Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2026, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (3): 153-163.doi: 10.11978/2025123CSTR: 32234.14.2025123

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on the stability and complexity of diazotrophic communities and key driving factors in the root-associated zones of the mangrove plant Kandelia obovata

QI Feng1(), DENG Xiaojie2, GUAN Yongpeng2, ZHOU Shengyao3, HE Qing2, RAJAPAKSHALAGE Thashikala Nethmini2, LI Nan2, JIANG Gonglingxia2, CHEN Qingxiang2, LEI Xinyue2, HOU Qinghua2, HUANG Laizhen2, LI Xiaolei2, WEI Qiaoyan1()   

  1. 1 School of Life & Environmental Scinence, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin 541200, China
    2 College of Ocean and Meteorology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
    3 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541006, China
  • Received:2025-08-06 Revised:2025-09-24 Online:2026-05-10 Published:2026-05-28
  • Contact: WEI Qiaoyan. email: wqy@guet.edu.cn

Abstract:

The root-associated diazotrophs of the mangrove species Kandelia obovata exhibit remarkable species richness, which are integral to nitrogen cycling within mangrove ecosystems. However, their ecological adaptation mechanisms remain inadequately understood. In this study, we collected 75 samples each of root endosphere, rhizosphere, and bulk soil from a mangrove nature reserve in Leizhou, South China. Based on high-throughput sequencing and molecular ecological approaches, we investigated the composition, diversity, complexity, and stability of diazotrophs across these three compartments of K. obovata, as well as their main influencing factors. The results showed that Alphaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria were the dominant species in the mangrove root-associated diazotrophs, with Alphaproteobacteria having the highest abundance in the root endosphere (54.9%), significantly higher than that in the rhizosphere (37.5%) and bulk soil (29.1%). α-diversity analysis revealed that the Shannon index was the highest in the bulk soil and the lowest in the rhizosphere (P<0.05). NMDS (Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling) and ANOSIM (Analysis of Similarities) analyses (r=0.659, P<0.001) confirmed significant differences in community structure among the three compartments. Notably, the diazotrophs in the rhizosphere of K. obovata exhibit the lowest α-diversity but highest community stability. Co-occurrence network analysis indicated that diazotrophs network in the rhizosphere was the most robust, the bulk soil network had the highest connectivity, while the endorhizosphere was the most complex yet the most fragile. Spearman correlation analysis demonstrated region-specific effects of environmental factors on complexity and stability: salinity and $ \mathrm{NH}_{4}^{+}-\mathrm{N} $ jointly drove complexity in the bulk soil and rhizosphere, while $ \mathrm{NO}_{3}^{-}-\mathrm{N} $ mainly influenced stability in bulk soil. In the rhizosphere, complexity was significantly negatively correlated with TS and $ \mathrm{NO}_{2}^{-}-\mathrm{N} $, while stability showed significant positive correlation with salinity. This study enhances the understanding of the mechanisms governing the maintenance of complexity and stability of diazotrophs within mangrove ecosystems, holding significant implications for the restoration and conservation of mangrove ecosystems in similar coastal wetlands.

Key words: diazotrophic communities, root-associated zones, mangrove ecosystem, co-occurrence network, complexity, stability

CLC Number: 

  • X172