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Effects of long-term intercropping of pecan (Carya illinoinensis) on bacterial community in tea rhizosphere soil and tea quality
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  • Shuang Wu,
  • Jun Chang,
  • Xiaohua Yao,
  • Kailiang Wang,
  • Qingsu Hu,
  • Shuiping Yang
Shuang Wu
Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry
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Jun Chang
Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Xiaohua Yao
Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry
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Kailiang Wang
Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry
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Qingsu Hu
Songyang County Natural Resources and Planning Bureau
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Shuiping Yang
Southwest University College of Resources and Environment
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Abstract

Using the 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing, the effects of a nested pecan in a typical tea garden on soil bacterial group species composition and marker species were comparatively analyzed to determine whether the nested pecan contributed to an increased soil microbial diversity in the tea plant rhizosphere. We explored the effects of the underlying mechanisms of this complex ecosystem on tea quality by determining soil physicochemical properties and tea quality under two types of planting modes, intercropping of pecan versus pure forest. Our observations indicated that Allorhizobium, Neorhizobium, Pararhizobium, Rhizobium, and Enterobacter, with pollution-degrading effects, were enriched in the soil bacterial communities of interplanting pecan in the tea garden model. There was a significant enrichment of prebiotic functional bacteria, such as Pedosphaeraceae and the Coriobateriaceae_UCG-002 genus, which has growth stimulation and disease resistance, while Chloroflexi and Firmicutes, which dominate denitrification in the soil, were inhibited. The soil microbial co-occurrence network increased in complexity and decreased in mutual exclusivity, and the complex interactions among bacterial populations tended to be stable. The phenol ammonia ratio in tea leaf pieces was lower and the comprehensive quality evaluation of tea was improved in the intercropping model. We conclude that the soil microbial community composition under this complex model may not only promote material cycling in microecosystems but also effectively reduce the transmission risk of soil-borne diseases. The tea rhizosphere soil microbial community structure could be rebalanced and shifted toward a more favorable tea quality formation through the introduction of pecan into the tea plantations.