Microbial Community Structure, Diversity, and Succession During Decomposition of Kiwifruit Litters with Different Qualities

There are differences in the litter quality and decomposition rate of kiwifruit varieties, but it is not clear whether these differences are related to microbial communities. The leaf litters of two kiwifruit varieties (<i>A. chinensis</i> cv 'Hongyang' and <i>A. chinensis</i> cv 'Jinyan') were taken as objects, and the structure, diversity, and succession of the soil microbial communities were analyzed using an in situ decomposition experiment. Moreover, the contents of C, N, P, and K in the litters during decomposition were analyzed. The results show that there were variety differences in community structure at the generic level. <i>Lophotrichus</i>, <i>Acaulium</i>, and <i>Fusarium</i> were relatively more abundant in the microbial community of the 'Hongyang' kiwifruit litter, and <i>Humicola</i> and <i>Tausonia</i> were relatively more abundant in the microbial community of the 'Jinyan' kiwifruit litter. <i>Subgroup_6</i> and <i>Sphingomonas</i> were the dominant bacteria. The bacterial community diversity of 'Jinyan' kiwifruit was higher than that of the 'Hongyang' kiwifruit litter. The community diversity was higher in the middle and later periods. The contents of C and N in the litters were the main factors affecting microbial communities. The abundances of <i>Humicola</i> and <i>Apiotrichum</i> were negatively correlated with the contents of C and N, and the abundances of <i>Sphingomonas</i> and <i>SC-I-84</i> were positively correlated with the content of C. There were variety differences in the microbial communities corresponding to the decomposition processes of the 'Hongyang' and 'Jinyan' kiwifruit litters. The mechanisms of the variety differences were related to litter quality and the initial soil microbial community.