Bacterial Community Structure in Soils With Fire-Deposited Charcoal Under Rotational Shifting Cultivation of Upland Rice in Northern Thailand

Abstract

Rotational shifting cultivation (RSC) is a traditional agricultural practice in mountainous areas that uses fire to clear land after cutting vegetation for cultivation. However, few studies have assessed the effect of fire-deposited charcoal on the diversity and composition of soil microbial communities, and none have been conducted in Thailand. Therefore, this study was conducted 1 year after a fire in an abandoned 12-year RSC in Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand. Charcoal samples were collected from the surface litter layer, while charcoal-soil mixtures were taken from the surface soil (0–2 cm). Soil samples from 2 to 7 cm captured the charcoal-soluble layer, and samples from 7 to 15 cm represented soil without charcoal incorporation. The results revealed that charcoal led to higher pH and electrical conductivity in the charcoal layer, with notable differences in soil texture across layers, including the highest sand and silt content in the charcoal-mixed soil layer (0–2 cm). Soil organic matter and total nitrogen were significantly higher in the charcoal-mixed layer compared to deeper layers, indicating improved nutrient retention due to charcoal presence. Enhanced microbial diversity was observed in the charcoal and charcoal-mixed soil layers, with Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Planctomycetota dominating across all soil samples. The bacterial genus Ilumatobacter exhibited significant changes in abundance in the charcoal layer. Additionally, Pseudolabrys was more abundant in charcoal-leached soil, while JG30a-KF-32 showed greater abundance in soil without charcoal. Shifts in Proteobacteria and Planctomycetota abundance were evident in the charcoal leaching and non-charcoal layers. Network analysis indicated more complex bacterial interactions in the charcoal-mixed soil layer, with reduced network complexity observed in the charcoal leaching layer and the layer without charcoal. These findings imply that charcoal provides a favorable environment for diverse and interactive bacterial communities, potentially benefiting soil health and fertility recovery in RSC fields.