Microclimate characteristics, temporal dynamics of soil bacterial communities, and potential co-occurrence network differences between greenhouse and open-field cultivation environments

Greenhouse cultivation modifies agricultural microclimates and may be associated with temporal changes in soil microbial communities. We investigated a representative vegetable greenhouse and an adjacent open-field site in the subtropical red-soil region of Jiangxi Province, China.

Air temperature and relative humidity were monitored continuously for one year in both environments, while soil temperature and volumetric water content were monitored within the greenhouse. Monthly soil samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.

The greenhouse exhibited pronounced daytime warming, nighttime heat retention, and generally higher relative humidity. Soil bacterial community composition differed significantly between greenhouse and open-field soils, while alpha-diversity differences varied among seasons. Month-resolved analyses revealed significant temporal dynamics. Air temperature and relative humidity jointly explained 15.59% of the variation in bacterial community structure. Potential co-occurrence networks also differed between the two environments in topology and in the proportions of positive and negative correlations.

The results document year-round differences in microclimate and soil bacterial community dynamics between greenhouse and open-field cultivation environments. The measured atmospheric microclimate variables showed statistically detectable but limited associations with bacterial community composition, providing a basis for soil microbiome monitoring and environmental management in subtropical protected agriculture.