European Journal of Soil Biology最新文献

{"title":"Functional divergence in the rhizosphere microbiome of Codonopsis pilosula drives a soil carbon allocation trade-off","authors":"Wen Luo ,&nbsp;Yali Guo ,&nbsp;Zhihu Wang ,&nbsp;Wenying Wang ,&nbsp;Yuanli Li ,&nbsp;Lili Liu ,&nbsp;Wenjuan Wang ,&nbsp;Ming Luo ,&nbsp;Yonggang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103811","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103811","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rhizosphere microorganisms play pivotal roles in soil organic carbon dynamics; yet, their relationship with soil carbon cycling remains unclear under plant intraspecific variation, particularly for medicinal species with distinct metabolic traits. Here, we investigate how six varieties of <em>Codonopsis pilosula</em> (BT, CD, WD, WY1, WY3, WY4) influence the trade-off between soil organic matter (SOM) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) through modulation of rhizosphere microbial communities. The results showed that a significant negative correlation was observed between SOM and MBC across varieties (<em>P</em> = 0.0025). The BT variety exhibited a rapid carbon turnover phenotype, marked by low SOM, high MBC, and enhanced peroxidase activity. In contrast, WD and WY3 adopted a carbon-accumulating strategy, sustaining high SOM with moderate to low MBC. Plant variety emerged as the dominant factor structuring rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities. The BT variety specifically enriched taxa involved in recalcitrant carbon degradation, such as <em>Nitrospira</em> and <em>Chryseolinea</em>. Functional prediction further revealed enrichment of nitrification and lignin degradation pathways in BT microbiomes, whereas denitrification was prominent in WY4. Network analyses underscored strong associations among SOM, MBC, and carbon-cycling enzymes with microbial network modules, suggesting that environmental factors modulate carbon processes via microbiome interactions. Our findings unveil a mechanism by which plant genetic variation mediates soil carbon allocation through rhizosphere community restructuring, providing a foundation for genotype-specific breeding and microbiome management to optimize soil carbon sequestration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103811"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147395820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nematode predation mitigates microbial competition to sustain the plant growth-promoting effect of Streptomyces","authors":"Ke-Fan Huo ,&nbsp;Jing-Nan Zhang ,&nbsp;Elly Morriën ,&nbsp;Ping Liu ,&nbsp;Neil B. McLaughlin ,&nbsp;Kai-Hong Bai ,&nbsp;Zhen-Long Wang ,&nbsp;Shi-Xiu Zhang ,&nbsp;Lu-Jun Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103806","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103806","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Streptomyces</em>, a well-known plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR), often shows inconsistent efficacy in soil due to poorly understood interactions with native microbes and soil fauna. This study used factorial pot experiments to investigate how microbial competition and nematode predation influence the growth-promoting effect of <em>Streptomyces</em> on <em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em> (<em>A. thaliana</em>), through co-inoculation with indigenous soil microbes or/and nematodes. Compared to inoculation with <em>Streptomyces</em> alone, co-inoculation with either indigenous microbes or nematodes significantly reduced the aboveground dry biomass of <em>A. thaliana</em>, and <em>Streptomyces</em> relative abundance declined by 61.29 % and 79.68 %, respectively. Sequencing showed that <em>Streptomyces</em> introduction altered the indigenous resident community and significantly increased the abundance of functional genes for nutrient competition and antibiotic synthesis, resulting in strong competitive exclusion that impaired its growth-promoting effect. Nematode identification and feeding assays revealed that over 90 % of the nematode community were bacterivores grazing on <em>Streptomyces</em> spores, thereby preventing population recovery and growth-promoting function. However, when <em>Streptomyces</em>, microbes, and nematodes coexisted, the plant growth promotion was restored. This recovery was primarily driven by nematodes selectively grazing on competing taxa, reshaping the resident community and alleviating competitive constraints on <em>Streptomyces</em>, thereby sustaining its plant growth-promoting effect. These findings highlight trophic buffering as a key mechanism maintaining PGPR function in complex soils, which informs future strategies that design and apply PGPR inoculants around multitrophic interactions to achieve more stable field performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103806"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146034567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to “Carbon and energy utilization in microbial cell extracts from soil” [Eur. J. Soil Biol. 124 (2025) 103713]","authors":"Milan Varsadiya ,&nbsp;Fatemeh Dehghani ,&nbsp;Shiyue Yang ,&nbsp;Felix Beulig ,&nbsp;Evgenia Blagodatskaya ,&nbsp;Thomas Maskow ,&nbsp;Dimitri V. Meier ,&nbsp;Tillmann Lueders","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103801","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103801","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103801"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147395824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Responses of the earthworms Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea caliginosa to wheat straw provision across a range of residue sizes","authors":"Peter Bentley,&nbsp;Kevin R. Butt","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103799","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103799","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Earthworm mediated incorporation of soil surface applied crop residues could provide benefits to belowground ecosystem services, such as an increased rate of soil formation and carbon sequestration. In addition, increased soil organic matter within the upper soil profile can increase food availability for other soil fauna and microorganisms, with potential benefits for soil structure and health. Previous research has assessed the potential mass of surface applied organic matter that can be assimilated by earthworms; however, particle size of material may limit the rate of bioturbation and influence earthworm function and behaviour. The aims of the present study were to investigate the preference and utilisation of wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em>) straw residues at different particle sizes by two common, temperate earthworm species, <em>Lumbricus terrestris</em> and <em>Aporrectodea caliginosa.</em> These were addressed within controlled laboratory experiments, where two different scales were tested: Expt 1; with 3 modal straw lengths, as determined from the field post-harvest (40, 20 and 1 cm); and Expt 2; micro particle sizes (1 cm and 1 mm). The effect of straw length on earthworm utilisation was tested by earthworm incubation experiments in plastic bags, where removal from the soil surface was measured over a period of 8 weeks in monocultures and mixed species treatments. Litter removal was investigated by mass depletion over time and depth of incorporation. Choice chambers were used to quantify straw selection and removal at micro particle size. Expt 1 showed straw removal (63 ± 6 %) was significantly higher with a <em>L. terrestris</em> monoculture and 1 cm length. The largest masses of straw were incorporated at 0–60 mm depth of soil. There was no evidence to support a facilitation effect of <em>L. terrestris</em> on <em>A. caliginosa</em>, and increased earthworm mortality was detected in mixed species treatments. The choice chambers of Expt 2 indicated a preference for 1 mm particle size by both earthworm species with a more rapid use by <em>L. terrestris</em> than <em>A. caliginosa</em>. These experiments highlight how retention of straw residues on the field, linked with tillage practices and further straw management post-harvest could have significant implications for plant protection and earthworm populations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103799"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145798433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Soil microbial beta diversity is correlated positively with ecosystem multifunctionality of alpine meadows on the Tibetan plateau","authors":"Lu-ming Ding ,&nbsp;Tian-yang Zhou ,&nbsp;Miao Yang ,&nbsp;Abraham Allan Degen ,&nbsp;Chang-ting Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103809","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103809","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alpine grasslands are characterized by high environmental heterogeneity, with multiple ecological processes operating simultaneously. Capturing ecosystem functioning, therefore, requires approaches that consider several functions together rather than relying on single indicators. Ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) provides a framework to integrate this functional diversity across spatial scales, while acknowledging that its interpretation depends on the functions considered. Generally, soil microorganisms are regarded as the main drivers of grassland EMF, but the relations between them in the alpine meadow ecosystem remain unknown. The main aim of this study was to fill this gap by examining the impacts of soil bacteria and fungi on EMF. From a field study of 90 sites across the southeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, soil bacterial and fungal β diversities were correlated positively with EMF, and the relationships were mediated mainly by soil pH. The soil fungal, but not bacterial, community network stability also correlated positively with EMF. In addition, plant Pielou evenness and soil bacterial Shannon diversity were correlated negatively with EMF, while the Shannon diversities of soil fungi and plant species were not correlated with EMF. The current results emphasized that: 1) soil bacteria and fungi had different impacts on EMF; and 2) bacterial and fungal β diversities were important drivers of EMF in alpine meadows of the Tibetan plateau.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103809"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146184895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bio-organic fertilization promotes soil nutrient cycling and reduces CO2 emissions via regulating bacterial communities in vegetable production system","authors":"Lijun Ren ,&nbsp;Lili Dong ,&nbsp;Yanyu Han ,&nbsp;Jiaqi Li ,&nbsp;Qingfeng Fan ,&nbsp;Dan Wei ,&nbsp;Hongtao Zou ,&nbsp;Yulong Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103807","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103807","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Organic fertilizer substitution plays a crucial role in improving soil quality and reducing carbon emissions. However, the microbial mechanisms underlying effects on soil nutrient cycling and carbon emissions, especially in vegetable cultivation systems, remain poorly understood. A five-year field experiment (2019–2023) was conducted to evaluate the effects of fertilization strategies, including no fertilization (CK), inorganic fertilization (CF), bio-organic fertilization (OF), and their combination (COF). The impact of bio-organic fertilization on soil nutrient cycling, carbon emissions, and carbon-cycling microbial communities was analyzed. The highest multi-nutrient cycling index was observed in COF treatment. Compared to the CF treatment, the bio-organic fertilization treatments (OF, 35.9 %; COF, 12.1 %) significantly (<em>P&lt;</em>0.05) reduced soil CO₂ emissions. Bacterial diversity (Chao1 index and Shannon index) in the OF and COF treatments was significantly (<em>P&lt;</em>0.05) higher than in the CF treatment, whereas fungal diversity (Shannon index) showed the opposite trend. Bacterial diversity played a crucial role in regulating soil nutrient status, as bacterial co-occurrence network exhibited a highly significant positive correlation with the multinutrient cycling index. Bio-organic fertilizer enhanced the activity of genes related to multiple systems (<em>pccA</em>), rTCA cycle (<em>icd</em>), reductive acetyl-CoA pathway (<em>cooC</em>), and Calvin cycle (<em>cbbL/R</em>), thereby promoting the conversion of CO₂ into stable organic compounds. Furthermore, structural equation modeling confirmed that soil carbon fixation genes, bacterial diversity, and network stability were key factors influencing CO₂ emissions. Overall, from a long-term perspective, organic fertilizer substitution can mitigate carbon emissions and promote nutrient cycling in greenhouse vegetable cultivation systems, representing a greener and more sustainable agricultural approach.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103807"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146184896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cattle excreta on Lotus tenuis-promoted grasslands: Exploring soil microbiome and nitrous oxide emissions in the Salado River Basin, Argentina","authors":"Amira Susana del V. Nieva ,&nbsp;Mónica G. Pérez ,&nbsp;Cristian J. Antonelli ,&nbsp;Alejandro O. Costantini ,&nbsp;Oscar A. Ruiz","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103805","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103805","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cattle production generates inputs such as urine and dung that increase soil microbial diversity by adding organic matter and nitrogen. Legume pastures, such as <em>Lotus tenuis</em> improve soil quality by incorporating nitrogen, influencing microbial communities, and contributing to nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions. This study aimed to investigate the impact of livestock and pasture systems on soil microbiomes and N₂O emissions within grassland ecosystems. We analysed microbial communities in soils of natural and <em>L. tenuis</em>-promoted grasslands, using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and simulated urine and dung depositions in field mesocosms. The results revealed significant differences in microbial diversity between natural and <em>L. tenuis</em>-promoted grasslands across cattle input treatments. Biomarker analysis identified distinct <em>phyla</em> in each type of excreta and grassland system. In natural grasslands, <em>Proteobacteria</em> and <em>Actinobacteriota</em> were prevalent with urine, whereas <em>Acidobacteriota</em> and <em>Verrucomicrobiota</em> characterised the soils promoted by <em>L. tenuis</em>. The indicators of the dung-treated soils were <em>Pseudonocardia</em>, <em>Flavobacterium</em>, <em>NP-4</em>, <em>Adhaeribacter</em>, <em>Pseudoxanthomonas</em>, and <em>Novosphingobium</em>, while <em>Brevundimonas</em>, <em>Defluviicoccus</em>, <em>Sphingomonas</em>, <em>Sphingomicrobium</em>, <em>REEP01</em>, <em>Chthoniobacter</em>, <em>Hyphomicrobium</em>, and <em>PSRF01</em> were microbial indicators of the urine-treated soils. The N₂O emissions were significantly lower in fields with <em>L. tenuis</em> and urine addition compared to natural grasslands under similar conditions, with genera like <em>Brevundimonas</em>, <em>Hyphomicrobium</em>, and <em>Nitrosocosmicus</em> positively correlated with emissions. These findings underscore the role of pasture composition in shaping soil microbiomes and highlight the benefits of legumes, such as <em>L. tenuis</em>, in reducing N₂O emissions, providing an alternative for more sustainable livestock management practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103805"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146034568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of forest management intensity on soil microbial diversity and community assembly in Carya cathayensis plantations","authors":"Wei Fang ,&nbsp;jing Gao ,&nbsp;Shuai Shao ,&nbsp;Chenfei Liang ,&nbsp;Junhui Chen ,&nbsp;Hua Qin ,&nbsp;Qiufang Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103798","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2025.103798","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intensive management of <em>Carya cathayensis</em> (<em>C. cathayensis</em>) plantations has been linked to soil degradation and increased disease incidence, yet the underlying shifts in rhizosphere microbial communities remain poorly understood. We compared rhizosphere soils from non-managed forest(NF), reduced-management forest(RF), and intensive-management forest(IF) stands across two towns in Zhejiang, China. With increasing management intensity, soil fertility and enzyme activities declined, bacterial diversity and network stability decreased, whereas fungal diversity tended to increase. Bacterial community assembly was predominantly deterministic and became more so under intensive management, whereas fungal assembly remained largely stochastic. Management intensity did not directly regulate microbial assembly; instead, soil chemical properties and enzyme activities mediated these patterns. Several microbial taxa responded strongly to management intensity and were significantly correlated with community assembly processes. These findings reveal consistent associations between management intensity and rhizosphere microbial patterns across two landscapes, despite potential site-related variation. Reducing management intensity favours microbial network complexity and stability, offering microbiome-based avenues for sustainable <em>C. cathayensis</em> forestry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103798"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145798429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of grassland enclosure on phosphorus bioavailability and microbial nutrient limitations in the karst region of southwest China","authors":"Wangjun Li ,&nbsp;Xiaolong Bai ,&nbsp;Shun Zou ,&nbsp;Bin He ,&nbsp;Yurong Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103808","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103808","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phosphorus (P) availability is a critical factor limiting the restoration of degraded ecosystems in nutrient-poor karst regions. Enclosure has been considered an effective strategy to restore degraded grasslands. However, the mechanisms through which grazing enclosure affects soil P fractions and microbial nutrient limitations in these fragile regions remain unclear. We investigated soil P fractions (resin-P, NaHCO₃–P, NaOH–P, HCl–P, and residual-P) and microbial nutrient limitations along a subalpine grassland restoration chronosequence (3, 9, 15, 23 years enclosure) in the karst area of southwest China. The nutrient limitations of microbes were quantified by enzymatic vector analysis. The results showed that vector length initially increased, then declined, while the angle decreased with the restoration stage, indicating a microbial community shift from P to nitrogen (N) limitation. Residual-P was the dominant fraction, followed by HCl-P, highlighting stable P pool prevalence. Despite this, over the restoration chronosequence, resin-P content increased, and residual-P decreased progressively, indicating enhanced P bioavailability. Random forest model and structural equation model identified soil pH, extracellular enzymes related to carbon (C) and P cycle, and the relative abundance of microbial core taxa (i.e., Actinobacteriota, Glomeromycota) as primary drivers of P availability and microbial nutrient limitations. Overall, our results highlight that long-term enclosure is an effective management strategy for improving P availability and alleviating microbial P limitation in karst grasslands, and also emphasize the importance of specific microbial taxa (high relative abundance and high connectivity within the co-occurrence network) for soil nutrient cycling during grassland restoration.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103808"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146090246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Contrasting strategies of two Camellia oleifera cultivars in shaping arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities under different phosphorus forms","authors":"Yuxuan Huang ,&nbsp;Xin You ,&nbsp;Adam Frew ,&nbsp;Fei Wu ,&nbsp;Linping Zhang ,&nbsp;Xinping Liu ,&nbsp;Jiaoping Xing","doi":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103814","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ejsobi.2026.103814","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phosphorus (P) availability regulates the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) symbiosis, but the distinct effects of different P forms (soluble, insoluble, organic) and host plant genotypes on AMF communities remain underexplored. Using <em>Camellia oleifera</em> cultivars with contrasting P-use efficiencies (low-P-sensitive CL3 and low-P-tolerant CL40), we examined how P forms and cultivar identity shape AMF communities and their functional linkages to plant growth and soil nutrients. The results showed that soluble inorganic P (SP) maximized plant height and biomass but suppressed AMF diversity and simplified co-occurrence networks. In contrast, insoluble inorganic P (IP) enhanced AMF colonization rates and stabilized microbial interactions. The low-P-sensitive CL3 hosted a higher Chao1 index under P limitation, suggesting compensatory recruitment for P acquisition, while CL40 exhibited stronger soil P activation and maintained complex AMF networks. <em>Glomus</em> and <em>Paraglomus</em> were identified as core taxa in the rhizosphere AMF networks of <em>C. oleifera</em>. RDA and Mantel analyses showed that variation in plant growth and root traits was aligned with AMF characteristics, particularly colonization and core taxa (<em>Glomus</em>, <em>Paraglomus</em>), and strongly associated with soil nutrients, with SP treatment reducing mycorrhizal dependence and shifting associations toward <em>Paraglomus</em>. These insights inform targeted cultivar selection and phosphorus management to optimize <em>C. oleifera</em> production and maintain soil health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12057,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Soil Biology","volume":"128 ","pages":"Article 103814"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147395825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}