EFFECTS OF BIOCHAR ON THE DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF SOIL FUNGI IN INTERCROPPING SYSTEM

In order to investigate the long-term effects of biochar application on the diversity and community structure of soil fungi, different amount of biochar were applied to the Machilus pauhoi-Ilex asprella intercropping system under field conditions. The results showed that biochar significantly increased the pH and the content of organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus and available potassium in 0-15 cm soils while it had no significant effect on 15-30 cm soil physicochemical properties. The results of species annotation indicated that each biochar treatment increased the relative abundance of Mortierellomycotina, Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota and Ascomycota in 0-15 cm soils. The T2 and T3 treatments increased the abundance of Ascomycota in 15-30 cm soils and reduced the abundance of Basidiomycota, which were opposite to the results of T1 treatment. At the genus level, in the soil with the depth of 0-15 cm, the application of biochar reduced the relative abundance of Clitocybula while significantly increased the relative abundance of Parascutellinia, Glomus, Mortierella, Funneliformis and Plectosphaerella. In 15-30 cm soils, all biochar treatments increased Clitocybula and Mortierella relative abundance, but reduced Glomus and Gyroporus relative abundance. In summary, biochar application has a significant effect on soil physicochemical properties after 3 years of application.