New insights into soil bacteria communities in Beijing urban greenspace based on urbanization gradient

Research on urban soils has traditionally neglected two significant dimensions: the spatial heterogeneity emerging within megacity resulting from varying urbanization rates, and the dynamic responses of soil microbial communities to ongoing urban expansion processes. To address these research gaps, we propose a new approach to study soil bacterial communities based on urbanization gradients. Beijing is divided into three regions according to urbanization gradient by machine learning method. We found regular patterns of biodiversity and community structure along urbanization gradients. All detected networks were scale-free, small-world, and modularized to varying degrees. Correlation analysis revealed a positive association between network modularity and urbanization gradients, indicating bacterial communities in urban greenspaces develop compartmentalized interaction patterns. The ecological stress effect of keystone bacteria in interface areas was observed for the first time. The interface area, subjected to dual pressures from urbanization and edge effects, an increased numbers of keystone bacterial species were produced to maintain the stability and integrity of the bacterial network. The ecological network and keystone species in the suburban play a decisive role in the ecosystem of Beijing. Furthermore, random processes always dominate the assembly process of bacterial communities. Consequently, urban ecosystem conservation requires an integrated approach that simultaneously prioritizes the protection of the interface area and suburban while accommodating urban development.