Summary
This field-based study demonstrates that extended continuous cotton cropping in arid Xinjiang significantly degrades soil organic matter and nitrogen content whilst altering microbial community assembly dynamics. Long-term cropping increased bacterial species richness but reduced bacterial network complexity, whereas fungal networks showed partial recovery capability. The findings suggest that deterministic ecological processes weaken with cropping duration, with stochastic processes becoming dominant, and identify soil phosphorus, potassium, and pH as key drivers of microbial succession.
Regional applicability
The arid climate and cotton-specific context limit direct transferability to UK temperate farming systems. However, the mechanistic insights into how prolonged monoculture restructures soil microbial networks and shifts assembly processes may inform UK crop rotation and soil management strategies, particularly for intensive arable operations.
Key measures
Soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and potassium, soil aggregate structure, bacterial richness (Chao1 index), fungal diversity and composition, co-occurrence network complexity metrics, stochastic versus deterministic assembly process indicators
Outcomes reported
The study measured soil physicochemical properties, bacterial and fungal community diversity and composition, co-occurrence network complexity, and microbial assembly processes across three continuous cropping durations (1–8, 9–15, and 16–30 years) in Xinjiang cotton fields.
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