploitation of the associations between microbial diversity and EMF of agricultural soils using samples from two long-term (more than 30 years) experimental field sites in southern China. The two sites experienced a similar subtropical monsoon climate and fertilization management practices. We used high-throughput amplicon sequencing, structural equation modeling (SEM), and random forest analysis, to analyze our data and validate our hypotheses. 3.We found that soil physiochemical properties and the C-, N-, P- and S-cycle enzyme activities were increased with the increase of microbial diversity. Specifically, a positive linear relationship was observed between microbia...1. 越来越多的研究表明，微生物多样性（microbial diversity）在调控自然生态系统的生态系统多功能性（ecosystem multifunctionality, EMF）中发挥着关键作用。然而，该结论在管理型生态系统（managed ecosystems）中大多被忽视，尤其在农业领域。 2. 本研究依托中国南方两个运行时长超30年的长期定位试验田（long-term experimental field sites）采集的土壤样本，构建了靶向挖掘农业土壤微生物多样性与生态系统多功能性之间关联的研究策略。两个试验田具有相似的亚热带季风气候（subtropical monsoon climate）与施肥管理措施（fertilization management practices）。本研究采用高通量扩增子测序（high-throughput amplicon sequencing）、结构方程模型（structural equation modeling, SEM）及随机森林分析（random forest analysis）对数据进行解析，并验证研究假说。 3. 研究发现，土壤理化性质（soil physiochemical properties）以及碳、氮、磷、硫循环酶活性（C-, N-, P- and S-cycle enzyme activities）均随微生物多样性的提升而升高。具体而言，在微生物[原文未完整表述]间观测到正线性相关关系。