Soil microbial communities, soil nutrition, and seedling growth of a Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) plantation in response to three weed control methods

Background and aimsCompetitive vegetation in forest stands influence seedling growth by changing soil nutrient availability. However, studies on the effects of different weed control methods Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) are rare.MethodsWe applied three methods, comprising artificial sickle weeding (ASW), woody disc (WDW), nonwoven cloth (nWCW), to explore their effect seedlings a plantation Jiangxi Province, China.ResultsThe affected shoot height root-collar diameter seedlings. The contents sugar, glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, free fatty acids newly developed leaves were increased after ASW nWCW treatment, consistent with expression genes associated glucokinase, sucrose phosphate synthase, synthase. Weeding method influenced properties, including pH, moisture, nitrogen (TN), ammonium-N, nitrate-N, phosphorus, available dissolved organic carbon contents. Moisture content was main factor that bacterial community leaf nutrition. High-throughput sequencing 16 S rRNA gene revealed structure. Specifically, compared nWCW, WDW contributed lower diversity, simpler interaction, increase pathogenic bacteria potential.ConclusionsThe differ structure, plant growth, which potentially useful improve strategies recommended be practice fir.