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Agronomy
Volume 15
Issue 4
10.3390/agronomy15040797
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Article

Phosphorus Cycling Dominates Microbial Regulation of Synergistic Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Gene Dynamics During Robinia pseudoacacia Restoration on the Loess Plateau

by
Ning Peng
1,†,
Yan Wang
1,†,
Huifeng Wu
2,
Hongjian Hao
3,
Ahejiang Sailike
3,
Zhouchang Yu
3,
Shicai Li
3,
Runhao Shi
3,
Wenfang Hao
1,* and
Wei Zhang
3
1
College of Life Sciences, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling 712100, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
3
College of Grassland and Grassland, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling 712100, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Agronomy 2025, 15(4), 797; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040797
Submission received: 9 February 2025 / Revised: 1 March 2025 / Accepted: 17 March 2025 / Published: 24 March 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Farming Sustainability)
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Abstract

Carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) are key soil nutrients whose synergistic interactions regulate ecosystem nutrient cycling, yet the functional gene-level coordination and driving factors of these cycles remain poorly understood. This study addresses this gap by investigating the dynamic changes in C, N, and P cycling functional genes and their microbial and environmental drivers across Robinia pseudoacacia plantations of different restoration stages (10, 20, 30, and 40 years) on the Loess Plateau. We analyzed soil physicochemical properties and conducted metagenomic sequencing, redundancy analysis (RDA), and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results showed that P-cycling functional genes, particularly pqqC and spoT, exhibited the highest network centrality, indicating their dominant role in regulating nutrient dynamics. Compared with farmland, STC, SOC, SAP, pH, and SWC significantly changed (p < 0.05) with restoration age, directly shaping key microbial groups such as Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Chloroflexi. These microbial shifts were strongly correlated with the synergistic changes in C, N, and P functional gene abundance (p < 0.01). The findings highlight the central role of phosphorus-solubilizing genes in linking C, N, and P cycles and emphasize the microbial community responses to soil environmental changes as a key driver of nutrient cycling during ecological restoration. This study provides novel insights into microbial functional gene interactions and their ecological significance in soil nutrient dynamics, offering theoretical support for improving restoration strategies on the Loess Plateau.
Keywords: synergistic change mechanisms; soil biogeochemical cycling; functional genes; metagenomic sequencing; Robinia pseudoacacia forest synergistic change mechanisms; soil biogeochemical cycling; functional genes; metagenomic sequencing; Robinia pseudoacacia forest

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MDPI and ACS Style

Peng, N.; Wang, Y.; Wu, H.; Hao, H.; Sailike, A.; Yu, Z.; Li, S.; Shi, R.; Hao, W.; Zhang, W. Phosphorus Cycling Dominates Microbial Regulation of Synergistic Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Gene Dynamics During Robinia pseudoacacia Restoration on the Loess Plateau. Agronomy 2025, 15, 797. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040797

AMA Style

Peng N, Wang Y, Wu H, Hao H, Sailike A, Yu Z, Li S, Shi R, Hao W, Zhang W. Phosphorus Cycling Dominates Microbial Regulation of Synergistic Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Gene Dynamics During Robinia pseudoacacia Restoration on the Loess Plateau. Agronomy. 2025; 15(4):797. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040797

Chicago/Turabian Style

Peng, Ning, Yan Wang, Huifeng Wu, Hongjian Hao, Ahejiang Sailike, Zhouchang Yu, Shicai Li, Runhao Shi, Wenfang Hao, and Wei Zhang. 2025. "Phosphorus Cycling Dominates Microbial Regulation of Synergistic Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Gene Dynamics During Robinia pseudoacacia Restoration on the Loess Plateau" Agronomy 15, no. 4: 797. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040797

APA Style

Peng, N., Wang, Y., Wu, H., Hao, H., Sailike, A., Yu, Z., Li, S., Shi, R., Hao, W., & Zhang, W. (2025). Phosphorus Cycling Dominates Microbial Regulation of Synergistic Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Gene Dynamics During Robinia pseudoacacia Restoration on the Loess Plateau. Agronomy, 15(4), 797. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040797

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