The carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry in litter-soil-microbe continuum rather than plant diversity primarily shapes the changes in bacterial communities along a tropical forest restoration chronosequence

Soil bacteria play core roles in mediating the functional linkage between above- and belowground components during forest restoration. However, the pattern and mechanism through which plants and soils influence bacterial communities remain unclear. This study aimed to quantify the contributions of plant community and soil characteristics to shifts in bacterial composition and diversity along a tropical forest restoration chronosequence in the Xishuangbanna. We found a negative effect of forest restoration on bacterial composition and a positive impact on the diversity. Forest restoration changed bacterial communities from being oligotrophic Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria dominated to copiotrophic Proteobacteria and Firmicutes dominated. Forest restoration also induced a 1.5–1.6 fold increase in OTU richness and diversity of bacterial communities. Soil variables, including plant litter, contributed 46.3–58.1% to the variations in bacterial composition and diversity, while the contribution of plant community was 6.4–13.8%. Furthermore, the increase in plant richness and diversity had minor contribution to variations in bacterial diversity and composition during forest restoration. Soil bacterial diversity was primarily explained by the elevated levels of carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry in the litter-soil-microbe continuum, but litter was explained by the increased plant diversity. In contrast, soil bacterial composition was negatively correlated with biomass, nitrogen, and carbon:nitrogen of the litter, as well as the level of soil carbon and nitrogen pools. Our data suggested that the carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry in litter-soil-microbe continuum rather than plant diversity primarily shaped the changes in bacterial composition and diversity along tropical forest restoration.