Sustainable soil management: Rhizosphere microbial contributions to erosion control in herbaceous vegetation systems

作者：Daqing Peng, Chenghang Du, Runlai Xu, Jielin Liu, Xingyi Zhang, Mingming Guo, Xiaolei Kong, Xueshan Wang, Qiang Zhang · 发表于：Soil and Tillage Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.still.2025.106844 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions、Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Biocrusts and Microbial Ecology

Effective erosion control is critical for sustainable land management and agricultural productivity, especially in sloped croplands. As the dynamic interface between roots and soil, the rhizosphere provides a unique ecological niche for microorganisms that can support plants in maintaining soil stability and resisting erosion. However, the mechanisms by which vegetation-microbe-soil interactions regulate erosion resistance remain poorly understood. In this two-year field experiment on sloped Mollisols cropland, we evaluated the soil erosion resistance of four herbaceous vegetation patterns and examined the synergistic interactions among vegetation, rhizosphere microorganisms, and soil properties that contribute to their effectiveness. Our results showed that vegetation traits such as higher aboveground biomass and more developed root systems, along with improved soil nutrients and physical properties, significantly enhance soil erosion resistance. This enhancement was mediated by vegetation-driven changes in rhizosphere bacterial community structure and a reduction in fungal diversity. Extreme rainfall events increased the stochasticity of both bacterial and fungal communities, reducing within-community interactions by 26.7 %-57.0 % and decreasing ecological network stability by 12.1 %-32.3 %. Among the tested patterns, the mixed sowing of erect milkvetch, timothy, and awnless brome demonstrated the highest erosion control efficiency, with an average soil anti-scour capacity ...