ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Terrestrial Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1707273
This article is part of the Research TopicSoil microbial ecology and soil ecosystem functions for addressing climate change and maintaining ecological sustainabilityView all 4 articles
Soil core microbial taxa maintain community resistance to drive soil ecosystem multifunctionality under Alternanthera philoxeroides invasion
Provisionally accepted
- Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
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Alien plant invasion exerts profound impacts on local ecosystems, like biodiversity, stability, and overall functionality. Understanding the ecological stability of soil microbial communities is essential for elucidating how plant invasions drive changes in soil ecosystem functions. In this study, soil ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) was examined in relation to the resistance of microbial communities across five Alternanthera philoxeroides–invaded sites (Xiaoxian, Hefei, Tongling, Anqing, and Huangshan) within different ecological functional zones in Anhui Province, China, with contrasting soil properties and environmental conditions. Soil samples were collected from invaded and uninvaded plots, microbial core taxa were identified, and structural equation modeling was applied to examine the relationships among invasion, microbial traits, and ecosystem functions. The results showed that invasion significantly increased soil EMF at Xiaoxian by 34.2% and at Hefei by 24.1%, which was primarily by increasing in nitrogen-and phosphorus-related functions. Bacterial communities exhibited consistently higher resistance than fungal communities, owing to their more complex interaction networks. Core bacterial taxa were positively associated with microbial resistance, supporting nutrient cycling and maintaining ultimately EMF. Structural equation modeling revealed that invasion-driven changes in soil properties influenced EMF indirectly through bacterial community resistance mediated by core microbial taxa. These findings demonstrated that bacterial resistance, underpinned by the stabilizing role of core microbial taxa, played a central role in maintaining EMF during plant invasion. The results highlight the importance of core microbial taxa as ecological stabilizers and provide new insights into the belowground mechanisms linking biological invasions to ecosystem resilience.
Keywords: A. philoxeroides, microorganisms, soil ecosystem multifunctionality, Core microbial taxa, Community resistance
Received: 17 Sep 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lin, Zhang, Li, Wang, Yu, Qin and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wenxiu Qin, wxqin@ahau.edu.cn
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