Continuous cropping of melon reduced the diversity of soil mesofauna and soil ecosystem multifunctionality

Ayijiamali·Kudoureti; LIU Yuxiang; PAN Weiping; Asiya·Naijimiding; Saideerding·Paerding; GUO Jiang; MAO Liang; ZHANG Yihe; Ruxianguli·Aitanmu

doi:10.16861/j.cnki.zggc.2024.0721

Abstract：Continuous cultivation of melons lead to deterioration of soil properties,the decrease of soil enzyme activity,the accumulation of self toxic substances,and changes in microbial community,which in turn seriously endangers soil bio-diversity.However,the impact of continuous cropping on soil fauna is still unclear.Taking the habitats of melon with dif-ferent planting years(1 year,3 years,7 years,20 years)as research objects,the methods of field in survey and indoor isola-tion identification were used to investigate the changes in community characteristics,diversity,and ecosytem multifunc-tionality of mesofauna,with a focus on exploring how the continuous planting process of melon affects mesofauna and ecosystem multifunctionality.A total of 556 soil mesofauna were collected in the study area,and the dominant groups were nematodes,collembola and mites,accounting for 75.72％of the total soil fauna abundance.The abundance,group numbers and diversity of soil mesofauna showed an increasing trend with the decrease of soil salinity.However,the multi-functionality decreased with the extension of continuous planting years.The results of redundancy analysis(RDA)showed that soil organic matter content,nitrate nitrogen content,vegetation characteristics and soil salinity were the main factors affecting the diversity of soil mesofauna community in the study area.Regression analysis showed that among the envi-ronmental factors,total salinity had the greatest impact on soil fauna diversity(p＜0.05).The results of PLS-PM least-squares structure model also showed that vegetation biomass had a direct positive and significant impact on ecosys-tem multifunctionality,and also had an indirect positive impact on ecosystem multifunctionality by affecting the diversity of soil mesofauna.In conclusion,continuous planting of melon reduces the diversity of soil mesofauna and ecosystem multifunctionality,mainly due to the increase in total salinity and decrease in melon biomass caused by long-term continu-ous planting.Results are of great significance for the efficient,safe,and sustainable development of muskmelon industry in the northwest China.