Legacy Effects of Biochar and Compost Addition on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Community and Co-Occurrence Network in Black Soil

Abstract

Compost and biochar are beneficial soil amendments which derived from agricultural waste, and their application was proven to be effective practices for promoting soil fertility. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form symbiotic associations with most crop plant species, and are recognized as one group of the most important soil microorganisms to increase food security in sustainable agriculture. To understand the legacy effects of compost and biochar addition on AM fungal communities, a field study was conducted on the Songnen Plain, Northeast China. Two years after application, compost addition improved soil aggregate stability, but we did not detect a legacy effect of compost addition on AM fungal community. Our results indicated that AM fungal Shannon diversity and Pielou evenness indices were significantly increased by one-time biochar addition, but unaffected by compost addition after two year’s application. PERMANOVA analysis also revealed a legacy effect of biochar addition on AM fungal community. Network analysis revealed a dramatically simplified AM fungal co-occurrence network and small network size in biochar added soils, demonstrated by their topological properties (e.g., low connectedness and betweenness). However, AM fungal community did not differ among aggregate fractions, as confirmed by the PERMANOVA analysis as well as the fact that only a small number of AM fungal OTUs were shared among aggregate fractions. Consequently, the current study highlights a stronger legacy effect of biochar than compost addition on AM fungi, and have implications for agricultural practices.