Abstract:
This study focuses on the impact of ecological restoration measures based on microbial mineralization on slope soils, with an emphasis on elucidating the synergistic evolution mechanisms between soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities. The findings reveal that the ecological restoration measures (XF) significantly improved soil physicochemical characteristics. Compared to the control group, soil pH increased from 4.30 to 5.20, organic matter content rose from 8.06 to 15.67 g·kg
−1, total nitrogen increased from 0.32 to 0.53 g·kg
−1, available nitrogen increased from 24.37 to 43.60 mg·kg
−1, available phosphorus increased from 0.27 to 15.88 mg·kg
−1, and available potassium increased from 70.00 to 110.67 mg·kg
−1, indicating a significant enhancement in soil fertility. Alpha diversity indices demonstrated that the XF treatment resulted in higher species richness and evenness in the microbial community, and beta diversity analysis further confirmed significant differences in microbial community composition between the XF and control treatments. In terms of microbial community composition, the XF treatment showed enrichment of Actinobacteriota, γ-Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Bacteroidota. Notably, the relative abundance of beneficial microorganisms such as
Bradyrhizobium,
Burkholderia-Caballeronia-Paraburkholderia, and
Sinomonas significantly increased, thereby enhancing organic matter decomposition and carbon-nitrogen nutrient cycling functions. In contrast, the control group was dominated by indigenous microorganisms, such as Chloroflexi and Acidobacteriota, which maintain basic soil functions. The available phosphorus was determined as the most crucial environmental factor through distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA), with an explanatory power as high as 98.34%. Correlation analysis between species and environmental factors revealed that unclassified genera under the B12-WMSP1 order were significantly negatively correlated with available nitrogen, while Mycobacterium showed highly significant positive correlations with available nitrogen and organic matter content. Unclassified genera under the JG30-KF-CM45 family were significantly positively correlated with available phosphorus. These findings elucidate the synergistic evolution patterns of soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities under the ecological restoration measures, providing important theoretical foundations and practical guidance for slope ecological restoration projects. This study holds significant implications for advancing the optimization and application of ecological restoration technologies.