Background: So far, the assembly and response mechanism of soil fungi in the ecological restoration process of lead zinc mines is still unclear.
Methods: In this study, we selected three plants for the ecological restoration of abandoned lead zinc mining areas and explored the community assembly mechanism by which soil fungi assist plants in adapting to the environment during the ecological restoration process.
Results: The results revealed that the mining of lead zinc mines led to a significant decrease in soil fungal diversity, whereas the planting of three plants significantly increased the diversity of rhizosphere fungi. Mining activities significantly reduced the abundance of soil Fusarium, Macroventuria, Cladosporium, and Solicocozyma and increased the abundance of soil Helvella. After three ecologically restored plants were planted, the abundances of Fusarium and Cladosporium increased significantly, whereas the abundance of Helvella decreased significantly. In addition, Capronia was significantly enriched in the rhizosphere soils of three plant species in the mining area. β diversity and fungal guild analysis revealed that mining activities had a great impact on fungal communities and guilds. The ecological restoration of plants changed the guilds of rhizosphere fungi, making them closer to those of the control sample. In addition, the endophyte guild was significantly enriched in the rhizosphere soil of three ecologically restored plants, increasing their adaptability.
Conclusions: The results provide a reference for screening lead zinc mine bioremediation strains and developing fungal plant joint remediation strategies.
Keywords: bioremediation; community structure; microbial diversity; pollution control; soil.