The effect of vineyard reclamation on soil properties and microbial communities in desertified land in Hongsibu, Ningxia

Desertified land reclamation for the purposes of viticulture can profoundly affect the properties of the underlying soil and the microbial communities therein. Herein, we assessed the effects of such reclamation of nonproductive desert land on the soil microbial communities associated with the resultant vineyards, and to identify key soil properties related to these changes. Soil was collected from natural desert land (DL) and from different reclaimed vineyard types: Cabernet Sauvignon (CS), Merlot (M), Chardonnay (C), and Italian Riesling (IR). High-throughput sequencing was used to assess microbial community diversity and composition in these samples. Significant differences in soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, and pH were detected when comparing soil from DL and reclaimed lands. CS, M, C, and IR soils exhibited higher relative Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Ascomycota abundance, while DL soil exhibited higher relative Acidobacteria and Mortierellomycota abundance. In total, 165 and 55 bacterial and fungal amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were shared across land use types. Following reclamation, soil bacteria ASVs in CS, M, C, and IR soils rose to 6149, 6483, 10648, and 9821, respectively. Biomarkers of these different land use types were successfully identified via an LDA Effect Size (LEfSe) approach, revealing a correlation between the vineyard soil microorganisms at the genus level by network analysis, while key soil properties including pH, nitrogen, and SOC were found to be associated with these changes in microbial community structural composition following reclamation. As such, our data indicate that viticulture in desertified regions can enhance soil properties and microbial diversity, thereby supporting the soil quality of reclaimed land.

Automated summary

This study assessed the effects of desertified land reclamation on microbial communities in vineyards, showing that different vineyard types had different microbial compositions and soil properties. Reclamation increased microbial diversity and was associated with changes in soil properties.