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Earthworms facilitated pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) growth via enhancing the population and function of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a low-density polyethylene-contaminated soil
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Researchers found that adding earthworms to soil contaminated with low-density polyethylene microplastics boosted populations of beneficial soil fungi called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which in turn dramatically increased pepper plant growth and fruit yield by improving phosphorus uptake. This suggests earthworms can help restore plant productivity in microplastic-polluted agricultural soils by supporting the soil's natural fungal networks.
Abstract Microplastics (MPs) produced by the decomposition of plastics exist persistently, interfering with soil fertility and plant nutrition. Both arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and earthworms are beneficial in terrestrial ecosystems, but their interactions under MPs contamination are unclear so far. Here, the influences of inoculating earthworms ( Eisenia fetida ) on indigenous AM fungi and pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.) growth were investigated in a vegetable soil treated with 0.1% low-density polyethylene (LDPE), while the specific interactions of earthworm and AM fungus ( Funneliformis caledonium ) under LDPE contamination were further resolved in another experiment using sterilized soil. Inoculation of earthworms shifted soil AM fungal community structure, replacing the predominant genus Glomus by Paraglomus , and increased the abundance, diversity (i.e., Shannon) index, and root colonization rate of AM fungi by 108, 34.6 and 45.0%, respectively. Earthworms also significantly decreased soil pH, and significantly increased soil alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, shoot biomass and fruit yield of pepper by 394, 82.8 and 188%, respectively. In the sterilized soil, both E. fetida and F. caledonium improved pepper growth, while the latter noticeably increased phosphorus (P) translocation efficiency from root to shoot, and the combination induced the highest soil ALP activity and pepper fruit yield. Furthermore, the significantly interactive effects between earthworm and AM fungus were observed in soil pH and available P concentration, as well as in shoot P concentration and fruit yield of pepper. This study revealed the interaction between earthworms and AM fungi under MPs contamination conditions for the first time, indicating that earthworms could facilitate vegetable growth via enhancing the propagation and P-promoting function of AM fungi in LDPE-contaminated soils. Graphical Abstract
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