Adaptive Development of Soil Bacterial Communities to Ecological Processes Caused by Mining Subsidence

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Soil Microbiology
• Ecology

Background:

• Coal mining subsidence significantly impacts soil structure and properties.
• Soil microorganisms are sensitive indicators of environmental changes and adapt to disturbances.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of coal mining subsidence on soil microbial community diversity and structure.
• To analyze microbial community assembly and functional predictions in different subsidence zones.
• To explore the relationship between soil properties and microbial community dynamics.

Main Methods:

• High-throughput sequencing of soil samples from non-subsidence and varying subsidence areas (0.5, 1, and 2 years).
• Molecular ecological network analysis to assess microbial community structure and interactions.
• Measurement of key soil properties including water content, organic matter, available phosphorus, and alkaline nitrogen.

Main Results:

• Subsidence led to reduced soil water content, organic matter, available phosphorus, and alkaline nitrogen, with the most significant decrease at the 1-year mark.
• Microbial diversity was significantly reduced in the 1-year subsidence area, correlating with soil property degradation.
• The microbial network became simpler during early subsidence, indicating instability, but began to stabilize by 1 year, with recovery observed after 2 years.
• Stochastic processes were identified as a key driver of microbial variability in short-term subsidence.

Conclusions:

• Coal mining subsidence profoundly affects soil physicochemical properties and microbial community structure.
• Soil microbial diversity and community assembly are closely linked to soil organic matter, water content, and alkaline nitrogen levels.
• Natural recovery of soil properties and microbial communities begins after subsidence stabilizes, with significant recovery evident after two years.