Authors
Ya-Ran Ma, Xiong-Xiong Nan, Li-Zhen Zhu, Ya-Miao Gao, Fang Wang
Published in
Huan jing ke xue= Huanjing kexue. Volume 47. Issue 9. Pages 6491-6503. Sep 08, 2026.
Abstract
To address soil degradation caused by long-term continuous cropping in major Lycium barbarum L. (wolfberry) producing regions of Ningxia, this study established an intercropping system of L. barbarum and Raphanus sativus L. var. longipinnatus (oilseed radish). A 4-year field experiment combined with high-throughput sequencing technology was used to systematically analyze the regulatory effects of cover cropping on soil microbial diversity, symbiotic network stability, and wolfberry fruit quality. The results showed that: ① Cover cropping significantly increased the bacterial Shannon index and the fungal Ace, Sobs, and Chao1 indices (P<0.05) and induced significant differentiation in the microbial community structure (P<0.05). ② Under cover cropping, the relative abundances of bacterial phyla (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Chloroflexi, and Acidobacteriota) and the fungal phylum Basidiomycota significantly increased. ③ Cover cropping significantly increased soil available phosphorus (AP), available nitrogen (AN), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) by 29.89%, 74.33%, and 23.60%, respectively, while significantly decreasing soil pH by 4.31% (P<0.05); pH and available potassium (AK) were identified as key driving factors for the bacterial community. ④ FAPROTAX functional prediction revealed that bacterial functions such as chemoheterotrophy and urea hydrolysis were significantly enhanced under cover cropping; in contrast, FUNGuild analysis indicated a significant reduction in the functional abundance of plant-pathogenic fungi in the cover cropping group. ⑤ Symbiotic network analysis demonstrated that cover cropping promoted cooperative interactions among bacterial species and enhanced the interaction complexity and network stability of the fungal community. ⑥ This intercropping system significantly improved the single-fruit weight and yield of wolfberry by 5.66% and 3.35%, respectively (P<0.05). Collectively, the findings of this study provide critical theoretical support for the ecological mitigation of continuous cropping obstacles and the sustainable, high-yield cultivation of L. barbarum.
PMID:
42765261
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 21 Sep 2026.
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