Abstract:
Planting under forest is an important way to imitate wild cultivation of Chinese herbal medicine, which can not only improve land use efficiency and economic benefits, but also improve forest ecological function through plant-soil interaction.However, the effect of
Polygonatum cyrtonema and
Sarcandra glabra planted under
Cunninghamia lanceolata forest on soil microbial biomass is not clear. Based on this, an underforest planting experiment was conducted in Luoguopu State-owned forest Farm, Guangan City, Sichuan Province. A randomized block design was used, setting up cultivation areas for
Polygonatum cyrtonema and
Sarcandra glabra, as well as a control area of pure
Cunninghamia lanceolata forest. Soil samples were collected from 0~20 cm soil layer, and soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) were determined. The results showed that: Planting
Polygonatum cyrtonema under
Cunninghamia lanceolata forest significantly increased MBC and MBN contents by 3.94% and 109.71% respectively; planting
Sarcandra glabra under
Cunninghamia lanceolata forest increased MBC and MBN contents by 1.07% and 26.38% respectively, but the difference was not significant; planting
Polygonatum cyrtonema and
Sarcandra glabra under
Cunninghamia lanceolata forest also significantly decreased MBC/MBN by 50.24% and 19.00% respectively. Redundancy analysis showed that 84.4% of the changes in MBC, MBN and MBC/MBN ratio could be explained by soil physical and chemical factors. Available potassium (AK), nitrate nitrogen (NO
3−) and soil organic carbon (SOC) were the key factors affecting MBC, MBN and MBC/MBN ratio. In conclusion, planting
Polygonatum cyrtonema and
Sarcandra glabra under
Cunninghamia lanceolata forest increased soil microbial biomass and promoted soil nutrient cycling by increasing soil AK, NO
3− and SOC contents.