Fungi contribute more than bacteria to the ecological uniqueness of soil microbial communities in alpine meadows

Understanding the ecological uniqueness of soil bacterial and fungal communities and their driving factors can provide more targeted protection for soil microbial diversity. In this study, spatial multi-site sampling was conducted in a wide range of alpine meadows to reveal the patterns of ecological uniqueness of soil bacterial and fungal communities and the driving factors. The results showed that the soil fungal community contributed 62.3% to the ecological uniqueness of the microbial community, compared to 37.7% for bacteria, emphasizing the importance of protecting soil fungal diversity to maintain microbial diversity in the region. Soil bacterial diversity had a positive effect on ecological uniqueness, while fungi had an opposite pattern. Interactions of climate conditions, soil properties, plant and microbial diversity explain most of the variation in the ecological uniqueness of bacterial and fungal communities. Plant community played a key mediating role in maintaining the ecological uniqueness of soil bacterial and fungal communities in alpine meadows. This study proposed to maintain the diversity of soil microbial communities in alpine meadows by protecting sites with high ecological uniqueness of soil bacterial and fungal communities, and restoring sites with low ecological uniqueness.