Pedosphere 36(3): 802--817, 2026
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2026 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Cropping alfalfa for 18 years increases importance of fungi in multi-kingdom networks in saline-alkali soils |
Dan ZHU1, Bin LI1, Lun AO2,3, Xiaoqian LIU1, Mengmeng ZHANG4, Guangyu SUN2, Junnan DING5 , Xin LI1,6 |
1College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030 (China);
2 Engineering Research Center of Coal-Based Ecological Carbon Sequestration Technology of the Ministry of Education, Shanxi Datong University, Datong 037009 (China);
3 Key Laboratory of Graphene Forestry Application of National Forest and Grass Administration, Shanxi Datong University, Datong 037009 (China);
4 Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration and Resource Utilization for Cold Region, School of Life Sciences, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080 (China);
5 Heilongjiang Province Key Laboratory of Cold Region Wetland Ecology and Environment Research, Harbin University, Harbin 150086 (China);
6 School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Soil salinization has become a significant global ecological and resource problem. Alfalfa cropping has been recognized as an effective method for improving soil fertility and promoting the sustainable growth of agricultural ecosystems. In this study, an 18-year-old alfalfa cultivation area within the saline-alkali Songnen Plain in Northeast China was selected to determine the contribution of the microbial network to the improvement of saline-alkali soils after alfalfa cropping. Our findings indicated that the multi-kingdom microbial network, comprising fungi, bacteria, and archaea, was more complex and stable than the single-kingdom networks. Specifically, the multi-kingdom network exhibited an increased number of nodes and connections, demonstrating higher complexity. By cultivating alfalfa in saline-alkali soils, fungal nodes in the multi-kingdom network demonstrated significantly higher degree and betweenness compared to bacterial nodes and archaeal nodes. Additionally, fungi had a higher natural connectivity, which contributed to the overall network stability. In contrast, the bacterial subset in the multi-kingdom network in bare land exhibited a higher degree, betweenness, and natural connectivity. Furthermore, changes in the topological properties of the microbial network, including its complexity and stability, were significantly correlated with environmental factors, such as soil electrical conductivity and pH. In conclusion, cultivating alfalfa stabilized the self-organization in the multi-kingdom network in saline-alkaline soils and increased the complexity and stability of the fungal network. These findings provide a foundation for further research into the role of multi-kingdom microbial communities in soil ecosystems. |
| Key Words: microbial community|microbial co-occurrence network|network stability|phytoremediation|single-kingdom network|soil salinization|Songnen Plain|topological property |
| Citation: Zhu D, Li B, Ao L, Liu X Q, Zhang M M, Sun G Y, Ding J N, Li X. 2026. Cropping alfalfa for 18 years increases importance of fungi in multi-kingdom networks in saline-alkali soils. Pedosphere. 36(3): 802-817. |
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