Soil Microbial Communities Significantly Changed Along Stand Ages in Masson Pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) Plantation

Soil microbial communities are important for nutrient cycling regulation in forest ecosystems. However, limited knowledge exists regarding the characteristics of these microbial communities in Masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) plantations of different stand ages. In this study, four planted Masson pine stands (8-year-old, 12-year-old, 22-year-old, and 38-year-old stands) and one natural broadleaved forest stand (as a control) with three replications, were selected in the Laoshan Forest Farm, Qiandao Lake Town, Zhejiang Province, China. Soil physicochemical properties were measured and their effects on soil microbial communities were studied. Amplicon-based high-throughput sequencing was employed to process raw sequence data for soil microbes. It is worth noting that significant differences (p < 0.05) in soil bacterial genera were observed among different stand age groups. Total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), available potassium (AK), soil organic carbon (SOC), and soil bulk density (BD) were identified as the primary factors influencing bacterial community distribution (p < 0.05). Available nitrogen (AN), SOC, TN, and TK showed significant correlations with soil fungal communities (p < 0.05). These findings underscore the crucial role of soil physicochemical properties in shaping soil microbial community composition in Masson pine plantations.