Native forests transformed into cash crops reduced soil multi-functionality by modifying the microbial community composition and keystone species’ abundance in the Jianghuai Hilly Region

Conversion of native forest to cash crops is the predominant form of land use change in the Jianghuai Hilly Region. However, how plantations with different cash crops affect the soil multi-functionality is not well documented. In this study, we collected three kinds of cash crops soils (vegetable, orchard, and tea) and forest soil, to systematically review the relationship between soil microbial communities and soil multi-functionality. Soil multi-functionality had decreased in vegetable and orchard as compared to native forest, whereas tea plantation had no significant effects on soil multi-functionality. The results also showed that cash crop plantations decreased soil multi-functionality by shifting keystone species’ abundance, for forest, vegetable, and orchard, the keystone species that were classified as module hubs in the bacterial co-occurrence network significantly negatively contributed to soil multi-functionality, but the keystone species categorized as module hubs in fungal co-occurrence network positively affected soil multi-functionality. Multiple soil properties were the drivers of the soil microbial community; thus, indicating that the altered soil properties under cash crop plantations were vital in determining microbial composition and biological processes. These results identified that sustainable management strategy in cash crop plantation needed to be developed for improving soil multi-functionality.