Abstract
Understanding the interactions among soil microbial species and how they
respond to land reclamation is essential to evaluate the success of
ecological restoration actions in disturbed mining soil. In this study,
we strived to reveal the interactions among soil bacterial communities
along the reclamation timeline of a coal mine in Zoucheng, China. To do
so, we investigated changes in the composition of soil bacterial over
time and constructed molecular ecological networks (i.e. microbial
network) following mining soil reclamation into agricultural land. The
relationships between microbial networks and selected soil attributes
(i.e. soil pH, electric conductivity, organic matter, soil nutrients and
enzymatic activities) were also analyzed. The results showed that the
composition of soil bacteria changed significantly along the reclamation
timeline. The microbial network profile revealed thatAcidobacteria , Planctomycetes and Proteobacteriawere the key microbial populations. Soil pH, soil organic matter
content, soil dehydrogenase and urease activities were significantly
correlated (0.001 ≤ P < 0.05) with the microbial network
structure, suggesting that the microbial networks found influenced the
provision of relevant soil ecological functions after reclamation. The
variation in complexity of the microbial networks along the reclamation
timeline revealed that microbial development was promoted by the shift
in land use from mining into agriculture. Overall, our findings shed
light on how soil microbial communities and networks change following
mine reclamation into agricultural land. The results presented herein
will undoubtedly aid in the establishment of success indicators of
ecological restoration activities in disturbed mining soil.
Keywords : land reclamation; soil microbial community;
ecological network; soil attributes; soil ecosystem