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Microbial community succession during in situ degradation of potato stems and leaves

ZENG Yu1,2,GUO Hua-Chun1,YANG Yong-Tao1,WANG Yu-Long1,HE An-Le1,WANG Qiong1,BAI Lei1,LI Jun1,*,ZHANG Rui1,*   

  1. 1 College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China; 2 College of Plant Science & Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China
  • Received:2025-04-28 Revised:2025-08-13 Accepted:2025-08-13 Published:2025-08-14
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFD1601802), the Regional Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (32260543), and the Basic Research Special Project of Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Department (202301AU070118).

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Abstract:

To investigate the decomposition characteristics, nutrient release patterns, and dynamics of microbial community structure across different parts of potato straw, this study employed the nylon mesh bag method. Fresh stem, leaf, and whole-plant straw (not previously returned to the field) were used as controls, with three treatments: stem decomposition (S), leaf decomposition (L), and whole-plant decomposition (W). Samples were collected at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days after soil incorporation to assess differences in decomposition behavior, nutrient release, and microbial community composition under each treatment. The results showed that cumulative decomposition rates for stem, leaf, and whole-plant straw followed a rapid–then–slow pattern, with leaves exhibiting the highest decomposition rate of 67.96% during the first 30 days, compared to 52.43% and 40.22% for whole-plant and stem, respectively. The cumulative nutrient release rates across treatments followed the order K > P > N. By day 120, nitrogen release was highest from leaves, while phosphorus release was highest from stems. In terms of microbial diversity, both bacterial and fungal α-diversity showed an initial increase followed by a decline, peaking at day 90. The dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria (34.57%–62.44%) and Actinobacteriota (10.64%–33.79%), while fungal communities were dominated by Ascomycota (87.35%–99.77%). Leaf and whole-plant treatments significantly increased the relative abundance of Actinobacteriota, whereas stem decomposition significantly enhanced the relative abundance of Firmicutes. At the genus level, dominant bacterial genera included unclassified_f__Rhizobiaceae (2.31%–13.57%), Devosia (2.29%–10.27%), and Gordonia (0.29%–11.07%), while dominant fungal genera included Gibellulopsis (10.56%–59.85%), unclassified_f__Plectosphaerellaceae (8.29%–44.16%), and Plectosphaerella (8.92%–44.88%). Correlation analysis revealed that bacterial genera such as Steroidobacter and Bacillus were strongly positively correlated with cumulative decomposition rates but negatively correlated with residual straw nutrients. In contrast, fungal genera such as Zopfiella and Arthrobotrys were positively correlated with both decomposition rates and nutrient release. In conclusion, leaf straw decomposed most efficiently within the first 30 days, while whole-plant and stem straw showed relatively effective decomposition between 60 and 120 days. All treatments enhanced microbial richness, diversity, and species abundance within 90 days. Compared to bacterial genera, fungal genera played a more prominent role in promoting straw decomposition and nutrient release.

Key words: 1 College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China, 2 College of Plant Science &, Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China

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